Site Work and Land Services in Myerstown, PA

Myerstown, PA Success Story

Residential Stucco Repair and Exterior Painting

A homeowner in Myerstown — a Lebanon County borough along Route 422 in Jackson Township, a community with an active residential base and a mix of historic and mid-century housing stock — engaged J&J Services to repair deteriorating stucco on the exterior of their 1940s-era home and apply fresh exterior paint. The home’s original stucco finish had developed significant cracking and several areas of full delamination, allowing moisture infiltration that had begun affecting the interior wall surfaces.

Challenges
Stucco failure on mid-20th century Pennsylvania homes is a recurring maintenance challenge — the original stucco systems applied in the 1930s and 1940s were generally high-quality Portland cement-based work, but after 80-plus years of Pennsylvania’s freeze-thaw cycling they develop movement cracks that allow water infiltration during rain events. Once water gets behind the stucco, the freeze-thaw cycle accelerates the delamination process rapidly. The Myerstown home had reached a point where the delaminated sections were large enough to require full removal back to the lath substrate, and the moisture that had reached the interior was causing plaster deterioration in several wall sections. The repair needed to address the full moisture infiltration pathway — not just the exterior surface symptoms.

Solution
J&J Services removed all delaminated stucco sections back to sound material, inspecting the underlying lath and sheathing for moisture damage and replacing compromised sections before the new stucco was applied. Window and door perimeter caulking was replaced throughout — a common infiltration point that the original installation had not adequately sealed. New stucco was applied in the traditional three-coat system, troweled to match the original finish texture. Following cure, the full exterior was painted with a high-quality elastomeric masonry coating — both for appearance and as an additional moisture management layer going forward.

Results
The homeowner reported that the interior wall moisture issues resolved within weeks of the exterior repair completion — confirming that the stucco had been the infiltration pathway driving the interior damage. The painted exterior matched the home’s original character and eliminated the weathered appearance that had been deteriorating for several years.

“We had moisture getting through the stucco into the inside walls and it was getting worse. J&J found every problem area, fixed the substrate where the moisture had damaged it, and did the stucco repair properly. The interior walls have dried out and the house looks great from the outside. Couldn’t ask for more.”
— Homeowner, Myerstown, PA