Two Different Bucks Counties
Bucks County reads as two different housing markets stacked on top of each other. There’s the historic core, Doylestown and Newtown and the older river towns, with a building history that goes back well over a century. Then there’s the newer Bucks, the development corridors in central and lower Bucks along Route 611 and pressing up against the Montgomery County line, which filled in fast during the same 1993-2006 boom that shaped the rest of the region.
The stucco risk isn’t in the historic core. It’s in that second Bucks County, the production-built neighborhoods that went up during the boom years using the same fast-schedule stucco installation practices that caused problems everywhere else in SE Pennsylvania. A house in a 2001 development off 611 has more in common, defect-wise, with a house in Exton or Blue Bell than it does with a stone farmhouse three miles away in Doylestown.
What That Means for Buyers and Sellers
If you’re looking at a home in one of Bucks County’s older boroughs, stucco moisture is rarely the first thing to worry about. If you’re looking at a development home from the boom window, it should be near the top of the list, especially anywhere near the Montgomery County border where the same builders and subcontractor pools were working both sides of the line.
Common Findings in Bucks County
Cracking at window and door returns, staining below sills, and soft sheathing at ground-level walls are the typical inspection flags. The construction defects behind them are consistent across the region. We cover the mechanics in our guide to why SE PA stucco fails, and the testing process in our guide to stucco moisture testing.
What It Costs to Fix in Bucks County
Targeted repairs at a single trouble spot run $3,000 to $12,000. Partial remediation, where moisture has moved along a wall run, runs $15,000 to $40,000. Full remediation on a home with widespread failure runs $40,000 to $90,000 or more. Full detail is in our stucco remediation cost guide.
Get a Straight Read on Your Report
If your contractor can’t answer a direct question about what’s actually wrong, that’s your answer. Send us your inspection report and we’ll tell you what it means and what a real fix should cost, usually within one business day.
Related Reading
Send us your Bucks County inspection report and we’ll tell you where you actually stand.