It’s understandable that a homeowner will become upset when they see cracks forming on the outside of their beautiful home. Most experts agree that a few hairline cracks in the stucco finish are unavoidable most of the time. These cracks pose no threat to the home’s weatherproofing or structural strength.  Many times, a tiny hairline crack is not even visible from several feet away.

What Defines a ‘Hairline’ Crack?

Many experts suggest that if you can’t insert a business card into the crack, that considers it a hairline. Though definitive, it’s still kind of an arbitrary measurement, especially when it’s your home. So what if you can just fit a business card into it? Is it automatically a problem crack then? Maybe not, but the odds of it becoming problematic go up as the width of the crack increases. If you can easily insert a nickel in the crack, it is now beyond what would be considered normal cracking. Now it becomes important to understand why the stucco is cracking, because it may be a sign of more serious underlying problems. At this size it’s also not very pretty to look at and probably will not cause any other problems, as long as it is not growing. Whether something ought to be done about it probably hinges now on how many such cracks are present and where. It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on the crack and call in a professional if it begins to grow.

How Many Cracks are More than a Few?

This answer is not black and white either. If there are true hairline cracks, 6 or less in different locations around the home a stucco expert is probably not going to be too concerned. The more cracks you see forming, they get wider or longer, or the more they appear together, then it is more likely that your home is in need of professional stucco repair. For a large crack, one you can insert a matchbook in, it’s serious and a professional should be called right away.