Talk:Exterior Insulation Finishing System

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<This is a re-write of the current posting. It is factually more accurate than the current posting, including such basic aspects as the name of the product and its composition). The current posting also contains copyrighted verbage from a prominent EIFS website, which should be removed.>



GENERAL

Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems are a type of exterior wall cladding for buildings. Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems are sometimes called "EIFS" (usually pronounced "eeefs"), "synthetic stucco", and "Dryvit". The world "Dryvit" is a trademark and the name of the leading and original US EIFS producer. EIFS is not stucco, as EIFS is a modern insulating synthetic product, while stucco is centuries old non-insulating material, and consists of sand, Portland cement and water.

EIFS is attached to the outside face of exterior walls with an adhesive, mechanical anchors or both. EIFS is usually installed at the construction site by hand by independent professional plastering conytractors. EIFS is not a DIY product. EIFS can also be made as prefabricated panels in a factory. The panels have a metal subframe and are trucked to the building site, raised with a crane, and attached to the building frame. Panels are used almost exclusively on large commercial buildings.

COMPOSITION OF EIFS

EIFS consists of a number of layers that are installed as a series of layers. The most basic EIFS consists of:

  • A layer of foam plastic insulation that comes in the form of sheets. Various types of foam insulation can be used.
  • A reinforced layer that is applied onto the face of the insulation, consisting of an adhesive and fiberglass reinforcing mesh.
  • A final topcoat, which is a colored, textures paint-like material.

Some types of EIFS also have a drainage plane (a gap between the foam and the wall) and a weather resistant barrier (a coating or film) between the foam insulation and the supporting wall. The types of EIFS, known as "EIFS with Drainage" is required by code in many areas on wood frame construction, and is intended to provide a path for incidental water that gets behind the EIFS with a safe route back to the outside.

USES OF EIFS

EIFS can be attached to a wide range of wall surfaces, including solid surfaces such as concrete, brick, block,, and walls that use studs (metal or wood) to which is attached cement-based sheathing, gypsum-based sheathing and wood-based sheathing (plywood and oreinted strand board, aka OSB).

EIFS can be used on a wide range of buildings, including homes, apartments, condo's, high-rise buildings, office, malls, shopping centers, hotels, motels, clinics, government buildings, and so on. It can also be used a facades and soffits on shopping centers, and for decorative purposes (to look like stone or to create signage).

HISTORY

EIFS was developed in Europe after World War II as an insulating and re-finishing system for solid masonry walls. It started to be used in North America in the 1960's. In North America EIFS is used routinely on stud framed walls (not solid walls, as in Europe). It is now used in many areas around the world, especially in Europe, North America and Asia.

THE EIFS INDUSTRY

There are several dozen EIFS producers in North America. Some sell nationwide, and some are regional in their area of business operations. They sell through specialty building product distributors who handle related products such as drywall, metal framing, stucco, insulation and coatings. The top 6 EIFS producers in the USA account for about 90% of the market. Major EIFS producers include the following brands: Dryvit, Sto, Parex, TEIFS Wall Systems, Senergy (BASF), Omega Products. and Master Wall. EIFS producers have websites that have contain all manner of information about their products. The EIFS industry has a trade association "EIFS Industry Members Association" or "EIMA", that has a website: www.eima.com. An informative EIFS website is www.eifs.com and this site has free, downloadable general EIFS information.

EIFS accounts for about 10% of the exterior wall construction in the USA, and has a number of features that contribute to its popularity including a modern seamless look, the ability to mimic other materials, reasonable cost, and high energy efficiency.


--Robert Thomas 07:24, 22 October 2006 (UTC)