Calculate the Cost to Stucco a House

This RenoCompare cost report looks at stucco prices for those looking to replace their existing siding or for a new build. We include material and labor costs per sq/ft, factors that affect cost and saving money on stucco installation.

This breakdown of total stucco costs will give you an idea of where your money will go. By the end of this guide you should be able to approximate how much it will cost to stucco your home and prepare you for contacting local siding specialists. When you get stucco siding cost estimates, the contractor should provide a similar itemization.

If you are still choosing the type of house siding you would like visit our main exterior home siding page. For more on traditional stucco siding click here.

PERMITS, PREPARATION, MATERIALS AND LABOR

Permit & Inspections: If stucco isn’t properly installed, moisture will get between the siding and the home’s sheathing. Rot and mold will be the result. The inspector will check the progress of the installation at several key points to make sure it is being done correctly. Some communities have much higher fees than others.

  • Cost of building permit for stucco installation: $75-$225

Removing old siding: If you’re putting stucco siding on an existing home, the old siding will have to be removed and disposed of. Removing vinyl or aluminum siding can be a DIY job if you have experience working on ladders and/or scaffolding.

Otherwise here are costs per square foot for professional removal and disposal of siding:

  • Aluminum or vinyl siding: $1-$2.25 per square foot
  • Stucco siding: $2.50-$4 per square foot

Stucco prices for materials: The cost to stucco a house starts with these materials:

  • One or two layers of felt paper
  • Mesh drainage mat (optional, but recommended where rain is common)
  • Metal or fiberglass lath to hold the stucco
  • Stucco – traditional three-coat stucco or newer one-coat stucco

The cost of stucco siding when using a three-coat process (3 thin coats) or a one-coat process (a scratch coat and 1 thick coat) is quite similar when material and labor costs are combined.

Three-coat stucco material is cheaper than one-coat material. However, the cost savings are lost because it takes longer to apply the stucco, so labor prices are higher.

  • Stucco siding price for materials: $5-$9.50 per square foot

Stucco cost for labor: Labor accounts for 25% to 33% of the cost to stucco a house. As alluded to above, the labor will cost more with three-coat stucco and less with a one-coat process.

  • Stucco siding labor cost: $2-$7.50 per square foot

This table brings all of these prices together to show the ranges in stucco cost per square foot.

INSTALLATION PROCESS
COST PER SQUARE FOOT
  • Removal of old siding
  • Stucco materials
  • Stucco installation labor
  • Total stucco cost for a house
  • $1 – $4
  • $5 – $9.50
  • $2 – $7.50
  • $7 – $18

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Factors that Affect the Cost of Stucco Siding

How much does it cost to stucco a house? Whether you pay closer to $7 or closer to $18 per square foot will depend on these variables:

Whether removal and disposal of old siding is necessary: This is a place to save money if you have the skill and take safety precautions.

Who does the installation: The cost of stucco installation labor is the biggest variable. We recommend getting stucco cost quotes only from contractors who do stucco as a majority of their work or exclusively. There’s just too much on the line both structurally (see Permit & Inspections above) and aesthetically to hire an inexperienced installer.

The best way to save money on quality installation is to get stucco cost estimates from several contractors in your area. Review each to find the one with the right combination of experience and low price. By the way, if you’re using a general contractor for extensive remodeling work, and they hire the stucco installer, your cost will be higher than if you do the hiring yourself. Plus, you won’t be the one choosing who does the work. The contractor might make the selection based entirely on price while charging you a premium for the contracting service.

The complexity of the work: The more stories, corners, bow/bay windows and other architectural features a home has, the more toward the high end of the range the stucco siding cost will be.

Where you live: We’ve noticed stucco cost per square foot varying by as much as $2, all else being equal, depending on location. Costs are typically higher in metropolitan areas than in rural communities.

HOW MUCH DOES STUCCO COST,

Let’s pull all of this information together in two scenarios, a typical estimate of stucco costs and a premium stucco installation.

Average Example: This is a one-story, 1,350 square foot home with 8-foot walls in suburban Las Vegas, NV. The home is sided with vinyl, has eight corners and one bay window structure that will have stucco on it. Traditional three-coat stucco will be applied to approximately 1,700 square feet of wall. Here is a breakdown of the complete cost to stucco a house with average characteristics like these:

  • Removal and disposal of the vinyl siding: $2,250
  • Stucco materials cost: $11,900
  • Stucco labor cost: $10,450

Total cost of stucco installed: $24,600 or $14.47 per square foot of wall space / $18.22 per square foot of floor space.

Premium Example: This is a two-story, 2,400 square foot home with 9-foot walls in a historic part of Pasadena, CA. The home is sided with stucco, has 12 corners and several coves and bays protruding from the exterior plus a large cupola. One-coat synthetic stucco will be applied to approximately 2,970 square feet of wall. Here is a breakdown of the cost of stucco siding for this home:

  • Removal and disposal of the vinyl siding: $10,550
  • Stucco materials cost: $26,000
  • Stucco labor cost: $16,450

Total cost of stucco installed: $53,000 or $17.85 per square foot of wall space / $22.10 per square foot of floor space.

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