Vadnais Heights is a mid-size suburb in Ramsey County, bordered by White Bear Lake to the east and Shoreview to the west. The community grew quickly through the 1980s and 1990s, which means a lot of the housing stock is now 30 to 40 years old. Split-levels, ramblers, and two-stories with original exterior finishes are common throughout the city, especially in neighborhoods near Vadnais Lake and Sucker Lake. Many of those homes are showing their age on the outside, with cracked or stained stucco that needs attention before moisture gets behind the wall.
The climate here is no joke. Vadnais Heights sits in the Twin Cities metro but catches full exposure to freeze-thaw cycles every spring and fall. Temperatures swing hard, and that movement works on exterior finishes year after year. Stucco that was applied without proper expansion joints, or that was never sealed correctly, tends to crack along the corners and window returns first. We see that pattern on a lot of the older homes in this area. Getting ahead of it with a proper repair or a new EIFS system saves homeowners from much bigger costs down the road.