Tag Archives: eifs

Stucco Colours Fading

Posted by Admin on September 9, 2011 None comments

Stucco (EIFS) comes in a literally limitless number of possible colours, as home owners and architects are able to pick out of a catalog or even have colour swatches or samples matched. Like any coloured exterior product however, stucco colours will change over time due to exposure to sunlight (UV radiation).

Fading Stucco Colour

The darker portion is the area that was originally protected by a canopy.

What can be done about this? Nothing really. It’s just a fact of life. If the situation is apparent enough (as in the top image) because of a permanent change (removal of a canopy), the wall can simply be re-painted using an EIFS paint if the finish coat is still in good condition. Repainting the stucco is far less expensive than going through a full stucco repair, which would be unnecessary in a case like this. This can actually be an opportunity to entirely change the colour of the stucco if a new, updated look is desired. Trying to apply a colour that is close to the ‘faded’ one is pointless, as it will also change over time.

EIFS Colour Fading

The portion that was protected by the canopy is closer to the original colour.

Faded stucco causes no concern about the integrity of the system itself, the change is simply an aesthetic one. What’s important to realize is that if a patch were to be done using the original pail of finish coat, the patch would be closer in colour to the portion of wall that was protected from sunlight.

Darker colours generally tend to change more over time than lighter colours because of the quantity of pigment in the coating. Light colours are just as susceptible however to the change due to exposure to sunlight.

Synthetic Stucco – Why Weeping Holes Are Important

Posted by Admin on September 5, 2011 None comments

Synthetic Stucco (actually known as EIFS) is a popular cladding among both commercial buildings and residential homes in Northern climates because of it’s superior ability to insulate a wall and manage moisture. The moisture management comes primarily from 2 important components of EIFS:

  1. The weather barrier (typically trowel-applied) that acts as a back-up defense against any incidental moisture that gets past the outer barrier
  2. The drainage cavity created by geometrically defined insulation (read: insulation with grooves in the back) and strategically placed adhesive

There are a number of important details that need to be paid attention to, to ensure the system performs optimally. It’s important to note that the drainage system will work even if the details are screwed up to some degree, just not optimally. What we’ll focus on here is the weeping holes though.

Stucco Weeping Holes

Stucco Weeping Holes on a commercial building

Weeping holes are simply gaps in the caulking that is installed at the base of an EIFS wall. The EIFS can terminate 8″ above grade (per building code requirements), above another material (such as brick or stone) or at the joint between floors. EIFS should be terminated with a flashing that is tied into the weather barrier with the use of an EIFS tape, so that water is diverted away from the wall, out onto the exterior surface. Caulking is then installed between the flashing and the EIFS termination (the underside of the EIFS), with weeping holes every 24″ (or per manufacturer specifications).

The caulking prevents excessive wind-driven rain, and/or insects from entering into the EIF system from the bottom. The weeping holes provide adequate area for air flow and drainage of incidental water, while being small enough to act as a deterrent to insects. There’s actually a study floating around somewhere that concludes that the ventilation within an EIFS wall is enough to create an inhospitable environment for bugs to nest.

The lack of weeping holes when caulking is present is strangely common – whether by fault of the EIFS contractor being improperly trained (or maliciously lazy – is that an oxymoron?), a site supervisor lacking the knowledge, or inadequate inspection from the manufacturer. An EIFS wall without adequate drainage from the bottom may suffer from:

  • Precipitate buildup at the caulking
  • Inadequate air-flow for ventilation

Both of which will generally shorten the life of the EIFS wall itself. Will a general contractor who is on the job to ‘get it done and move onto the next’ care? Not likely. The EIFS wall probably won’t fail within the GC’s liability/warranty period, and they probably have backlash against the installer or supplier of the EIFS system regardless. It’s more about ensuring that EIFS countinue to be seen as a reliable, effective cladding for the sake of the future of the industry.

Oh, and the person who ends up owning or using the building. They’re important too.

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.

Durabond at the Toronto Honda Indy 2011

Posted by Admin on July 11, 2011 None comments

Exterior Insulation Finish Systems have the ability to make your home beautiful, reduce outside noise, and use less fossil fuels. Racing and Indies on the other hand seem to be the antithesis -  in your face, targeted to a somewhat questionable audience and loud with a goal of using as much fuel and rubber as required to beat out the competition. The two are not something you would expect to see joined together.

Imagine my surprise then on Sunday while enjoying an ice cold beer (or three) and working on my redneck (I do have one now thanks to brilliant sun) when I see two cars shoot by with Durabond plastered along the sides. I posted last year about Durabond participating in the CTCC but wasn’t aware they would be at the Toronto Honda Indy 2011 until they went screaming by, close behind the leaders. While the event goes against nearly everything the EIFS industry stands for, I guess the millions of barrels of oil Durabond‘s systems have/will save by making buildings more energy efficient more than make up for their participation.

I’d post up the pictures, but they’re not much more than a blur.
More coverage on the event can be found at the Canadian Touring Car article.

EIFS “Panels” Using Reveals

Posted by Admin on March 9, 2011 None comments

I was driving through London, Ontario a while back and saw what looked like panels on the London Fire Department Station. When I got closer however, I realized that it was just cleverly disguised EIFS. The architect has specified reveals to be cut into the EIFS to segment it into panels, and black spots to be placed where the screws should be holding the panels up.

EIFS Fire Department, London

Aside from providing valuable insulation, EIFS is a much less expensive material than panel products like Alucobond and Fibre-C, which can run $20-$40 per square foot. EIFS on the other hand, should cost around $10 per square foot with minor reveals included. the effect is nearly identical, but at 1/2 to 1/4 of the cost.

London EIFS Station

The material works extremely well with the reflective glass, traditional fire-hall-red bricks and stone skirt around the base. It’s a great modern re-imagining of what fire stations should look like.

London Fire Station

I can’t help but laugh however, because of articles I have seen from cities in the states where EIFS has been ignorantly outlawed. Cities and citizens alike have hired poor quality contractors who have installed an inferior system, which has either failed or caught on fire, prompting fire chiefs to speak out against the product. In Canada however, our Architects and building professionals are educated on the facts about EIFS and the improvements that have come along over the past decade. The styrofoam is treated with a fire-retardant, the system is approved for use anywhere (even meets non-combustible requirements, albeit some modifications are required at times) and it’s insulating properties fit our climate needs.

 

Definitely an eye-catching design.