Exterior stucco wall construction with improved moisture drainage

[0019]Turning now to the drawings, and in particular FIG. 1, an exterior stucco wall construction 11 is illustrated. A wall frame 12 is provided, in this example, comprising a horizontal sill plate 13 and a plurality of vertical wall studs 14 arranged in spaced relation along sill plate 13 and upstanding therefrom. Sill plate 13 is mounted on and secured to a foundation 16, which may be a poured slab or a stem wall. It is to be understood that FIG. 1 is exemplary of one of many construction methods with which the wall construction 11 may be advantageously incorporated. For example, wall frame 12 could be made from poured concrete, bricks, or metal studs, in lieu of the wooden wall studs 14 which are shown.

[0020]A layer of sheathing 17 is attached to an outer side 18 of wall frame 12. Sheathing 17 has a lower margin 19, the lowermost edge thereof typically overlaps a small portion of foundation 16. Sheathing 17 is preferably made from sheets of plywood or OSB (Oriented Strand Board), bu