EIFSFACTS.ORG
The Real Facts About EIFS
- The Maryland Casualty Video -
Following its own extensive investigation of the EIFS problems the Maryland Casualty Company, one of the biggest liability insurers of builders in the country, announced on August 2, 1996 that it would no longer underwrite construction of EIFS homes. In a memo to its clients, Senior V.P. George Albany said "Although we have confidence in your ability to effectively supervise work and produce a quality result, EIFS will always present the potential for damage".
"Synthetic stucco makers such as Sto Corp and Dryvit Inc. say the problem stems from improper application. ... But Maryland Casualty is adament that the system itself is the problem. The company recently [produced and] distributed a 17-minute video explaining the problem to its employees and various builder's groups, including Charlotte's. But a synthetic stucco manufacturer got a judge in the Midwest to approve a temporary restraining order, blocking further distribution of the film indefinitely..."
Mildenberg, David, "Big Insurer Drops Synthetic Stucco Coverage", The Business Journal of Charlotte, October 7, 1996
EIFSFACTS.ORG received a copy of this video from an anonymous source. After viewing the video I understand why the EIFS manufacturer sought a restraining order. The video is quite damning to the industries arguments that EIFS is not a flawed system and that the same problems exist in homes with other types of claddings.
Excerpts as follows:
Maryland Casualty Video, "Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS): What You Need to Know"
"[Following the discovery of moisture-intrusion problems in Wilmington in 1995], Maryland Casualty put together a team of investigators to go down to Wilmington, get involved and find out what was really going on down there. ... The Maryland retained two of the country's leading [building diagnostic] consulting firms; Willaims Building Diagnostics and Failure Analysis Associates. ... EIFS was developed in Europe in the 1950's, where it was primarily used with masonry or concrete structures, not wood. ... Unlike Europe, where the system was first used over masonry, the U.S. construction market relies on sheathing materials. When the EIFS claddings were imported, there was no redesign of the system to accomodate U.S. building practices. Most EIFS manufacturing details have been developed around commercial construction. Residential construction is very different. In residential applications, the EIFS system is primarily placed over wood frames and sheathing materials. ... Residential building standards and codes take into consideration that some moisture may enter the walls of the home through windows. Many exterior building materials can handle some amounts of incidental water leakage, but the EIFS cladding cannot. It has no provision for the drainage of any water that might enter the system. It traps moisture inside the wall, which, in turn, can result in rotting wood and other damage."
"Failure Analysis [Associates] also undertook field studies in Wilmington, which showed EIFS to be highly vulnerable to water intrusion. They conducted a total of 1600 [moisture] readings on 46 homes in the Meerfield development. These homes combined EIFS and brick walls. They are situated at various angles, so both EIFS and brick walls were tested with North, South, East and West exposures."
"When you look at the moisture content behind EIFS walls compared to the brick walls there was [sic] dramatically [vocal emphasis by speaker] higher rates of elevated moisture readings behind the EIFS compared to those walls that were done in brick. And those walls were done by the same contractors."
Dr. Roger McCarthy, Failure Analysis Associates
"In brick walls only 7% of tested window areas were found to be wet. However, in EIFS walls, 66% of tested window areas were wet. ... Failure Analysis found that when water gets into a brick wall, it drains down the inside of the wall. In brick construction there is a space between the substrate and the masonry exterior that facilitates drainage and evaporation. Failure Analysis found that when water penetrates a window in an EIFS wall, it has no way to drain out or evaporate. .. Further, EIFS is a barrier system. It creates a water-tight, impermiable exterior. This impedes the flow of water vapor and evaporation. The result is that many homes have experienced rotting substrates from water being trapped inside the EIFS walls. ... EIMA and individual EIFS manufacturers ran advertisements in North Carolina claiming that problems with EIFS are due to shoddy workmanship and were confined to North Carolina. Understandably [N.C.] builders were upset. But the problems with EIFS are not unique to North Carolina. In Pennsylvania, Mark Williams read about custom builder Allen Entricken, who uses EIFS in his energy-efficient suburban homes."
"We found that Mr. Entricken's homes were constructed well above the norm."
Mark Williams, Williams Building Diagnostics
"We heard that there were moisture problems in North Carolina, and I, had gone to North Carolina and examined some sub-divisions, uh, in the Charlotte area, and, uh, at the time, we felt that the problems were applicator-created, and I mentioned that to our supplier. Their implication to me was that the problem was applications.We didn't think we'd have any moisture-intrusion problems in the wall systems at that point."
Allen Entricken, Entricken Builders, Elverson Pennsylvania
"Williams Building Diagnostics did a moisture survey on a number of Entricken homes. In key areas Williams found high moisture readings behind the EIFS cladding."
"What we found in these homes was very similar to what we found in North Carolina."
Mark Williams, Williams Building Diagnostics
"Were the problems with EIFS a North Carolina problem? The Maryland's extensive investigation found problems in other states. Were the problems with EIFS due to shoddy workmanship? The Maryland's investigation and studies by government officials found the problems can occur totally unrelated to quality of workmanship."
"The Maryland had no alternative but to exclude EIFS from its insurance coverage. ... As one builder put it: 'Manufacturers need to manufactur systems for the way builders build houses. If water gets into the wall of a brick or wood home, it has a way to get out. If water gets into the wall of an EIFS home, it just spells trouble'."