The Challenge

An upstate NY homeowner wanted a custom home that mirrored a modern ski chalet. He also wanted it to showcase several of the materials from his time in the construction industry. Unfortunately, a project that included concrete, steel panels, and a hardwood exterior was well over budget.

The Solution

Thanks to an architect who was familiar with the design flexibility of EIFS, they were able to showcase how all of the homeowners’ hopes for their home could be met.

The Details

Envision a chalet, built on the side of a mountain, that looks nothing like the typical chalet you would imagine. Nestled in the beautiful mountains around the small town of Swain, New York one can drive around and find many beautiful homes that share similar design characteristics: except one very distinct outlier. That would be the home of the late Richard Ash, a retired contractor with a long history in the trades. While he wasn’t working in the construction trades, Richard and his wife enjoyed skiing around the mountains near Swain. It’s where their dream of building a chalet with materials reminiscent of his construction days was born. The cost of such materials would quickly put his dream in jeopardy of becoming a reality.

Sometimes things are meant to happen by chance. That’s the story associated with this residence. It was by chance that a local Dryvit distributor was meeting with the project’s architect when they received the initial quotes about the costs. When they heard the dismay over the costs, they quickly shared a pricing comparison of EIFS with finishes to replicate the look of wood-grain, corrugated metal, and concrete.

In addition to building an attractive residence, the homeowners wanted performance from their home. They insisted on a durable and low maintenance exterior, and maybe more than anything a finished product that was energy efficient to combat cold upstate NY winters.

“Now we have a material there that has no maintenance. It’s concrete type, stucco type, and so it’s very good against the elements and a very high insulation value, and best of all, very little maintenance. We are not out there sanding it and staining it and everything like that, so I’m very pleased with it,” said Ash. “My dream in building the house is I’ve always been fascinated with contemporary type design construction.”

The fact that the desired exterior appearance could be installed by a single contractor – even while utilizing dissimilar finish materials – is another benefit to using EIFS. While using the natural materials the homeowner originally selected wasn’t feasible, EIFS provided the solution to everything the homeowner was looking for.

Project Details:
Location: Swain, NY
Manufacturer: Dryvit Systems, Inc.
Contractor: Fallon Construction
Distributor: Thermal Foams, Inc.
Architect: Mossien Associates Architects, PC
Owner: Richard Ash