There is a potentially disturbing trend in the cement plastering industry. While ground zero appears to be Florida, there is potential it could impact the entire United States stucco market. One major homebuilder from the Sunshine State has become so concerned that they have temporarily halted the use of cement stucco on homes, even in Texas.
Conclusions have apparently been reached as to the cause and solutions to the Florida stucco crisis and are under way. The real concern should be that the conclusions to the cause may be missing the real problem. The consensus from the building science community seems to be that traditional cement plaster over framing, even with two layers of water-resistant barrier, is inadequate. This conclusion fails to explain success in other regions. The cry that it is only successful due to the arid climate ignores historical success in northern cities like Seattle or Chicago and continued use in central Europe to this day.