Robert Thomas

What is EIFS? This is not a dumb question. It has lots of implications and there are many opinions about what EIFS is. The definition of EIFS can affect cost, profits, bidding, insurance and even legal issues, such as code compliance.

We scoured the globe and located many good sheathings, but all seemed to have a least one or more deal-breaker problems. What follows is a list of some of the criteria we were looking for. If you are considering using a high performance sheathing as a substrate for EIFS, these are some of the things to keep in mind.

Magnesium oxide board “MgO board” is a factory-made, non-insulating sheathing board product.

There is almost always a way to work with unusual substrates and get the EIFS properly attached. This month’s column will give a number of approaches to dealing with specific situations.

Probably the most common question I get asked about EIFS is “How come they leak?”

This month’s column gives you a checklist of things to keep in mind if someone wants an alternate price or prefers the other cladding. This list will be handy if you are working with a designer or owner who needs guidance when making a switch.

The rust problem is not an EIFS problem per se, but is related to the textured coatings that are on the outside surface of EIFS-the EIFS “finish”-and to related wall components. This month’s column is about rust, in its various forms, and how to deal with it.

One’s home is one’s “castle,” right? Yes, and because it is, homeowners take their homes seriously and personally and can get really lathered up if inspections are not done right. What follows is geared towards doing non-intrusive, visual-only EIFS inspections on wood framed residences.

In this article I’ll share some techniques that work for me when doing moisture intrusion investigations that involve taking moisture level readings.

Lately I’ve been working with some cast stone products and have found that product to be a good complement to EIFS in terms of dealing with the damage-susceptible edges of EIFS. This month’s column gives some examples of how cast stone can be used with EIFS.