Stucco Insulation

The term stucco can be referred to as an ambitious term that mainly refers to exterior insulation and finish systems or synthetic stucco although in certain quarters, it is also used to refer to Portland cement stucco. It makes for good sense to build a home with stucco and especially stucco insulation. Renovating with stucco has been found to be beneficial. This method of insulation has been found to actually reduce energy or heating bills through two ways. The first one is that it reduces air infiltration into the walls of your house and secondly is that it greatly minimizes the amount of heat that penetrates the walls by the added insulation on the outside. A gap in the walls leads to air infiltration. The said gap may occur between some studs or on the siding.

The siding of most Toronto and Edmonton houses is not entirely air tight and this result in some air passing through the loosely intertwined vinyl or through the vents in the bricks. The weather barrier is the second defense layer which can be described as a building wrap. It overlaps at the seams and is 8 foot in height. The seams are in most instances not sealed which results in a gap that runs throughout the entire house especially wherever the wrap overlaps. Air that manages to bypass the weather barrier next encounters the sheathing which is made up of composite wood or exterior drywall. The composite wood is usually particle board and plywood. This again is sealed rarely which allows the invading air through.

It has been found that stucco insulation gets rid of such a scenario where you are faced with a 60% drop in effectiveness of your insulation just because your walls leaked in 1% of air. This is what makes stucco insulation a must have if you desire of cutting down your heating bills. This problem is overcome by external insulation and finishing systems as they employ a weather barrier over the sheathing that is continuous and which is trowel applied. All avenues of air infiltration including joints as well as the exterior drywall or plywood get covered entirely. The material used in this instance is continuous and thus it is able to come up with an air barrier that is single and monolithic.

The stucco insulation barrier also tends to prevent moisture and water from penetrating into the studs and sheathing where it would go on to form mold and rot. This is achieved by allowing the water to run off the barrier. Another advantage of stucco insulation is that it is able to offer 100% insulation as compared to the traditional types of insulation which usually offer 80% at their best.