Hardiboard over stucco?

[joelpat]

My house currently has vinyl over old stucco. I hate vinyl with a passion and reallly want to get rid of it.

Can I put hardiboard lap siding over the top (as the vinyl is now), or do I have to strip the old stucco off first?

[tooltroll]

IMHO, it's always better to strip away old things before applying new things- you never know what abominations you might be leaving in your walls until you open them up and see for yourself.

Having said that, I know how much work is involved in knocking old stucco off, prying off the old wire, etc., so I'll go out on a limb and say that if the stucco's still in fairly good shape, go ahead with your lap siding.

Is there furring on the stucco from the vinyl? And are you planning on using a housewrap?

[joelpat]

Yes there is furring. If I remember correctly, I think it looks like 1/2" x 2" strapping.

As for housewrap - I don't know. Obviously I would if I were siding over sheathing, but wouldn't the stucco kind of accomplish the same thing as the houswrap?

[Cole]

Joel, take it all down.

It will save you headaches in the end.

[tooltroll]

If the stucco were new and not full of holes (from the furring) it would help, but housewrap would be tighter. You could fill between the furring with ½" styrofoam, wrap it all, and have a tighter, warmer/cooler house.

You're still probably better off removing the old stucco if you can, though.

[joelpat]

This is a house that we will be selling in about 3 years. It's kind of a long term flip, if you will.

I'm fighting a battle between my nature, which is to strive for perfection, and the economic reality that says I won't get any extra value out of the house for doing things properly.