Fire Resistance of Stucco
Due to the building materials that stucco is composed of, it is a highly fire-resistant form of siding. Stucco is made from Portland cement, sand, limestone, water, and other additives, none of which are combustible or flammable ingredients. This helps form a fire resistant barrier on the exterior of the home when all these materials are combined to form stucco.
The process of applying stucco to a home’s exterior also provides assistance in delaying the spread of fire. Stucco is applied to a home in a layered system, with three layers being the most common. The layers of stucco provide an added protection, as any fire that comes in contact with the flame resistant materials will have to slowly burn through three layers of stucco before reaching the interior of your home. Stucco is also commonly used atop other flame resistant building materials, such as brick and stone. In these cases, stucco is used for an aesthetic purpose, to up the curb appeal, but homeowners will also be creating an additional flame resistant barrier to protect their home in the process.
What Siding Is the Most Fire-Resistant?
Compared to other siding materials that are commonly used, such as vinyl, wood and manufactured wood, stucco is much more fire resistant. When exposed to high temperatures or flames, vinyl quickly melts. Even on a hot day, when exposed to direct sunlight, vinyl is susceptible to melting. Wood and manufactured wood are well known to be highly combustible and provide no protection from fire. Wood based siding will not only not protect your home from flames, it will act as a combustant and spread the flames even more.
Stucco is among the most fire-resistant forms of siding, comparable to fiber cement siding and brick or stone veneer. Among all of these forms of siding, the vulnerabilities will come in the forms of cracking. If there are cracks in the surface of your flame-resistant siding, the fire can begin to reach beneath the surface to the wooden interior of the wall and cause damage.
The most fire resistant forms of siding are brick, stone and metal. While brick and stone veneer offer a level of protection similar to stucco, solid brick and stone are full thickness and offer a level of protection that is greater than that of stucco and their veneer counterparts.
Stucco Fire Rating
Stucco is typically installed in 3 layers, the scratch coat, brown coat and finishing coat, ending up with a 1-inch thick exterior on your home. In some areas where there are known environmental hazards, additional layers may be added atop the stucco to provide an extra layer of protection. In areas where wildfires are common, they may add additional layers to provide even more flame resistance to your home.
At the standard 1-inch thickness of stucco, it typically has a 1-hour fire rating. This means that if the stucco siding was exposed to flames, it would take the fire one hour to burn through the 1-inch layers of stucco in order to breach the wall and damage the interior of your home. A 1-hour fire rating is a very long time relative to the average modern and historic homes. For a modern home, the average time for fire to breach the walls of the home is only 3 to 5 minutes. Older homes, built 30+ years ago, have on average a fire rating of 15 to 17 minutes.
The longer, 1-hour, fire rating of stucco is significant for multiple reasons. It allows your family, and residents within the home, a longer amount of time to escape the home should a fire form. They have an hour from the time the fire begins to when the fire begins to breach the home in order to leave the house. This also provides more time for your home to hold out in the event of a fire, and allows the fire department to arrive and combat the fire with the potential of protecting the interior of your home from any fire damage. The value of the 1-hour fire rating cannot be overstated when it comes to protecting your family and home from fires.
Protect Your Home From Fire
If fire resistance is an important factor for your home, whether you are in an area that may be exposed to wildfires or you live in a dry climate where fires are common and difficult to contain, stucco is an excellent option for your home’s siding. The natural mix of noncombustible and flame resistant materials that stucco is composed of provide an excellent barrier for your home, and provide you with a 1-hour fire rating which gives you time and peace of mind to protect your family and your home from potential fires.
Stucco offers flame protection at a reasonable price, and also provides you with color and texture options. You can customize your stucco siding to up your home’s curb appeal, while also protecting your home from the elements and fires that originate from outside the home. If you are interested in learning more about the versatility and protection that stucco can provide your home, contact the team at Titan Stucco today.
