Stucco Flashing That Sends Water Out

Small pieces of metal, large consequences

Every place a stucco wall is interrupted needs a way to turn water outward. Above a window, a head flashing catches water running down the weather barrier and sends it out over the frame. Below the window, a sill pan collects anything that gets past the frame and drains it to the outside. Where a roof meets a wall, step flashing and a kick-out at the bottom keep runoff away from the stucco. At the top of a parapet, a cap flashing protects the wall from water arriving from above.

Each of these must be lapped shingle-style with the weather barrier: upper layers over lower ones, so water never meets an edge it can slip behind. Many leaks we open up are not missing flashing at all but flashing installed behind the barrier instead of over it, or a kick-out bent flat during roof work.

Because flashing sits under the stucco, fixing it means cutting back the finish, correcting the metal and barrier, and rebuilding the wall with matched texture and color. We do this on houses and on commercial buildings, often after leak detection pinpoints the detail. For roof edges specifically, see kick-out flashing.