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Re: EIFS - Exterior Stucco Systems

From: info@builderswebsource.com
Category: Other/Misc
Remote Name: 63.198.181.43
Date: 19 Aug 2001
Time: 10:04 PM

Comments

The white foam board you refer to is called Exterior Insulation and Finish System, for EIFS for short. This is applied over structural plywood sheathing to provide a base for a thin exterior veneer stucco. Even with EIFS, a two-coat process is required, including a base coat and finish coat. These coats are very thin, however, and do not have the structural properties of traditional stucco.

An excellent source of information on EIFS is at EIFS Industry Memebers Association (EIMA) website at:

http://www.eima.com.

A detailed design manual is available free for download at:

http://www.eima.com/pdf/Guide_to_EIFS.pdf

According to the EIMA, the following except describes the use of EIFS:

Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) are multi-layered exterior wall systems that are used on both commercial buildings and homes. They provide superior energy efficiency and offer much greater design flexibility than other cladding products.

Developed in Europe in the 1950s, EIFS were introduced in the U.S. almost 30 years ago. They were first used on commercial buildings, and later, on homes. Today, EIFS account for 17% of the U.S. commercial exterior wall market and about 3.5% of the residential wall market. Growth is strong in both sectors, especially in the residential area, where sales are increasing at the rate of 12-18% per year.

EIFS typically consist of the following components:

• insulation board, made of polystyrene or polyisocyanurate foam, which is secured to the exterior wall surface with a specially formulated adhesive and/or mechanical attachment;
• a durable, water-resistant base coat, which is applied on top of the insulation and reinforced with fiber glass mesh for added strength;
• an attractive and durable finish coat — typically using acrylic co-polymer technology — which is both colorfast and crack-resistant.

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