Years ago I remember hearing about problems with some of these type of homes. One has come on to the market near me, I am interested in taking a look at it. Can someone refresh my memory… have all these problems been resolved? Could problems arise in the future even if none exist now? Do I avoid at all cost? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you
That had to be at least 20-25 years ago. The new product came on the market and it had some specific installation instructions that was different than the “old style” stucco. Of course the installers didn’t pay attention to the new instructions. That’s where the problems came from. Haven’t heard of any of these problems in many years. If interested, I would get a home inspection and tell the inspector to look at the stucco specifically. If it was still a problem, the house would be rotted down by now.
Our house is covered with synthetic stucco. In fact, it is probably used here 3-4x as much as aggregate stucco (and the vast majority of houses here are stucco). We bought a new house 23 years ago and had to have the house restuccoed after 7 years. Not due to a fault with the stucco, but with bad workmanship that required a lot of work to fix problems that should not have existed. It’s been 16 years now and we and going to get new stucco later this year. That seems to be about the normal lifespan with the sun, heat and wind here.
I think the recent stucco and stucco-like materials are pretty stable. We built our house in 2011 and as I recall the main exterior walls were OSB/Tyvek/wire mesh/stucco and the decorative trim was shaped foam followed with a bonding coat/fiberglass matting/base coat/color coat.
So it’s probably a combination of the two. It seems to hold up well with the accompanying cultured stone areas as well
Great feedback….thanks, everyone!
Google EIFS system
The problems with barrier EIFS cladding all stem from water intrusion. These problems include moisture accumulation in the wall cavity, subsequent wood damage and, in more advanced cases, mold growth and the infestation of pests such as carpenter ants or termites .
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When I was selling Real Estate this was an inspection problem.
The solution was not cheap.
About 4 inches of the Synthetic Stucco was removed from the bottom removing any contact with the ground that might allow wicking of water and ground based insect intrusion which would cause tunneling in the Stucco.
This 4 inches was then filled with concrete and or tarred to create the barrier.
This seemed to work.
Against my recommendation my kid bought one of these after on inspection and the seller performing the remediation. It seemed to be OK.
I’ve had one since 1989 when we built it - have never had any problem but did take preemptive action by having it cut off at the bottom above the poured foundation. That was a requirement for a termite guarantee. I have had it check for moisture retention and no problems - just make sure things are sealed like around water faucets - where your HVAC enters the home - I have it on (2and 1/2) sides of my home - then rock in the front and Hardi plank on the back.
Thanks for the insight…very helpful….I will not pursue this house I referenced
Seems like extra work…I will hold off moving forward…thanks for the feedback!