EIFS Issues

[mridgeelk]

This home has an EIFS exterior with a lot of cracking. I can't find an EIFS inspector online. There are plenty on the Front Range but none on the Western Slope. Any suggestions?

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[kurt]

Yes, tell them to not buy it......(tongue in cheek)

Did you tell them in no uncertain terms how screwed up this stuff is?

Just curious......

[mgbinspect]

You might check out www.eifshotline.com (Exterior Design Institute). That's where I was trained as a Third Party EIFS Inspector. (It was quite an education, which led me to not to become one - way too much uncertainty and liability, unless your Superman. [speaking of which, one of my trainers was the infamous Spiderman. That guy's nuts.] Sooner or later, as a Third Party EIFS Inspector, someone's going to reach out and touch you, no matter how good you are, and one of my fellow students, just did get whacked. It's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".)

At any rate, EDI keeps a list of who, around the country, trained with them.

[hausdok]

You really don't need an EIFS inspector to comment about that mess.

EIFS isn't supposed to be behind concrete and needs to terminate at least two inches above hardscaping. The bottom edges and ends and even that hole need to be back-wrapped with embedded mesh and they need to have termination bead material and a flexible joint around windows and doors.

Bet you a case of Martinelli's apple cider there're serious rot issues in the base of those exterior walls where that stuff has cracked.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mgbinspect]

You really don't need an EIFS inspector to comment about that mess.

EIFS isn't supposed to be behind concrete and needs to terminate at least two inches above hardscaping. The bottom edges and ends and even that hole need to be back-wrapped with embedded mesh and they need to have termination bead material and a flexible joint around windows and doors.

Bet you a case of Martinelli's apple cider there're serious rot issues in the base of those exterior walls where that stuff has cracked.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

That's a good bet.

Heck, how many times in your career have you seen an EIFS install that you were 100% comfortable with? I can't think of one time, in my case...

[hausdok]

Originally posted by hausdok

Heck, how many times in your career have you seen an EIFS install that you were 100% comfortable with? I can't think of one time, in my case...

True story,

Previously on this forum I have told about the time I noticed moisture in the front wall of my friend's house, mapped it out and then the contractor said that I was full of it. Bottom line, I bet him I wasn't and he cut into the wall and found a bunch of rot. That was ten years ago.

About 6 weeks ago, I was inspecting a million dollar home in Kirkland and saw all sorts of mistakes in the EIFS lamina which I pointed out to the client. The 'zoid was worried about her commission so she got on the phone to the builder. Within an hour, the EIFS contractor shows up to dispute my findings. Guess who? The same guy from ten years previously.

He gets out of his vehicle, shakes hands all around, looks at me and says, "I think we've met somewhere before." "Sure have," I respond, "At Leo Such-and-such's house in Lake Forest Park. You told me I was full of sh*t and I bet you the cost of the repair that the front wall of his house was full of water. Remember that?" His eyes went wide, he looked a little bit stunned and then he quickly recovered, slapped his forhead, and said, "Oh yeah, what a mess, huh? Well, can you take me around and show me what you have issues with."

I did, he didn't argue. Again, he got caught flat footed and ended up going back over his work.

Ten years. I can only imagine the amount of damage that guy has done to people's lives in the past ten years.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mgbinspect]

Originally posted by hausdok

Heck, how many times in your career have you seen an EIFS install that you were 100% comfortable with? I can't think of one time, in my case...

True story,

Previously on this forum I have told about the time I noticed moisture in the front wall of my friend's house, mapped it out and then the contractor said that I was full of it. Bottom line, I bet him I wasn't and he cut into the wall and found a bunch of rot. That was ten years ago.

About 6 weeks ago, I was inspecting a million dollar home in Kirkland and saw all sorts of mistakes in the EIFS lamina which I pointed out to the client. The 'zoid was worried about her commission so she got on the phone to the builder. Within an hour, the EIFS contractor shows up to dispute my findings. Guess who? The same guy from ten years previously.

He gets out of his vehicle, shakes hands all around, looks at me and says, "I think we've met somewhere before." "Sure have," I respond, "At Leo Such-and-such's house in Lake Forest Park. You told me I was full of sh*t and I bet you the cost of the repair that the front wall of his house was full of water. Remember that?" His eyes went wide, he looked a little bit stunned and then he quickly recovered, slapped his forhead, and said, "Oh yeah, what a mess, huh? Well, can you take me around and show me what you have issues with."

I did, he didn't argue. Again, he got caught flat footed and ended up going back over his work.

Ten years. I can only imagine the amount of damage that guy has done to people's lives in the past ten years.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Ya gotta love moments like that... [:-thumbu]

[Scottpat]

Your pictures show a good amount of compression cracking and also what looks like movement of the flatwork or the foundation of the home!

I don't see any isolation joints, expansion joints or sealants and backer rod around any of the penetrations. The rain gutters are attached improperly to the EIFS wall. The base of the walls are not back-wrapped properly or at all.

OK, the above list should be enough to get the ball rolling.

Add, that they need to have a qualified EIFS contractor make the appropriate repairs and corrections to the manufacturers guidelines and standards. Repairs and corrections like this can and will involved removal of sections of the EIFS in order to make repairs to any underlying or hidden damage to the structure.

This should be about you need to add to your report.

Note: Whenever you see cracks around the sillplate or around this area, you need to look for rot. Many times water can seep in and rot the sillplate and this can cause the structure to settle and this is seen in the way of the compression cracks, like you have in the photos. Compression cracks can also be caused by the lack of a proper installation of the EIFS on a home, most often this is seen with a multi level home.

[Marc]

I'm with Scott with one exception: Cracked or improperly installed EIFS should be replaced in it's entirety all the way to the expansion joint (not reliefs). If the list of errors committed by this adventurous installer include no expansion joints, replace the entire contiguous installation. You cannot properly patch polymer based imitation stucco.

Marc

[mridgeelk]

Thanks for all the information. Also, I have found a certified person to evaluate the installation.

[mgbinspect]

Did you, per chance, locate him through EDI?

[mridgeelk]

I did locate an inspector through EDI but at this point he is too far away to use. (135 miles)

I will use a local certified stucco installer/contractor with a very good reputation first to evaluate the system as installed.

Did you, per chance, locate him through EDI?

[sbowker]

I always recommend that people contact a local EIFS distributor/manufacturer and ask them to recommend an inspector. If you know exactly which one it is - even better.

http://www.dryvit.com/residential/distributor.asp

http://www.stocorp.com/Dist2003.nsf/distsearch

http://www.senergy.basf.com/en/distribu ... fault.aspx