What a builder should send to get a stucco price from drawings

Why the package matters

A stucco price is a square-footage price adjusted by everything that makes the wall more than a flat rectangle: height, openings, transitions, details, substrate and access. Send us the flat rectangle and you get a budget number with a list of assumptions. Send us the package below and you get a firm price with few of them.

The list

1. All four elevations, with heights

Every face of the building, dimensioned, with grade and roof lines shown. We take the wall areas from these and see the gables, bump-outs and tall walls that set scaffold and access.

2. A wall section

The typical section through the exterior wall showing sheathing, insulation, the drainage plane if any, and where the stucco sits in the assembly. If the architect has specified a system or an insulation thickness, this is where we see it. If not, we propose one.

3. The window and door schedule

Every opening is a head flashing, two jambs, a sloped sill and a sealant joint, and on many houses a surround. The schedule tells us how many, how large and how they are set in the wall. Note whether windows are flanged or set in a buck, and whether they will be installed before we arrive.

4. Where stucco meets everything else

Stone, brick, siding, metal panel, roofing, decks, soffits, garage doors and grade. Every transition is a detail, and transitions are where leaks start. If the drawings show them, send those sheets. If they do not, tell us what the other materials are and we will propose the details.

5. The look

Rendering or reference photos, texture preference, colour direction, and any mouldings, bands, quoins, cornices or columns. Profiles from stock price one way and custom-cut profiles another. If the client has not decided, say so and we price a standard allowance.

6. The schedule

When the walls will be framed and sheathed, when windows go in, when roofing and flashings are complete, and when you need us done. Winter work needs heat and hoarding; we tell you what the season adds, if anything.

7. The site

Address, access for scaffold and deliveries, and anything unusual: a tight infill lot, a ravine, a pool, a neighbour's wall within a few feet.

What changes the number most

• Openings per square foot. A wall full of windows costs more than a blank wall of the same area.
• Transitions. Each change of material is detail work.
• Mouldings. Priced by linear foot and profile size.
• System and insulation thickness. Drainage EIFS and thicker board cost a little more and are usually worth it.
• Height and access. Three storeys and gables need more scaffold time than two.
• Season. Finish coats need temperatures above the manufacturer's minimum.

What we send back

A written price by elevation and by detail, the system named, the assumptions listed, the days we need and what must be done before we arrive: windows in, roofing and flashings complete, penetrations done, grade set. On request, a written specification of the system and sample boards for your client.

Before the drawings are final

The best time to send us a set is before the details are locked. A kick-out flashing drawn in, a drip edge under a band, the right height for the system to stop above grade, or a different sequence with the window installer costs nothing on paper and saves real money and schedule on site. We have been answering those questions for builders and architects since 2010 and we are glad to look at a set early.

Send it

Send the set through the contact form or call (416) 676-6908. PDF is fine. If you have only a sketch and a site, send that and we will tell you what we need to firm it up.