I live in NJ. My house, a smallish Dutch colonial, was built in 1940, and as far as I know, the stucco that covers it is the old, "real" type. The exterior needs to be painted.
--There are a couple of cracks, and some spots where the stucco has flaked or fallen off (most notably near the foundation of the probably
30-year-old addition).--Over one doorway on the north side of the house, the stucco---about a nine-foot-square area---seems to bulge a little.
--The previous owner covered up a window and put on an addition; the stucco in those two spots looks different from the rest of the stucco (I'm willing to live with this as long as there's a nice paint job over them.)
What kind of contractor should do this work? Do I use separate contractors for the repair and painting? I do know that there's lead paint on the exterior now, so I don't want to just have the stucco replaced entirely (the resulting dust and mess would be a hazard); just repaired and painted. How much does a job like this cost? Do I have any other options besides getting the stucco repaired and painted (for example, can vinyl siding easily be installed over stucco, or would I have to have the stucco removed, thereby setting up the lead hazard)?
Thanks for any help!
Anne