Robert Thomas

The code requirements for the use of EIFS over moisture-sensitive substrates like wood include adding the capability for the EIFS to drain. This added capability results in an EIFS product type that is commonly known as EIFS with Drainage, indicating the drainage capability has been added on to a conventional (barrier) EIFS.

Most people involved with EIFS realize that the modern type of EIFS widely used in North America (that uses EPS and thin synthetic coatings) was originally developed in Europe around World War II. EIFS is very widely used in Europe to this day, and a lot of European buildings that look like they used traditional stucco are actually EIFS.

I got into a “stimulating” discussion (as in “almost a fist fight”) the other day with some building code people who think they know more about EIFS than I do. They know so much, so they think, that they are thinking of developing their own EIFS designs and putting them into the codes as the acceptable way to do EIFS. I had to ask them: “What is your job? Are you in the product development business, or are you a regulator?

Once I settled in, I became acquainted with some people who work with retirement investment programs for small businesses. A particular program - which seemed suited for contractors - caught my eye. So I brought it to the attention of Walls & Ceilings. What follows is an interview by me going into the basics of the program with Mike Mitchell of Mitchell Capital Management, Inc., of Sarasota, Fla. By the time you finish, I think you’ll be as amazed as I was.

The number one source of litigation in the construction industry is leaks. People tend to describe buildings in terms of the dominant opaque cladding: “Turn left at the brick building,” instead of “Turn left at the building with windows.” Thus when a building that has EIFS on it has leaks, the automatic mantra is “the EIFS is leaking.”

Why does this matter? Although EIFS started in North America primarily in architectural commercial construction, over the last two decades it has also become a major player in another architectural market: residential (wood framed homes) construction. Occasionally, however, EIFS bridges the gap into wholly new specialty markets. I have run into a number of these types of specialty end-uses over the years and they form one of the more interesting aspects of my consulting business, namely, how to “make EIFS work” on an offbeat application. Here are some examples that you might find useful when prospecting for new work or to perk-up a conversation regarding what is possible or sensible to do with EIFS.

First, you can go to New Orleans right now and have a good time, at least in the popular tourist areas, which look like nothing ever happened. But if you drive a little way from those restored areas, it's a different story. There are blocks and blocks of abandoned single-story houses and there are shopping areas that look fine, except a lot are not open. These buildings are in the areas that were flooded and stayed submerged.

Most EIFS used in North America employ expanded polystyrene foam as the insulation material. Also known as EPS and bead board, EPS is the stuff that white foam coffee cups are made of, as well as lots of other things, such as those white, disposable coolers used for picnics.

This month's column is a continuation of last month's about flashing.

This is part one of a two-part article on flashings. Flashings are a very important part of an EIFS-clad wall assembly but are not an EIFS product per se. Hence, their use is a matter of general design and construction, i.e., an architectural and contracting issue, and not an EIFS issue.