EIFSFACTS.ORG

The Real Facts About EIFS  

Following are documented quotes from building industry experts, including professional engineers, familiar with EIFS and the moisture-intrusion problems.

"...significant problems with moisture intrusion within exterior walls. The moisture is causing accelerated rotting and decay of construction materials. This problem has been caused in part by the inability of the EIFS systems as presently engineered and applied, to adequately drain moisture once it is within the walls of the structure."

EIFS: Performance Problems in North Carolina. Report by EIFS Task Force, 1995

"Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) - These systems are a disaster when applied over metal studs and gypsum or wood sheathing. They don't work because they do not have a drainage plain. For those of you who remember the traditional stucco, the drainage plain was the building paper installed shigle-fashion over the exterior sheathing and under the metal lathe. Traditional stucco always leaked rainwater. The function of the building paper was to drain this leaking rainwater to the exterior. Brick leaks; wood siding leaks; vinyl sidin leaks, etc. That's why all of these exterior claddings have building paper behind them to drain this water back to the exterior. These types of systems are called 'forgiving' or 'water managed'. Synthetic stucco systems do not have a drainage plane and, therefor, are a disastor."

Lsitburek, Joseph, P.E., Building Sciences Corporations, "E-Design Online Article: Dumb Things to Do in the South", September, 1996

In response to Mr. Draper's question of 7/28/987 - "Bingo. The inevitable leak is the problem. There is no moisture barrier built into the assembly to drain it away. If it does leak, you do not know it until the wall growth becomes a character in the new alien movie."

Peterson, Larry, Director - Florida Design Initiative, "E-Design Online Article: Dumb Things to Do in the South", July, 1997

A General Condition to the utilization of EIFS in HUD-funded structures issued in 1982 is that "all joints shall be designed and constructed on the assumption that a leak can occur in the primary seal, and a secondary seal or other defense against leaks shall be provided, together with a built-in means for disposing of the leakage."

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Materials Release No. 883b, November 1982

A study of 17 EIFS-clad buildings in Massachusetts was undertaken by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Development concluded that "all projects had some cracks large enough to allow some water penetration, and buildings with only minor cracks has sufficient water penetration to cause internal damage, including damage to load-bearing wood studs"

Kenney, Russell J., and Piper, Richard S., "Proposed Materials and Application Standards for More Durable Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems", Development Use and Performance of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), ASTM STP 1187, Williams, Mark F., and Lampo, Richard G., 1993

"From the data submitted, we have concluded that the inevitable water penetration onto and/or into the gypsum substrate will render the gypsum substrate inadequate for use as a structural support base."

Letter from Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc (BOCA) to I.J. Valainis, Technical Services Manager, Dryvit Systems, Inc., November 24, 1987

"To perform properly, the EIFS systems must be installed properly. ... sealants are key elements. ... Perimeter type installation of adhesives traps water. The only way out is back out the way it came. ... Is proper installation so sensitive and so unforgiving that it might be unreasonable to expect this system to be properly installed? ... I don't know of any that have been installed per the manufacturer's recommendations. ... There is a considerable way to go to achieve thoroughly trained installers. ... We acknowledge that are problems in the installation. We have been slow in doing it, but the ball is in our court."

Minutes from the National Evaluation Service Committee Meeting, March 1, 1988

"Inadequate design, improper installation, poor maintenance or the deterioration of materials makes it unrealistic to expect to eliminate every pore, crack or opening in a building wall."

Kroll, Richard E., and Collins, Steven, J., "Pressure Equalized EIFS", The Construction Specifier, December, 1993

"...barrier EIFS-clad wood frame walls will not provide effective control or management of rain penetration... These walls have low moisture tolerance due to slow drying rates. As such, in-service performance of barrier EIFS-clad walls can be unpredictable and thereby unreliable."

Brown, William et. al., "Barrier EIFS-Clad Walls: Results from a Moisture Engineering Study", Journal of Thermal Insulation and Building Environments, Vol. 20, January 1997

"Since 1985, several locations around the country, inculding Missouri, Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, South Carolina and other states have reported various problems associated with EIFS ... Problems have also been found in Northern Virginia and Tidewater areas of Virginia with buildings using EIFS. ... Often, the water damage to the structural members is not readily visible from the exterior or interior of the building as it is occuring. Extensive structural damage can occur before the damage becomes visiible. ... With barrier type EIFS, the water that penetrated behind the EIFS cladding was trapped with no drainage provisions or methods to direct the water back to the exterior. ... Tests of many windows, even expensive, high-quality, name-brand windows, have shown water leakage through the window frame. Certain types of windows are not compatible with EIFS walls... Barrier type EIFS do not have a secondary weather-resistant barrier such as building paper or house wrap to protect the substrate from any water which gets through the EIFS. This is compared to brick or masonry veneers and other types of cladding or siding which have a secondary weather or water barrier to handle any water which manages to get into or behind the veneer or cladding."

"Report to the Board of Housing and Community Development on the Use of Synthetic Stucco in Virginia - to the Governer and the General Assembly of Virginia", House Document No. 29, 1998

"Wetting of wall surfaces, other than by rain or occasional washing, should be avoided. A common problem is that of lawn-sprinkler overspray. This condition should be avoided at all times due to the potential water intrusion..."

"Homeowner's Guide to Selecting an Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) Repair Contractor", National Association of Home-Builders (NAHB), 1998

"Water intrusion is a normal occurrence in construction. ... Extensive structural damage can occur when water intrusion is large in volume, frequent and undetected."

"Moisture Testing Guide for Wood Frame Construction Clad with Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) - Prepared for EIFS Review Comittee by the New Hanover County Inspections Department", August 4, 1998

"This limited warranty does not apply to Marvin windows and doors installed in structures that do not allow for proper management/drainage of moisture, for example, Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), also known as Synthetic Stucco, without an engineered drainage system"

"The Marvin Windows & Doors Ten-Year Limited Warranty", 1998

"Unlike other cladding systems, when water penetrates the EIFS system, often near windows and other joints, the water escapes too slowly through the acrylic finish coat, often leading to wood rot and other problems. ... Although the EIFS manufacturers claim that the problem is caused by poor construction by builders, high-quality construction techniques do not appear to solve the EIFS problem."

Pincus, H. Daniel, President, National Association of Homebuilders, "Learn the Facts About Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS)", Building Industry Association Newsbrief, September, 1995

"Barrier EIFS construction is not practical or reliable for either residential or commercial construction.... The basic problem is that barrier EIFS does not account for the fact that moisture can - and will - penetrate the exterior wall surface. Once moisture penetrates abarrier EIFS wall, it remains trapped trapped inside the wall cavity, where it eventuall rots water-sensitive sheathings and framing."

Reicherts, Jim, Manager - Exterior panels and Systems, United States Gypsum Company, "Water Management: The Future of EIFS", July 17, 1998

"In NAHB’s opinion, the barrier EIFS systems have proven to be incompatible with the existing wood frame construction methods typically used in residential construction in the United States, and that has resulted in significant problems."

"Caution Advised in Using EIFS Systems", Nation's Building News, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Novmber 30, 1998, Volume 34

"A six-man crew from Steurer proceeded to install some 11,000 square feet of EIFS with a beige, coarse sand finish and a matching light sand trim. The system allows incidental moisture entering behind the insulation board to drain downward through vertical channels in the board and out through vented tracks. Steurer figured that a drainage product would not only guard against water damage to the underlying structure, but would also accommodate possible future changes in the local building code. ... 'You can't be too cautious when it comes to keeping water out of a wall system' explained Norman Whinery of Raineri Construction Products, the EIFS distributor for the job. "

EIFS Case Studies, The Official EIMA Website, EIFS Industry Members Association, 1999

Finally, while it is not directly related to EIFS, the following quote is great food for thought:

"The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations about houses affected by spreading mildew. Anyone who finds mildew in his house must go and tell the priest about it. The priest shall order evrything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be deamed unclean. Then he shall go to the house and examine the mildew. If there greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall, he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days. On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread, he shall order the stones on which the mildew is found to be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city. After that he must have all the walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city. Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls. If mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered, the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean. It must be torn down , and its stones, its wood and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place."

God, "The Holy Bible - Leviticus 14", Approximately 3000 B.C.