EIFSFACTS.ORG
The Real Facts About EIFS
- EIMA Spin -
Following are items that show how desperate EIMA is to control the damage.
STEPHAN E. KLAMKE
Executive Director of the EIFS Industry Members Association (EIMA)
for writing:
"The tests also confirm that when incidental moisture does seep behind these systems into the wall cavity, the moisture often evaporates."
"Proven Performance", Klamke, Stephan E., The Construction Specifier, December, 1997
even though his organization's Training Manual says:
"Permiability: The relative ability of a specific material to allow the flow of water vapor. EIFS generally have a low resistance to the flow of vapor, so they are considered to have low vapor permeability".
EIMA Class PB EIFS Installation Training Manual, EIFS Industry Member's Association (EIMA), 1998, Page 24
You can also hear Buck Buchanon, former EIMA President, admit that water intrusion has always been an issue.
Fox 5 Atlanta Investigative Report, Aired 1997
"A shingle roof, for example, is a barrier system with no internal means of drainage, and, therefore, is no less immune to moisture damage than EIFS or other products used in residential construction."
A Case of Misplaced Blame. Moisture Damage in Homes with Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems was Likely Caused by Improper Installation, Klamke, Stephan E., Best's Review, September, 1999
We know this may come as a surprise to Mr. Klamke, but a shingle roof is not a barrier system. It is not sealed. It is open and it breathes. By not being sealed it does not induce a pressure-drive to push water through its openings. And, unlike barrier EIFS, shingle roofs have a layer of roofing paper to protect the sheathing underneath.
Duh.
More EIMA / Walls & Ceilings Spin:
Walls & Ceilings Magazine ran an article in their November 1999 issue called "Brick Industry Also Has Moisture Trouble". It is featured on the EIMA website. Among other assertions, the article states:
'It isn't just EIFS homes experiencing moisture. In a recent article in Brick News by Brian Trimble, the Brick Industry Association's director of technical services, Trimble reported that he has conducted two seminars titled "Drainage Walls that Work," in which he stressed the need for "through-the-wall flashing" in brick homes.'
In a recent e-mail to EIFSFACTS.ORG Brian Trimble stated:
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. A response to Walls and Ceilings Magazine is in the works. As you stated, comments were taken out of context with a heavy "spin".
Brian
STO's EIFS Survives Water Torture
Propaganda
If you have visited the STO Corporation's web site you have probably seen the following:
Water Intrusion Update - Just the facts...
"EIFS Survives Water Torture" contains information that demonstrates effective water penetration resistance of standard EIFS details
What does it take to prove that an EIFS, properly integrated into construction, provides as effective protection from water intrusion as any other cladding system, and from a design standpoint, in many ways superior?
STO Corporation Web Site, November, 1999
What does it take? Well, how about using the same joint details that were specified for people's homes, for starters.
That's right, the joints that were installed in the Warnock Hersey Canadian test mock-up were not "standard EIFS details". They were not the same joints specified for people's homes. They were special, two-stage joints. Read carefully:
"Our instructions to Warnock Hersey were to test as needed for BOCA requirements" says John Edgar, Sto's Technical Services Manager. "We also asked them to test with dynamic wind loading, using the DC3 engine, to evaluate the performance of details and the two stage joints, which were of interest to CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)."
STO Corporation Web Site, October, 1999
This was brought to our attention by a very EIFS-involved home-owner in a must-read letter to Macon Lowe, President and CEO of STO Corporation.
