Monterra Stucco

CASE STUDY 1.0 – Selling Strategies

PURPOSEFUL CONTENT Each day we are blessed with opportunities to, not only add value to agents and homeowners but to observe how stucco repairs can help or impact in some way a homeowner and/or a potential sale. These case studies are absolutely true but we have changed the names to avoid anything but positive learning for all of us. Please enjoy!

WHERE IT ENDED

Sue stood in her driveway, slowly gazing at her beautiful home in Houston – the one that had been center stage for years of memories and milestones. As Monterra Stucco Repair’s team drove away for the final time earlier that morning, marking the completion of their great work, she and her husband Joe knew it was time. It was time to close this wonderful chapter, sell this amazing home, and move closer to children and grandchildren several states away.

But just because you know it’s time to close a chapter in life doesn’t make that decision any easier. As she replayed the tape back in her mind, trying hard not to second guess anything, she reflected on those unique lessons in life – the kind of once in a lifetime or decades decisions that make application merely nice to know rather than necessarily useful for future reference. Maybe someone else could learn from her.

HOW IT STARTED

In some ways, the decision to move soon felt like the easiest decision they had made. It was the launch sequence that choice triggered that soon gave Sue angst about the process that would immediately follow in the way of certain key decisions needed just to list their home.

Sue and Joe were fortunate – they lived in a very desirable house in a very desirable neighborhood in Houston. They were conscientious homeowners and had done upgrades and updates on their home over the years that would seemingly help induce a quick sale while delivering some great equity to put to use in their next home and for retirement.

Predictably, they found in realtor Jill, someone whose reputation for helping owners sell seven figure homes quickly for top dollar, was stellar and among the best in the city.

Jill efficiently went through the things she would need and recommend from and for Sue and Joe in order to most effectively represent them in their home’s sale. They were prepared for everything – the staging, the photos, etc. – but then came the discussion about the stucco that made up the exterior of their home.

While they knew it undoubtedly had some level of wear and tear, they had never felt compelled to think about more than occasional paint. Jill discussed the possible strategies with Sue and Joe about how best to approach their stucco.

They could simply check all of the other preparation boxes and roll the dice and see what interest was out there and to what extent prospective buyers would insist on a more thorough invasive stucco inspection. They could go ahead and have an invasive stucco inspection done themselves.

But in the world of real estate, while knowledge is still power, it also represents both risk and disclosure obligations. Sue, especially, could feel her anxiety building. Was it possible that she had spent decades overlooking the thing on her home that she stared at every day and now represented the biggest risk to their sale?

DECISION POINT

Sue and Joe decided to list their home and hope and assume that the stucco was in as good of shape as it appeared to be. It did not take long unfortunately to learn something different.

Buyers quickly fell in love with this calming and stately residence, just like she and Joe had. The request to get the stucco inspections did not initially alarm them and felt like a mere box check en route to a speedy sale for top dollar.

However, the inspections, from top firms in Houston, and the resulting estimates from top stucco repair companies, quickly started to tell a story very different than the one that the generally pristine-looking exterior told.

Enough bids came in to suggest that the necessary repairs were well into the five figures – high enough to scare away this first wave of buyers. The conversations between Jill, Sue, and Joe devolved from mathematical to highly emotional and sparked all the normal questions we all feel in these moments: how did we miss this, will we be able to sell for what we thought, who can we trust to fix this, etc.

Now what? Sue and Joe contemplated the next options and she decided to take the home off of the market, somehow find a stucco repair company she could trust, and quickly get it back on the market.

Frankly, the bids were technical and varied widely in terms of scope, base price and potential price depending on what the repair company found once there. Her calls into the inspector only confirmed the potential wide range of total costs.

She reached out to firm that had come from a trusted friend – that referral we all hope and pray will be there when we are least comfortable with a potential solution to big problem. Monterra was immediately available to discuss, which in the world of residential contractors, can never be assumed.

They patiently explained each piece of their report, carefully explained their pricing approach, and where the potential unknowns could be once the work started. The fact that Sue was feeling and wearing her stress simultaneously only seemed to increase the level of professionalism and empathy the Monterra team displayed.

THE WORK

Signing a contract with Monterra did not result in some feared service or communication falloff for Sue and Joe. The project management team seamlessly picked up right where her estimate had left off – almost as if many careful discussions had happened at Monterra the whole time.

She was very nervous because a planned out-of-country vacation would take her and Joe away during this work. But this left the Monterra team unphased. They made good on their promise to communicate early and often, even while they were away.

Not all was perfect; as warned, Monterra did discover areas where damage was present after cutting into areas of potential damage. They accommodated her nervous callbacks to the inspector and worked to satisfy her concerns while also addressing the inspector’s occasional observation.

But she quickly discovered that Monterra’s methodical approach and adherence to this inspector’s report reassured her that Monterra was every bit an expert. There would be nothing mysterious about this project; anything Monterra discovered would be communicated quickly and in a straightforward manner, even if the news was not ideal.

Even as she found additional things she wanted done that fell outside of the original project scope, such as painting a stucco wall, Monterra addressed each one with the same responsiveness as the last. And while the project scope and cost grew, it did so with her blessing and never felt like a contractor taking advantage of a pressured situation.

BACK TO WHERE IT ENDED

As she stood now in her driveway, that same place where she had cried at different moments before and during the project, she smiled reflecting on Monterra being there for a couple of those ugly cries and always being willing to comfort her.

Her and Joe’s house was now ready to bring back to the market. This time there would be no surprises about her stucco. She was equipped with the comprehensive packet Monterra provided in one PDF that thoroughly proved and validated the work she had completed.

There would be other hurdles they would need to cross on their way to a sale and move to be closer to family, but no longer was stucco uncertainty one of them.

Take Aways

Timing is Everything: Every transaction is different and so is every stucco repair. Monterra can be a valued and trusted resource to help a homeowner (and buyer) get comfortable with the scope of what is needed, not only for the sale, but a great reset point for the stucco of a home. When days and seconds count, it is important to find a group that you know will be reliable and everything to your client that you are trying to be.

Relationships Count: A stucco repair should only last a few weeks, but your trust and relationship with your repair group should hopefully have much more longevity. While the names in this case study above may be changed, the facts are very real and the way we approach agents and homeowners the same as capture in this dialog. These are hard realities of homeownership so the nature of the relationships you have to discuss possible solutions are critical.

Managed Expectations: This is no easy task for the sales process with sellers emotionally tied to their home and buyers looking for any negotiation edge they can find. It is always easiest for us to be most helpful when the most intense part of the transaction is not part of equation. It allows us to help current, outgoing, or incoming owners to objectively address the actual stucco issues at hand by realistically laying out a fact and solution set.

Purposeful Content:

Each day we are blessed with opportunities to, not only add value to agents and homeowners but to observe how stucco repairs can help or impact in some way a homeowner and/or a potential sale. These case studies are absolutely true but we have changed the names to avoid anything but positive learning for all of us. Please enjoy!

Feeling the Relief:

As Jim hung up the phone, he smiled that relieved smile that results from finally unearthing a solution to a nagging problem that has, up until that point, been an unexpected challenge to solve for.

Monterra Stucco had come highly recommended, and it almost seemed too good to be true. Their website reflected the quality of work he expected for a home of his home’s price point, the google reviews weren’t just 5-stars but offered the kind of authentic feedback he needed to see, his market-leading realtor immediately confirmed their excellence, and now Harrison from Monterra had patiently and thoroughly walked him through a process that would put and keep his home in the best place possible.

How it Started:

Homeownership is that peculiar blessing and curse all bundled together. When you’re just starting in life, it is an integral part of the classic American dream. It represents that safe place where memories are made, life is lived, holidays happen, and wealth is preserved, if not built.

However, along with that gift comes responsibility in the form of maintenance, repairs, and general upkeep. And with time, come bigger homes to host bigger families and gatherings and more memories… and of course more house to maintain.

And for Jim, in many ways, at the tail end of a storied corporate career, this home in this neighborhood, captured the essence of the more successful climb up the house upgrade ladder.

The kids were all grown at this point, and unfortunately his wife too had left several years ago, a casualty of the corporate success. The home was his retreat, but he was often out of it during a given month more than he was in it.

His schedule still had him traveling quite a bit and he also found himself getting away for fun more and more. He had people who could check on the house, but the truth is it had been too long since he had spent much time even wanting to think about what he should be doing in Houston to properly keep his beautiful stucco home in the new condition it was in 15 years ago when he bought it new directly from his builder buddy.

But after one particular trip, Jim couldn’t ignore the evidence of water he saw for the first time on an inside wall. “I guess it did rain while I was gone,” he thought, realizing it was time to figure this out.

All of those unique angles, amazing outdoor spaces, and exposed areas, left untended to, he had to admit, now left him needing to likely play a lot of catch up.

Decision Point:

But where to start was the big and scary question, even for a seasoned homeowner like him. He started where we all nervously start when it comes to finding a new contractor to do new repairs on our homes. He dialed a friend, checked in with Mr. Google, and read some reviews.

For Jim, it wasn’t about the money anymore. It was about finding a responsive group he could trust to do the work well. One name just kept coming up in conversations and searches: Monterra Stucco.

Jim eased into it, testing this “cool” stucco group by simply submitting a request online with some general information about his best guess of his issue. It did not take long for him to realize Monterra’s reputation was earned.

In less than a day, Harrison called him and left Jim with that smile by the end of their conversation.

How It Ended:

As Chris and Joe, Monterra’s Project Manager and one of their crew leads, finished doing their final walk through of the job and job site with Jim, he felt relieved once again.

It was embarrassing to see how much damage was lurking behind the walls that Joe and his crew methodically opened up. But it was equally reassuring to see how well it was all reassembled.

The stucco inspection company Monterra had recommended was as detailed and excellent as Monterra and from that resulting report, it became the playbook by which Monterra did their magic… nothing less or more than was required.

Jim had opted to take advantage of the moment and have Monterra repaint his entire home while they were there and standing here at the end, he was so glad he did. It really did look like new, and he really did feel like he was living in a new home.

And while he had no immediate plans to sell, he recognized that he now had a plan through Monterra to maintain his home – one that would be much more sellable whenever that time came.

Take aways:

Never a Wrong Time to do the Right Thing: It’s easy to ignore and hope problems disappear, but at least in homes, they never do. Yesterday is ancient history, tomorrow isn’t here yet, so today is the day to get busy figuring out a plan to fix and maintain your stucco home’s beauty and functionality.

Trust But Verify: We love customers that do their homework, talk to friends, study reviews, and then commit to getting to work with us. We actually do study and evaluate customers as well – we’re as interested in a great experience as customers and want to feel confident in our ability to meet and exceed expectations.

Develop & Stick with a Plan: Jim’s repair bill was not small, but it doesn’t need to be that big again. If he follows best practices for stucco maintenance, gets reinspected by the same firm, and has Monterra maintain sealants and little repairs, it becomes manageable without being burdensome.

Add Your Heading Text Here

There are many unique architectural features offered with a stucco exterior. Since stucco is applied in a “semi-liquid” form, it is easy to manipulate and create curves, round walls, decorative shapes and flat surfaces.

Your stucco inspector may observe that you have a privacy wall on your balcony with a perfectly flat surface. He might notice a column top that is flat or perhaps a windowsill that might be slightly sloped. In certain instances, the inspector will call for a metal cap to be placed on said surface.

A metal cap is an aluminum, custom-fabricated metal accessory that is installed over the top of a flat stucco surface. It is sized to fit tightly around the wall and will contain a drip edge at the bottom of the legs. The drip edge is a little “ramp” that lets water drip freely from the surface to the ground. It looks like the detail attached.

Caps come in a large variety of colors and styles. We exclusively use a local Houston metal fabricator that is both responsive and excellent. They can create almost anything that we can come up with!

It is important to know that not all flat or semi-flat surfaces require attention. Let’s turn to those that require nothing at all, provided there is no damage reported within your moisture assessment.

Any surface that reflects a positive slope of 45 degrees or better, is properly installed. Most window sills that have some depth, will usually be properly pitched to allow water to drain away from the window and over the front of the stucco wall below.

This is normal and within acceptable practices. It does not require coats of elastomeric paint and it certainly does not include a metal cap.

This is important to understand as some inspectors, especially those new to the industry, will mistakenly fail a sloped window sill or other sloped surfaces.

If you have a column it might be located as part of your balcony railing system or used as an architectural feature. From the photo above, you can see that the column has a shape that is peaked in the middle and sloped away positively. If your stucco column reflects this, there is no need for a cap.

Alternatively, if you have a balcony privacy wall that is peaked in the middle and sloped positively, that too will not require a metal cap.

Only those surfaces that are truly flat and have no mechanism for draining, will require a cap. Just like the one shown below.

With proper installation and proper waterproofing of the fasteners, the installation of metal caps provides the absolute best means for total waterproofing of your flat stucco surfaces. They are relatively inexpensive and can be installed with minimal effort.

For all of your metal cap flashing and other stucco repair needs, contact Monterra Stucco for a comprehensive quote today.

Doors are considered a penetration to a stucco wall – one that requires proper flashing and proper sealing to function at the desired level.

If a door, French, slider, double, single, balcony, terrace, or any other exit to a surface where the door has full exposure to wind-driven rain, and has a stucco wall beneath it, a door pan is required.

What is a door pan? In simplest terms, it is a metal trough that the door sits inside of and it allows water to drain without leaving it behind the wall below. Here is a picture below.

We require entry into the home to perform this function. The existing pre-hung door system will have to be removed. A prefabricated door pan will be placed where the threshold of the door rests. We use a local metal fabricator and we custom-fit all door pans.

It will be installed and properly sealed. Once the pan is in place and properly sealed, the door system will be replaced inside of the pan which will now allow water to drain to the outside of the wall. Once completed, we will patch the drywall.

If provided with the interior paint, we will also be happy to repaint the section that we have patched.

The entire process will only take a few hours. It is an inconvenience, but it will provide peace of mind knowing that this extra step will keep water out of the home!

If we are repairing a balcony or terrace, and this door has full exposure, we will ALWAYS include a door pan with the repair. That is why Monterra Stucco is an excellent choice to ensure that the stucco repair is done right!

Balconies are found everywhere in the Houston area. Who does not want that million-dollar view of the Houston skyline? With million-dollar views comes some costly repairs if your balcony is improperly installed and/or it is not properly maintained.

Basics:

The most important thing that a balcony must contain is absolute waterproofing. Balcony leaks can get behind stucco walls causing catastrophic damage. It can then promote water entry into the home. Here are our foolproof recommendations for a sound and waterproof balcony.

1. First, the utilization of proper pans and proper flashing. The pan is the protective layer over the wood decking. We like a liquid-applied waterproofing membrane complete with a mesh fabric to waterproof the joints between each section of wood decking.

2. After the membrane is applied, we provide an overabundance of metal flashing. This includes el flashing, drip edge flashing, door counter flashing and end dam flashing. All are pictured below.

Drip Edge	End Dam	6” El	Door Counter Flashing

a. The drip edge allows water to properly drain AWAY from the stucco wall connected to the balcony.

b. The end dam diverters are part of the El flashing and will allow water to move from the far wall forward along the positive slope plane. The El flashing extends 6” up the wall and 6” on the balcony floor.

The takes residual water from all adjacent stucco walls and forces it to flow forward keeping it off the waterproof decking. The object is to create a ship-lapped drainage system.

Waterproofing:

There are many waterproofing products offered to homeowners who have balconies or terraces. While there are many balconies constructed in Houston that contain membrane barriers with faux wood tile, this is one of the products that we see failing over and over.

It is not so much that the product is bad, it is the installation of the product that seems to always have an issue.

Our preferred product is an actual cementitious mortar bed. It is the West Coat ALX system. This system allows us to provide an ample bed of cement that has waterproofing properties.

After we create the mortar bed, West Coat gives us a topcoat product that we roll over the cement. This is now the third level of waterproofing remembering that we applied a liquid waterproofing membrane on the decking!

Once this layer is properly installed and cured, we can then move to tiles. Please see the link below to learn more about West Coat ALX.

http://www.westcoat.com/alx-p-6.html

Tile:

Tiles are to be chosen by the owner. While there are thousands of tiles to choose from, only ceramic or porcelain tiles may be installed. They are not porous and will provide better waterproofing.

We like to encourage the use of larger format tiles that allow for maximum coverage and minimal grout joints.

There are very few things to avoid with tile selection but cannot include anything that allows water penetration such as slate, flagstone, travertine. Since the balcony will be positively sloped, the tiles must function with the slope.

Patterns can be problematic and not look correct so we can advise on that. Here are some quick things to keep in mind.

How:

Tiles cannot cover up the flashings. We see a lot of installations where tiles are used to cover the drip edge flashing. This will impede the flow of water getting out and allow the water to stay behind the tile and eventually causing a failure with the flashing.

What Size:

We require tiles to be a minimum of 12” X 12” to reduce the amount of grout and thus, reduce the amount of your maintenance.

In conjunction with the minimum standard, tiles may not exceed 36” in any direction. Oversized tile may crack or lift hydraulically.

Grout:

The last part of our installation will be the grouting of the tile. We always match the right colored grout to the color of the tile while keeping in mind how it will look when it is weathered.

We like to use a grout that contains waterproofing. This keeps you from having to see the grout routinely.

Monterra Stucco has full balcony replacements and terraces hundreds of times and we continue this trend year in and year out.

We are the solution you have been waiting for.

Almost daily, we hear or read: “I need you to come and look at my house, I have a stucco problem.” Let us try to help appropriately frame how to think about a potential problem and the necessary next steps to take by using a real-world example.

Below is a picture of a typical second floor balcony in the Heights neighborhood in Houston. At first glance, the red box shows seemingly nothing of consequence.

To the owner’s eyes, this balcony looks like the same stucco walls on the rest of their home – which is exactly what we would see as well.

Now, let’s look at the next picture below.

This is the same area, at the same home. Notice the black stains on the wood beam and the complete wood rot that has occurred due to water intrusion.

It is also a structural support beam that is damaged. For this repair, we must structurally support the home so that we may properly replace the beam.

The takeaway is hopefully self-explanatory. Coming to a homeowner’s home to try and assess potential stucco problems will not normally be helpful as much as we want to be accommodating.

A proper invasive stucco inspection is first required. We simply cannot see behind the wall, which is where problems reside.

Once an inspection has been completed by one of our recommended stucco inspector professionals, and Monterra Stucco has provided a comprehensive repair proposal, then we are all in a better position to discuss both the issue and solution.

A phone call at this point, with everyone looking at the inspection report and proposal will answer most remaining questions. It allows Monterra to go step by step without missing anything.

When will we normally come to visit? After we have answered all of your preliminary questions you are ready to move forward.

We will set up a site pre-construction meeting with our Project Manager. This is where we discuss how we will protect the property, where and how we will set our scaffolding, where our disposal bag will be placed, and what may be required of the homeowner to ensure a smooth project.

Understanding the process from pre-inspection to close-out is important.

The attention to detail is what sets Monterra Stucco apart from the rest!