Stucco - paperback lath: spacing of nails / staples

[Apropos]

Anyone know what the spacing of nails or staples should be when attaching paperback lath to the wood frame?

[Mike]

This varies with locality. Here in CA we must nail/staple on every stud and at 6" intervals vertically. Be sure your lath is firred up an appropriate distance (3/8 - 1/4") from the sheathing surfact either by spacer nails or self-firring lath.

FYI, from doing demo of stucco I can tell you that staples shot with an air stapler are easily 10 times stronger than nails. My opinion is that self-firred lath with paper stapled in is unbeatable for strength and durability as well as speed of installation.

Mike

[RicodJour]

Just the opposite of roofing nails vs. staples, I guess, and no doubt due to the large tensile strength of the lath. If it's nailed into old

1x shiplap sheathing, the nails are still a bear to pull, so the extra strength of the staples would only come into play during demo of the stucco veneer.

Just did a stucco rip-off this week on a 75 year old house. What a can of worms! Entire corners of the house framing and sheathing are gone - I mean it's rotted to the point where there's nothing there. The only thing holding up parts of the house is habit.

R

[Mike]

I think the big reason the staples are so strong (aside from the 2 spikes as opposed to 1 nail) is the glue that is on them. THey're like sinker nails - that stuff really works!

RicodJour wrote:

[Apropos]

Hmm?

No one has any clue?