Category Archives: Beginner

Efflorescence and Stucco Repairs

Posted by Admin on September 12, 2011 None comments
Stucco Efflorescence

Water that has penetrated the finish coat can cause efflorescence, further damaging the finish coat.

The base coat in stucco (both traditional and EIFS, or synthetic stucco) is a cementitious material. Because of the composition and nature of cement, salts that are naturally present within the material can be drawn out with water or moisture. Wikipedia defines Efflorescence as:

In chemistry, efflorescence (which means “to flower out” in French) is the loss of water (or a solvent) of crystallization from a hydrated or solvated salt to the atmosphere on exposure to air.

“to flower out” in French. How romantic.

Efflorescence occurs in stucco when it is not properly protected with a finish coating, either because it was improperly applied or when water has seeped in from another source. The damage – while initially only aesthetic – can lead to further decay of the finish coat and base coat. It’s an indicator that water is getting in from somewhere, and should not be there. The base coat in stucco should never be exposed to water.

Efflorescence is like a cancer that spreads rapidly, causing more extensive damage if left untreated. Before doing any stucco repairs, the root cause of the problem must first be addressed. Is the water entering from another location, perhaps above the stucco?, at the soffit? Through an improperly sealed window or hose bib?

Once the root cause has been fixed, the extent of the damage must be evaluated. Does the system need to replaced right through the insulation, or just the base coat and finish coat? Stucco repairs aren’t just a one-size fits all. Though a full replacement of the wall will fix nearly any problem, this is typically overkill and far more expensive than is actually required. A qualified stucco / EIFS inspector, manufacturer rep or reputable contractor will help you determine what needs to be done. While going back to the original contractor to get it repaired under warranty is the best bet, ensure that the EIFS manufacturer gets involved – after all, it’s in their best interest to get it repaired as cheaply and inexpensive as possible.

Why You Don’t Want to Select the Lowest Quote

Posted by Admin on August 23, 2011 None comments

The answer is simple: Accountability.

Businesses exist to make a profit. Profits are how businesses hire new employees, stay in business year after year, and respond to claims/defects regarding their product.

If a business is not generating a profit for the owner, then the owner has no reason to countinue running their own company. It makes shutting the business down at the first offer of a good job seem like an attractive proposition. What happens when something falls apart 3 years after being installed, and you can’t find the company who originally installed it? The $2,000 you thought you saved by going with the less expensive stucco quote turns into a $4,500 repair. And that’s coming out of your pocket.

So why go with the contractor that your gut is telling you is the right one, but your brain can’t wrap itself around because it’s a slightly higher investment? Because that contractor will stand behind his work. He knows he will be around in 10 years and doesn’t want to have to go repair his shoddy work, so he does it right. That extra $2,000 you invest will save you $2,500 (because the $4,500 repair won’t need to be done).

So why don’t you want to select the lowest quote?

Dealing with Unfriendly Neighbours: 4 Tips

Posted by Admin on August 18, 2011 None comments

Everyone has them at some point… a neighbour who you just don’t get along with. They can make your home renovation plans difficult, to the point of even putting a stop to them sometimes. Renovations made to the exterior of your home (such as stucco/EIFS renovations) are particularly difficult because of the exterior-nature of the project, and the fact that it frequently borders (very closely in downtown Toronto) with your neighbour’s property. Here are 4 simple tips to dealing with a neighbour who might cause trouble.

 1. Warn your stucco contractor

All contractors have been on projects with an irrate neighbour. Make sure you warn the foreman before the job so that the workers can be on their best behaviour.

2. Give the neighbour plenty of notice

Don’t surprise your neighbour with a crew of skilled trade workers one day. Let them know that you’re planning on updating your home (which will increase the overall value of the neighbourhood) and that it may take a couple weeks (depending on the size of your home).

EIFS renovations don’t typically involve too much noise from machinery, but some of the finishing processes (leveling the basecoat, floating the finish coat) can create scraping sounds. Try to figure out what times the neighbour is not home, and ask the contractor to do those pieces of work during the times they’re not around. Some crews of workers like to talk more than others and are generally more verbal, so speak with the foreman or owner about keeping noise levels to a minimum if your neighbour is troublesome.

What’s your neighbour’s favourite wine? Get him a bottle as a token of cooperation and good will.

3. Ensure your contractors will clean up their messes

Probably the biggest source of frustration from neighbours is the resultant bits of insulation that come flying off the wall and all over EVERYTHING during the sanding of the insulation boards. This can be managed by ensuring the contractor uses a portable vacuum to clean up all the bits.

The bits of styrofoam might even be something you want to forewarn about, and promise to have the contractor clean up his property if any does get on it. This is one of the few times I don’t advocate the “It’s easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission” motto.

4. Make sure the contractors follow building codes

We actually had one of  our own contractors not properly set up their scaffolding (tisk tisk, I know), and the neighbour called the city about it. A few adjustments and 3 hours later and the scaffolding was back in compliance with city requirements. Was there actually any danger? No. But the neighbour wanted to cause trouble, and they found a way to. This causes a delay on your project, irritates the contractors who have wasted almost half their day, and raises tensions between you and your neighbour. Play it safe – ask your contractor to make

Have a story of an irrate neighbour you had to deal with during a home renovation? Feel free to share it here!

Toronto Sun Article: Toronto Housing Stock

Posted by Admin on July 20, 2011 None comments

Article on Toronto's Housing Stock from the Toronto Sun

I was wondering where I could find this sort of information the other day.

Excuse the bad picture. Transcript below.

Homes in Toronto are aging. That typically means they need repairs or full retrofits depending on the original quality of the construction. Even homes with ultra-durable brick cladding are beginning to see the wear-and-tear of the fluctuating Toronto weather that ranges from -40 to (especially recently) +40. Our winters are colder and our summers are hotter than most other places across Canada (and the states), meaning our buildings are subject to a range of different forces and building to deal with them all is at times, difficult.

The typical lifespan of brick from the 80s and earlier is roughly 50-80 years depending on how well it was maintained. This could be shorter due to the builder using cheap bricks that aren’t as dense or well manufactured. What’s important to realize is that upwards of 50% of Toronto’s brick homes (the period before 1980) do or will soon need some sort of maintenance.

Home owners that have brick that is decaying have a few options. The first is tuckpointing, which will fill in places that the mortar has begun failing early. This helps in situations where the damage is isolated, and is typically exasperated by running or dripping water. Tuckpointing is like applying a band-aid to a staph infection, it temporarily covers the problem but it’s only going to spread and get worse with time.

The second option is to replace the brick in sections where it’s really beginning to become a problem. Slightly better than tuckpointing because the brick is being replaced as well, but still costly when considering the quantity of work that is being done. Not only is it costly, it only addresses the portion that needs work NOW – the rest of the walls will be due in another 10 years anyways. Replacing sections of brick on your home is akin to putting a new door on your ’95 Corola when the rest of the body is about to fall apart.

The final option is to re-clad your home. This can be done by tearing down the existing brick (time consuming and costly) and putting something new up, or by going directly over the existing brick with a new cladding. New brick can be put back in place of the old brick if required. The advantage to going about re-cladding the brick before it’s in such bad condition that you can’t use it as a substrate, is that you can avoid the expense of tearing it down and disposing of it. Re-cladding the brick is also a more environmentally-friendly alternative because the waste doesn’t end up in landfills, nor is fuel used getting it there.

There are dozens of recladding siding options – vinyl siding, aluminum siding, cedar siding, hardie board, EIFS (“stucco”). The only ones that are designed to incorporate insulation boards to help reduce heating and cooling bills are vinyl siding and EIFS. Of those two options, EIFS is the only one that uses trowel-applied cement that can seal in and protect the brick from further decaying.

EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finish Systems – what is commonly called “stucco” in Toronto) incorporates a monolithic styrofoam layer that helps reduce heat lost or gained through the walls of a home. This can have an effect of reducing heating and cooling bills by upwards of 30% depending on the original state of insulation within the walls. In addition to protecting and therefore preserving the existing brick so that it does not need to end up in a landfill, EIFS represents an environmentally responsible option for re-cladding.

The outer layers of EIFS include a cement coating embeded with a fibreglass mesh to prevent cracking, and a beautiful finish coat available in any colour. A manufacturer’s colour chart can be supplied by the stucco contractor, or if the home owner already has a colour selected from a paint sample, EIFS manufacturers are capable of doing an exact match.

Head over to Toronto Stucco Contractor to request that your home be reclad with EIFS today.

Transcript from Image:

Image: Housing Stock
Built before 1946: 12%
1946-1960: 13.6%
1961-1980: 31.3%
1981-2000: 28.5%
2001 and later: 14.6%

 Housing stock and energy efficiency
High energy costs, notably for gasoline and ome heating, are damaging consumer confidence, purchasing power and spending. Rising prices add urgency to the need to reduce household energy consumption, Adrienne Warren of Bank of Nova Scotia writes in a special report.
“From the perspective of households, reducing energy consumption, or at least slower it’s rise, could generate significant long-term cost savings.
But new construction – which can integrate major energy-saving measures – takes a long time to have an effect on the aggregate housing stock, she points out.
Meanwhile, Canada’s housing stock is aging. Most homes were built before the 1980s and are far less energy-efficient than recent construction, and data suggests that over one-third need repairs.
Energy-efficient renovations and retro-fits have the potential to make a bigger impact in driving improvements in the housing stock, she says.
The looming higher cost of borrowing and more subdued outlook for home sales could put a damper on renovation spending, yet there are affordable cost-saving options, and programs and incentives provided by the different levels of government, she writes.

Supplies Required for EIFS / Stucco Installations

Posted by Admin on April 16, 2011 None comments

All of this equipment and supplies would be familiar to an Exterior Insulation Finish Systems contractor, however a home owner looking to do their own shed or garage might not realize they need many of the tools required. While we do not recommend EIFS as a DIY project, we would still like to be a resource for the home owners who have a difficult time finding the information. Some typical tools required include:

  • EIFS Materials
  • Mouldings and Trim
  • Clean, potable water
  • A power mixing tool and power extension cord
  • Trowels and finish-coat float
  • Hot Knife
  • Scaffolding and polyethylene
  • Safety Equipment (gloves, eyewear, hardhat, steeltoe shoes, respiratory mask)

We won’t get into the procedures and techniques in this article, but will touch on the various tools and equipment required.

EIFS Materials

The EIFS materials are the basics of the supplies. Typical providers of stucco in Toronto include Durabond and Durock, depending on what part of the city you’re from. Both companies supply high quality, reliable material that if properly installed will last decades.

The materials will cost you roughly $4 per square foot, but will not come with a warranty unless installed by a skilled applicator. While an experienced contractor might take a week to complete 1,000 square feet, you can expect to take a month or two to learn the basics and complete the installation.

Mouldings and Window Trim

When renovating a home or a smaller building (such as a shed or detached garage), you have the opportunity to not only drastically change the look with the EIFS material, but also with decorative items. There are multiple suppliers of varying quality in Toronto who manufacture trim and mouldings specifically for EIFS. These mouldings are manufactured from the same components as the wall itself – styrofoam, fibreglass mesh and base coat. Because of this, they are light weight, attractive, affordable and most importantly durable. Unlike wood trim which will rot and degrade over time, the stucco trim is made from inorganic composite materials which means that they do not support organic growth.

Moulding and trim will cost around $30-$40 per 8-foot piece from a supplier such as Decoramould Exterior Mouldings. The average window will cost anywhere from $60-$100 in material, and 8-foot stacks of quoins for the corners of your walls will run you around the same price.

Clean, Potable Water

The water is simple to acquire if you’re working on your own home. It will be used for the adhesive/basecoat, floating the finish coat and for cleaning your tools.

The cost likely won’t even be noticed on your water bill.

Power Mixing tool and Extension Cord

A power mixing tool will be required to mix the basecoat and the finish coat if it has been sitting for too long. Because you’re mixing cement, a regular drill will not be up to the task. A heavy duty drill is required  to effectively mix and not burn out the motor.

Heavy Duty Drills will run about $200 brand new, or can sometimes be found at re-use hardware stores. A favourite brand of our applicators is Makita. While the re-used ones might not be reliable in the long term, you should be able to get your money out of it and complete your job. Alternatively, you could rent one from Home Depot, but be wary about the project taking longer than you expected.

Trowels, Rasps and Finish Float

Trowels are the tools of the EIFS / stucco trade. They are used to scoop the supplies and plaster them onto the wall. A little bit of experience is required as far as the technique goes and you may want to start on a less-noticeable area of your project until you get the jist of it. Expect a lot of the material to fall off the sides until you get used to dealing with the viscous material.

Rasps are large tools used to sand or “rasp” the styrofoam. Rasping is required to ensure the walls are smooth so that odd shadows are not created. It creates a LOT of tiny bits of styrofoam, that will spread all over your property as well as your neighbours. It might be a good idea to purchase or rent a small portable vac to do cleanups after rasping.

The finish float is not the same as the steel trowel – it is typically made of plastic and has a more textured face to it. Many contractors work in pairs – with one picking the finish coat up with a steel trowel and globbing it onto the wall, while the more experienced contractor smooths it to cover the surface with the desired texture. How to smooth the material and the installation is beyond the scope of this article, but if at any point you are willing to pay an expert to do a part of the installation, let it be the finish coat. Aside from being the most expense component of an EIF system, it is also the one that affects the final appearance the most.

Trowels run between $20-$30 from the hardware store or a specialty supply store. Rasps will cost $60-$80 and can only be found from the specialty suppliers. You should be able to pick these up from the EIFS supplier themselves.

Hot Knife

A hot knife is a tool used to cut clean lines into styrofoam. It will be required if you’re doing a 2 storey home, or if you have particularly long walls. Hot knives are used to cut control joints into the insulation to prevent the wall from cracking in the wrong location. More information can be found in our article on Hot Knives.

These could possibly be rented, but the author has never seen a place that has them for rent. A hot knife will be around $200 to purchase brand new.

Scaffolding and Polyethylene

How are you going to reach your bungalow/garage soffit, or the top of the wall on your 2-storey home? You weren’t planning on using a ladder were you? Leaning a ladder on styrofoam will damage it, even with the fibreglass mesh and base coat already on. Scaffolding or a lift of some sort (whether it’s an all-terrain scissor lift, or a boom lift) will be required to get at those high places. Either of these are typically rented, and a home owner would likely be safer going with scaffolding.

Polyethylene is thin sheets of plastic. Large quantities are required to cover windows, vegetation/landscaping and even to protect materials.

Scaffolding rental would cost about $100/week from a place like Stevenson’s Rental for the quantity required to do your home yourself. Be careful about getting EIFS materials caked on it, as the rental location might charge you for cleaning it. An enormous role of polyethylene will cost about $20 and last you the entire project.

Safety Equipment

While it goes without saying that you should take all possible precautions when working with liquid materials, many people take this aspect lightly. I won’t lecture, just say to be cautious. Pails of finish coat that have been sitting around for a while might have gases trapped under the lid that could make you nautious. When pouring the dry cement into a bucket of water to be mixed, a lot of the powder will billow up like smoke. Aside from having the inside of your lungs encased in cement being a bad idea, there are tiny fibers and acrylics in the basecoat (that help the durability once on the wall) that can also cause problems. Even without inhaling, cement itself is a corrosive material, that will irritate skin and cause serious damage to eyes and membranes.

All together, an investment of about $100 will protect your health and keep you from visiting the hospital. WHMIS labels/documents should nonetheless be read and be on-hand.

Overall Costs

While you might be saving yourself hard-cash going out of your pocket to pay for labour, the tiny expenses required to complete a DIY EIFS project add up to a not-so-tiny amount. Depending on the size of your project, it can actually turn out to be cheaper to hire someone who has all the necessary tools and equipment to do the work for you. It will without a doubt however, take much longer (and more frustration) to do it yourself than to hire someone, but can be a rewarding experience.

Are you considering or have you done your own stucco renovation? If so, please feel free to share your experience here!