Took me 3 months to figure out my adobe walls needed lime plaster not drywall mud

I kept patching cracks in my 1950s North Valley house and they'd just reappear after 2 weeks until an old plasterer told me the house needs to breathe so now I'm redoing 4 rooms with lime like I shoulda done from the start... anyone else fight with old adobe that won't hold modern materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_young291d ago

My dad bought a 1920s adobe in Corrales back in 78 and tried to patch it with modern stucco, whole wall blew out during a monsoon three years later.

the_xena1d ago

Oh wow, that's rough! I've seen that exact thing happen with old adobe. In my experience, people don't realize those old walls need to breathe. The stucco traps moisture and then boom, you've got a mess. Your dad probably thought he was doing the right thing, but modern materials just don't mix with 1920s adobe. I knew a guy out in Placitas who tried using a cement-based render on his place and ended up with water damage that took years to fix. Your mileage may vary, but I'd say anything built before 1940 really needs lime-based finishes.