Each of us enters this world with a body that is unique to us while still sharing countless common characteristics and qualities with our fellow man. And with that comes a series of lifelong decisions on how each of us stewards this bundle of countless moving parts. And in many ways, it comes down to controllable and uncontrollable factors and between those two, it is well advised for all of us to invest time in the controllable ones. There is day to day, month to month and year to year maintenance – those little things that we can choose to do such as exercise and diet that help keep the body in tip-top shape. Then there are those inevitable moments of repair where a trip to the doctor is required. Neglect the maintenance and you should start thinking about what cardiologist works closest to you and how many gaps there are in your insurance policy. And if by chance you have a significant surgery with your cardiologist, maintenance will suddenly become a focal point from that point forward. This closely parallels the world of residential stucco. It should not diminish the level of enjoyment but merely help frame the approach that best preserves all the good parts and reduces the risks of needed repairs.
Maintenance: The good news with stucco is maintenance is far less involved than calorie counting and evolving workout regimens. In many ways, it is about knowing your baseline and working from there. That often comes in the form of an invasive stucco inspection from one of a handful of expert inspectors. Armed with that report and a repair group like ICE Stucco Repair, a homeowner can address any and all deficiencies and know that they have established a baseline. From there, it becomes important to fall into a cadence of consistent repetition of that approach, with the same trusted inspector and repair group being part of a similar approach every couple of years with any unusual weather events garnering calls in between.
Repair: Just like with the body, the homes ICE does the largest repairs on, often feel a lot like what it feels like to have a serious open-heart surgery after having a “sudden” heart attack. That person has likely been seeing and potentially ignoring signs and is now faced with the unplanned, expensive, and disruptive but life-saving surgery and need for an immediate course correction going forward. Many times, for stucco homeowners, that eye-opening experience comes via the sale of a home and becomes the most unwelcome of surprises when a buyer presents them with negotiated price reduction to cover the needed repairs. Sellers desperately want to see the smallest cost possible, and the buyer is scrambling to determine what else they might be missing. Maintenance does not eliminate the risk of repairs but ensures that those needs are caught early and manageable.
Harmony Between the Two: At ICE, we have learned that every customer is created different. Some are very comfortable managing the warranty we provide on the areas we repair and the necessary pace of future inspections and reseal work. Others have embraced the maintenance plan we offer to help manage all of this for them. We equate it to the choice people make when they fly. Everyone is going to start and arrive at the same location, but from there people choose how their experience on the flight will go. There is not a right or wrong answer as long as you are taking the necessary measures to stay ahead of your stucco.
In life, it is sometimes easy to identify those people who manage this maintenance and repair balance and thus we can ask questions and take necessary steps to mimic desirable behaviors and outcomes. Unfortunately, what sometimes makes stucco homeowners reluctant to be proactive is that it is often hard to identify issues with the naked eye and is thus easier to be in denial about potential issues. But for those homeowners that step into that place of ownership of their stucco upkeep, they can start to feel much better about always being ready to sell their home at any time. Enjoying the beauty of their home every day is just an added bonus.