Attaching strapping to stucco clad home.
I need to either strap, or directly attach siding on to a stucco home. Other than drilling and then screwing strapping through the stucco to the underlying studs, does anyone know of a “power” technique (pneumatic nailer or powered screwdriver) that I can use?
Replies
An air nailer will probably bust up the stucco pretty badly. (I assume you are talking about real cement stucco, not eifs.) What you're looking for is a screw that will self drill through cement, then into wood studs. Would a tapcon work, or do they have to be pre-drilled?
I have 75 year old stucco house (rental) where the stucco was applied over old german siding. We added strapping to the outside for vinyl using epoxy coated deck screws. They went through the stucco easy. Test it, it may work for you. Good luck
A 75-year old house might have lime-based stucco instead of portland cement. The lime stucco would be softer and take a hit better. It also heals itself. Portland cement stucco is a lot harder, stiffer, and cracks easier. I think you would have to predrill that.
What is German siding?
A framing nailer will do a good job on your strapping. Use the special hardened nails. Traditional stucco is usually about an inch thick so a 2 1/4" nail will just make it through the sheathing under that stucco. You won't have to hit the studs to make it work. This is the method I use to fur over polyiso applied to concrete block walls.
If you have an EIFS style stucco job all it is is a thin base and color coat over foam board over sheathing and a regular framing nail will blast right through. You should attempt to hit the studs, using longer nails, because the foam and sheathing won't have the holding power that you'd get with traditional stucco.
Any cracking of the stucco surfaces should be minor.
If you would rather drill and screw, I would suggest using deck screws instead of Tapcons. They are hard enough to be used in concrete block, just like a Tapcon, but are SO much less expensive in the quantity you will be needing. BTW, the 2 1/4" hardened nails are $112 per box of 5000.
Thanks everyone. I now have some good information and I can go and experiment.
It's what we call the old wood version of todays vinyl dutch lap.
I've used both my finish nailer and framing nailer to go through stucco and into the studs. They work no problem. I've found that you do indeed have to hit the studs as all of the nails that I missed, you could just pull out with your hands.
Good luck!