EIFSFACTS.ORG

The Real Facts About EIFS  

- Northwest Wall and Ceilings Burea PR Memo -

 

"The Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau (NWCB) is an international professional trade association serving a wide ranging membership of contractors, manufacturers, dealers (suppliers, distributors) and labor."

"On behalf of its membership, NWCB serves as a coordinating, development and promotional center to enhance the position of the wall and ceiling industry in the construction field. The association maintains a trained professional staff for immediate response to the membership in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan."

Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau Web Site Home Page, 1999

 

"Exterior insulation and finishing system (EIFS) claddings have been attracting attention lately in the media. EIFS is part of the scope of work of the wall and ceiling industry, and the bureau has been involved with EIFS since its conception in North America 25 years ago. We recommend it as a successful, low-maintenance exterior cladding system."

Drury, Robert, Executive Director NWCB, Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau Director's Report, 1999

 

The following memo from the NWCB EIFS Subcomittee to the NWCB Board of Directors shows that the Bureau intends to follow the same approach to PR that EIMA took in Wilmington. This memo was faxed to Steve Klamke, Executive Director of EIMA, by NWCB on 10/26/98.

 

Date: October 5, 1998

To: Board of Directors

From: ElFS Subcommittee

Re: Public Relations program

The subcommittee met to discuss the options and possible activities that could be undertaken by the bureau to address the adverse publicity affecting our industry. It was decided this was clearly an industry issue that could have an affect well beyond the local Seattle/King County area. It is also an issue that will require funding from many different sources within the Industry. It was agreed that timing is becoming a more critical issue each day.

To that end the committee recommends that the Board:

1. Take a leadership role in coordinating the activities submitted in the attached preliminary Public Relations plan.

2. Appoint a small task force of three no more than four persons to work out the final details of the plan and to assign a budget. Early thinking regarding budgets is approximately $100,000 for a nine-month program. The plan would be due back to the board by October 16th for the board to consider and send out for a vote

3. Assign a spokesperson to represent the bureau arid the industry to communicate with the media, homebuilders, building inspectors end other pertinent groups.

4. Coordinate the fundraising effort that would include contributions from manufacturers, distributors and other parties with a vested interest in the health of our industry along with the bureau.

 

Additional activities:

We realize the board is to some extent already involved with some of the activities listed in the preliminary plan. However there are a few actions that can be taken up now for little cost which may have a positive effect.

 

PR PLAN OUTLINE FOR MANAGING EIFS CRISIS IN NORTHWEST

This outline offers recommendations for countering inaccurate media reports and other misinformation that EIFS design, rather than poor construction practices, is responsible for moisture damage in residential and commercial construction in the Seattle-Tacoma-Portland area.

1. Objectives:

A. Set the record straight regarding the historical performance of EIFS in the Northwest

B. Demonstrate that moisture intrusion is a universal problem in the Northwest that affects all wall claddings, not just EIFS.

C. Link moisture intrusion in all construction to the use of sub-standard windows and other wall components, poor construction practices (inadequate flashing and sealing around critical moisture entry points), and a general building boom in the Northwest.

Target Audiences:

A. Seattle-Tacoma-Portland news media (broadcast and print)

B. Area home builders (local NAHB chapters)

C. Area construction specifiers (regional CSI chapter)

D. Area condo developers

E. Area condo management groups

F. Area home inspectors (regional ASHI chapter)

G. Area architects (regional AIA chapter)

H. Area realtors (local real estate boards)

I. Area legislators

Strategies:

A.. Rely on knowledgeable, articulate EIFS industry spokeperson(s) based in the Northwest to communicate industry's perspective on the root causes of the moisture problems affecting area condos.

B. Support industry spokeperson(s) with talking points, Fact Packs, scripted slide shows, videos and other materials that, among other things, describe the moisture-resistant characteristics of EIFS and accurately communicate the industry's position on why moisture intrusion occurs.

2. Media tour of Washington/Oregon/Vancouver media. We should select the leading newspapers and the broadcast mediums and visit with their editorial staff to tell them our side of the story. We cannot afford to lay back and assume they don't hove any interest in the story. It is reasonable to assume that the story will gain momentum and we should act quickly to get ahead of tho curve. The messages we need to convey in our meetings are:

A. This is a construction practices issue and not a cladding issue.

B. Above all else, it is not an EIFS issue.

C. All claddings are equally susceptible to water problems when poor construction practices are evident.

D. The reason EIFS homes appear to be more susceptible is that it's the only cladding that's easy to test for elevated moisture readings. In fact, in many cases, it's the only, cladding that's routinely tested for elevated moisture.

E. In cases where there has been moisture damage1 there are NAMS and EJMA approved remediation protocols that ensure those affected homes can be fixed easily and permanently and restore their original value.

F. We need to protect consumers against the cottage industry of unscrupulous inspectors and contractors that could spring up and who will attempt to scare homeowners Into thousands of dollars of needless repairs.

We have gained valuable experience in making this case in the NBC Dateline Interview. Accordingly1 most of the material we n· ed to substantiate our position is already compiled and available for use.

3. Explore radio talk show opportunities in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland on the subject of EIFS and moisture intrusion; arrange to have the EIMA Speakers Bureau volunteer(s) participate, where appropriate, tp communicate key points about product performance and sound product application. APL will help prepare the spokesperson for these shoes.

4. Reach out to elected officials. Meet with the leadership of the Washington State Legislature (both House and Senate) to ensure that we have an improved chance of stemming any tide of legilative ban on EIFS. Attached to this memo is the information we have compiled relative to the legislative leadership in Washington. Unitl we have a clearer sense of the magnitude of the problem, we should withhold action in Oregon until we are certain that the issue has spread to that state as well. These efforts should be coordinated with the political consultant with whom we join forces.

5. Direct mail to state legislators and municipal officials in Washington. This should be a simple letter outlining the same message points we seek to convey on the media tour. Many times, the key to slowing down overzealous legislators is to arm them with doubt over the depth and severity of the problem they are seeking to address. If we can concisely and persuasively make our case to each elected official in the state, we stand an improved an improved chance of slowing down a proposed ban. No elected official wants to be made to look stupid (even though some do it effortlessly); if they have information that at least sheds doubt on the claim that EIFS are the problem, they are less likely to move forward with a proposed ban knowing they will face organized opposition. Participating in the mailing should be local unions, contractors, GC's, suppliers, etc.

6. Advertising campaign. This should only be done if we get the sense that our efforts with legislators are not bearing fruit. Then, the only way to slow down legislative action is to show lawmakers that they will be in for a fight. I would recommend a series of full-page ads in major dailies and smaller papers in outlying regions that directly make our case. We should also consider radio spots to support the print advertising effort. We should know that our brick friends used this technique fairly successfully in Texas to beat us up. We should turn the tables and use the paid media to our advantage here. The first effort should be to earn the media coverage; if that fails, then we have to pay to convey our message.

7. Work with local HBA's to offer training. It is, admittedly, a token gesture but one that we should make In the interest of good PR. Since a lot or the dirty work has been done for us (the media has pointed at building practices) we should offer to give seminars on how to successfully build with EIFS. We know that the things they have to get better about have nothing to do with EIFS, but they provide a forum for us to tell our story, and the media may decide to cover them. It's just another way to get the media to write and cover our message.

8. Develop and place localized versions of "Truth About EIFS" editorial in Northwest area builder/construction publications. Also encourage regional AIA, CSI, ASHI chapters, as well as local realtor boards, to publish the editorial in their respective newsletters.

9. Hold seminars for building inspection officials. Same exact idea as the homebuilder association meetings, only now we get to play the role of "good guy" with the beleaguered building inspectors. Again, there's a decent chance that the local media will cover these and provide us with a chance to get our story out.

10. Arrange "near-term" speaking engagements for local EIMA speakers Bureau volunteers with important Northwest homebuilder, construction specifier, home inspector, condo developer, arthitect [sic] and realtor organizations. (APL will arm the spokesperson(s) with appropriate support materials for these presentations.)

Conclusion

Recognize that we are talking about a lot of effort and resources - both financial and manpower - to implement this plan. The stakes are higher in Washington than they were in the Carolinas, If for no other reason than the fact that the concentration of building in the Northwest is even greater and climatic considerations may be just as extreme.

Whatever we do, we have to do it NOW and do it well. A well-coordinated political/public affairs effort should stem the tide of potential legislative over-reaction to the issue. That, along with a good, old-fashioned media effort can go a long way to keeping Washington from spiraling out of control. If we don't act quickly, however, it may develop too much momentum for us to slow it down.

Assign each board member the task of obtaining information on a (non-EIFS) project where water intrusion has occurred as a result of similar construction defects. The information should include the project name, address, description of problem, action taken to remedy the problem, contractors [sic] names, photos and whether litigation has been initiated.

Ask Tina to prepared [sic] a schedule of education seminars to the targeted groups, which may include but not limited to [sic] Homebuilders, inspection officials, AIA groups, etc.

Have Tina contact Linda at EIMA to add appropriate information to the Bureau's web site and 'hot link' She can also contact Marty at Dryvit to determine the appropriateness of additional information. The same action should be taken with other manufacturers.

Tine should also contact Doug Doscher at Dyvit to see how best to dovetail Dryvit's activities regarding a fax campaign directed to realtors.