Stucco to Siding Conversion — Stucco Off, Wall Checked, New Siding On
The stucco is cracked, patched and stained, the painting never holds, and you are done with it.
Stucco to siding conversion means the stucco, wire and lath come off down to the sheathing, the wall is checked for rot and missing sheathing, then house wrap, flashing and new siding go on. JMB Builders converts stucco houses across the Twin Cities metro to LP SmartSide, James Hardie or vinyl, with the windows and trim re-detailed for the thinner wall. Licensed MN contractor BC809005, priced per project. Free in-home estimate.
- Stucco, wire and lath removed to the sheathing
- Sheathing and framing checked before wrap
- Windows and trim re-detailed for the new wall depth
- Free in-home estimate
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
Minneapolis, St. Paul and the first-ring suburbs are full of stucco houses from the twenties through the sixties, and most of them are on their second or third round of patches. Stucco can last a century when the wall behind it stays dry. When it does not, you get cracks that come back, rust lines at the lath, soft spots under windows and paint that fails every few years. At some point the honest answer is to take it off.
Stucco removal is heavy, dusty work: the stucco is broken off in sections, the wire and lath are pulled, and it all goes into a demolition dumpster with the crew hauling. What is under it decides the job. Older houses often have board sheathing with gaps, sometimes building paper, sometimes nothing. Water that got behind the stucco for decades leaves rotted sheathing under windows and at the bottom of walls. We replace what is soft, add sheathing where there was none, and only then wrap the house and flash the openings.
The wall gets thinner when stucco comes off, and that changes every window and door. Stucco houses have windows set deep with stucco returns or wood trim buried in the stucco; on the new siding wall those windows need extension trim or a buck so the siding and trim meet them cleanly. The band boards, the water table at the foundation and the frieze under the soffit are all rebuilt. Done right, a converted stucco house looks like it was always sided; done wrong, the windows look sunk. LP SmartSide and James Hardie suit these houses best, with wide trim in the proportions the stucco had.
What you supply
- Photos of every side, close-ups of the worst cracks and stains, and a photo of a window from outside
- The age of the house if you know it, which tells us what sheathing to expect
- Material and color choice from the samples at the free in-home estimate
- Room for a demolition dumpster on the driveway and plywood paths where the wheelbarrows run
- A decision on the windows: many stucco houses are due, and this is the time
What JMB supplies
- Stucco, wire and lath removed in sections, loaded to a demolition dumpster and hauled
- Sheathing repair or new sheathing over board walls, framing repair where rot reached it
- House wrap with taped seams, window and door flashing, head flashing and kick-outs
- Foam board when you want the wall warmer, with the trim depth set to match
- Window and door bucks or extension trim so the units meet the new wall plane
- New siding, corner boards, band boards, water table and frieze in LP SmartSide, Hardie or vinyl
- The city's permit where required, and dust control on the demolition
- Photos of the bare wall, the wrapped wall and the finished house in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Squares of stucco to remove; demolition and hauling are a bigger share of this job than on a siding tear-off
- Stories and staging; many stucco houses are two-story or story-and-a-half with steep gables
- What is under the stucco: board sheathing to be covered, rotted sheathing to replace, or framing repair
- Number of windows and doors to buck out or trim for the thinner wall
- Material: LP SmartSide or Hardie with wide trim vs. vinyl
- Foam board under the new siding
- New windows installed while the wall is open
- Dumpster pulls, set by how heavy the stucco is
A close-up of a window from outside shows us how the stucco meets it, which is most of the trim question. Tell us the year the house was built.
How long it takes
Removal alone is two to four days on most houses. The whole conversion: two to three weeks for a story-and-a-half or two-story. The wall is wrapped before the crew leaves each day.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Stucco to LP SmartSide
Lap boards with wide trim at the windows, a band board and a water table at the foundation. The closest look to the original proportions of a twenties or thirties stucco house, in a material that takes paint and hail.
Stucco to James Hardie
Fiber cement lap or panel with Hardie trim. Heavier and more fire-resistant, holds factory color a long time. Suits a tight city lot where the house next door is close.
Stucco to vinyl
The lowest-cost conversion. The thinner wall and the window returns still have to be built out, so the trim work is the same; the field siding costs less. Good for a rental or a budget.
Partial: stucco kept below, siding above
Sound stucco on the first floor stays and the failed stucco in the gables or upper story comes off for siding. A flashed band board at the change. Common on story-and-a-half houses where only the dormers and gables are bad.
Stucco to Siding Conversion — Stucco Off, Wall Checked, New Siding On: questions, answered
Can you put siding over stucco instead of removing it?
It is done, and we do not do it. Siding over stucco means furring the wall out, hiding whatever rot the stucco was leaking into, and burying the windows even deeper. You pay for the siding and keep the problem. Taking the stucco off is more work up front, but it is the only way to see and fix the wall and to get the windows and trim right.
What is under the stucco on an old Minnesota house?
Usually board sheathing, sometimes with gaps between the boards, with building paper or nothing over it, then wire or wood lath and the stucco. Houses from the fifties and sixties may have plywood or fiberboard. Where water got in for years, the sheathing under windows and at the base of the wall is soft and sometimes the framing behind it. We find it the first day and show you photos before the wrap goes on.
Does removing stucco damage the windows and doors?
The stucco around each opening is cut back carefully and the trim or returns come off with it. The windows themselves stay unless you are replacing them. Because the wall gets thinner, each window then needs extension trim or a buck so the new siding and trim meet it cleanly. If the windows are old, this is the cheapest moment to replace them, since the opening is already exposed.
How messy is stucco removal?
Messy and heavy. Stucco comes off in chunks, the dust is real, and the pieces go straight into a demolition dumpster rather than being piled. We tarp the beds, lay plywood paths for the wheelbarrows, wet down the work where it helps, and sweep daily. Windows are closed on the working side. It is a few loud days, and then it is a siding job.
Should I add insulation when converting stucco to siding?
Often, yes. Old stucco houses have little or no wall insulation, and with the wall down to the sheathing, rigid foam board can go on before the siding. It warms the wall and covers the studs. The trade-off is deeper window bucks and trim, which are being rebuilt anyway on a conversion, so the added cost is mostly the foam itself. We size the thickness for the wall and the climate.
Will a converted stucco house look right with siding?
If the trim is done in the proportions the stucco had, yes. Stucco houses have wide, simple trim, a water table at the foundation and a frieze under the eaves. Carrying those over in LP SmartSide or Hardie trim keeps the character. Thin vinyl J-channel around deep-set windows is what makes a converted house look wrong. We show you the trim plan with the samples at the estimate.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-333-4066.
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Read morePage reviewed October 2, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All siding pages
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