Eifs or dryvit is a synthetic stucco that mimics traditional stucco.
Exterior siding stucco eifs disclosure.
Eifs is an exterior insulation and finish system.
What is synthetic stucco.
There are numerous benefits for choosing stucco as siding for home exteriors including noise reduction energy efficiency low maintenance longevity and versatility.
Stucco is made up of portland cement lime sand water and additives applied in several layers over wood or metal lath.
As the name implies eifs with drainage helps to eliminate moisture before it has an opportunity to enter the wall cavity.
Clearly eifs aren t just synthetic stucco essentially applied like the traditional concrete siding.
And even though your house may have been built using it with knowledge and proper maintenance everything can be just fine.
Cons of eifs stucco.
Eifs with drainage another eifs system is the predominate method of eifs applied today.
What is eifs siding.
In fact the national association of home builders now recommends that even eifs homes undamaged by moisture intrusion be tested at least annually necessitating additional homeowner expense.
It pays to be informed.
The installation process for eifs stucco is much more complicated and time consuming than traditional.
It is most common on higher end homes in camas and ridgefield washington.
Stucco type of siding is also easy to install fire retardant and resists rot mildew and molds.
Eifs were first introduced in the united states in the late 1960 s and were first used on commercial buildings and later on homes.
Some people call it synthetic stucco.
Eifs is notably lighter than traditional stucco however.
Like hardboard siding eifs has also mushroomed into a major disclosure issue requiring expensive and destructive testing.
Eifs isn t a disease.
However eifs is.
They are complete systems that bring several benefits to the building.
Eifs synthetic stucco siding.
The eifs acronym stands for exterior insulation and finish systems.
Eifs stands for exterior insulation finish system and is sometimes called dryvit.
You ll probably find more stucco homes in california texas florida arizona and new mexico.
This form of synthetic stucco primarily fails because there is almost always no moisture barrier protecting your wood sub wall structure when rain gets in.
Stucco exteriors can last up to 50 years or more but they seem to do better in hot dry climates rather than cold wet rainy areas.
It is 80 percent less heavy than stucco but it has a higher r value coming in between 4 and 5 6 which is notably higher than the 0 20 r value of regular stucco.
Eifs siding or synthetic stucco is a siding that offers clear advantages when properly installed but can be very problematic when installation errors occur.
The stand alone advantages include the following.