Exterior Insulation Stucco Finishes (commonly called EIFS)

 Stucco Application History with McNair Building Construction, Inc.

Many of McNair Construction homes built with stucco in the 1980's were strictly conventional stucco systems of metal lath, cementous base coats and finish coats (Non-EIFS).  In the early to mid 1990's the stucco applied was of the exterior insulation finish systems  (EIFS) manufactured by Color Match, Color Guard, Ful-O-Mite, Dryvit, and others while adding caulking, felt-back layers, and mechanical fasteners for additional protection during later McNair Construction EIFS installations.  In the mid and late 1990's McNair Construction began to incorporate the best of both the synthetic stucco systems and the conventional hard coat systems due to the market perceptions of EIFS and the real problems associated with installation and system design occurring in the Wilmington area of North Carolina.  In these later 1990's updated systems, the base coat is applied over 2 layers of felt paper on metal lath with conventional hard coat cementous stucco.  The trim at windows, doors, drips and special details are of e.p.s. and applied to the base conventional coat.  The entire home is then finished with an acrylic stucco finish which is highly resistant to cracking, provides many color selections, and has great expandability.

David McNair has been a participant in the original examination of the EIFS in North Carolina during a task force established by NAHB in Raleigh, NC.  His efforts to change installation methods for McNair Construction began early in the discovery stage of problems occurring in the Wilmington, NC area.  The changes he initiated for McNair Building Construction, Inc.  precipitated due to  the company's concern over the potential change in the future perception of the product applied to their homes, not because of known product problems in the Hilton Head area.  McNair Construction has performed tests on many of their homes, and have found very few customers with water intrusion problems. Customers should be aware of these potential intrusion problems, and perform regular inspections and maintenance as outlined in our Maintenance guidelines and suggestions.   

Exterior Insulation Finish Systems (EIFS) and moisture intrusion:

Exterior Insulation Finish Systems are a monolithic, barrier wall-type system, sometimes also referred to as a face sealed system. Many of these EIFS systems in the early and mid 1990's originally may not have specified sealant installation.   However, these system in many homes with minimal roof overhangs, wood windows, and intersecting roof lines with walls, may experience localized moisture infiltration.  It is our opinion that these homes should be updated with a quality caulking installation. The integrity of this barrier should be maintained with a correctly performing sealant joint at all dissimilar materials (i.e., windows, doors, louvers, etc.) exposed to rain to prevent moisture intrusion, unless otherwise sealed by flashings. If the sealant is not maintained through some type of regular Maintenance and Inspection Program, localized water infiltration problems may occur over time.  The National Association of Home Builders Research Department, in conjunction with other professional associations, has developed remediation methods to correct such systems and has issued a technical bulletin update. 

McNair Building Construction, Inc. Assistance:

If you would like for McNair Construction to inspect your home, please drop us an e-mail at HHBuilder@hargray.com or call (843) 681-9543 and schedule an inspection with our customer service representative.

For more information, visit our maintenance section of this web-site.