Poorly Made Stucco — Building materials are meant to repel moisture, but if it's made poorly, stucco absorbs the water instead. ... Insufficient Stucco Drainage — When properly installing stucco, a drainage system is added at the bottom of the walls.

Does water penetrate stucco?

Despite what many people think about stucco walls, stucco walls are not water-resistant. As a matter of fact water actually absorbs into the stucco. In most cases, the problem with water leaking through stucco is that the building envelope has been breached.

Can rain get through stucco?

During heavy wind driven rain the water will absorb through the stucco layers quickly and you will notice after rain storms that the weather sides of the house will take hours and sometimes even days to completely dry out (see picture of south exposure after rain).