Tags: #buildingenclosures #buildingenvelopes #buildingscience #EIFS
It’s a pleasure to collaborate with the MINNESOTA LATHING & PLASTERING BUREAU INC in an important and timely endeavor – EIFS education and advocacy.
Over the years, I’ve been both advocate and critic of the EIFS industry. I understand all too well its past failures and the industry’s tendency to revisit them. I’ve also known its many successes and its potential to evolve in material, form, and practice.
The current matter most concerning to me is the recent trend in jurisdictional exclusion – the local banning of EIFS as a once-approved cladding system. Such practices have their genesis in perception rather than reality – the perception that EIFS looks and performs in a sub-par fashion while its cladding counterparts do not.
Over twenty years of forensic analysis tells me that no cladding system is immune from problems. In fact, I’ve found those materials that are often perceived as ‘iron-clad’ (e.g. stone, brick, and urban-modern panels) are actually the more likely cladding calamities.
With mandated continuous insulation, there is an equalizer. The very essence of EIFS, and its once sole advantage, was also the root of many failures. And these failures that once stigmatized EIFS will be common in most cladding systems. It’s already happening.
I’ll be posting more regularly on EIFS – comparing its performance to other cladding systems, exploring new EIFS products, and highlighting the advantages and vulnerabilities of exterior c.i. systems.