I was a plastering contractor during the last horrible recession of the late-’70s. Work was so scarce that we even bid for one of the more notorious developers in our area. Even knowing this particular developer was infamous for burning subcontractors, running a project site with no regard for proper sequence and avoiding retention payment, we felt we had to bid his work.
In EIFS, water resistive barriers are a layer between the EIFS substrate and the EIFS insulation. They are most commonly used in EIFS with drainage wall assemblies. They are an additional layer within the wall cladding system and present some unique issues that are worth knowing about. Here are some of the issues.
Can cement stucco and EIFS work in wet climates? The answer is yes and we can prove it. A recent study from the NAHB Research Center reported that brick veneer was the most dry of all claddings they tested. They really need to know all the facts.
In my February 2009 article “The Uncertain Future of Green Building,” I made reference to an article by Joe Lstiburek titled “Prioritizing Green-It’s the Energy, Stupid,” in which he shot gaping holes in the analysis made in a USGBC-commissioned report “Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings” by the New Buildings Institute.
Two things inspired this article. One was reading a take on it by my good friend Al Levi, who writes for Plumbing & Mechanical magazine (a sister publication to Walls & Ceilings). Levi discusses his father’s absolute prohibition against his sons dating the hired help in their family business.
At present there are a myriad of changes being proposed for the ASTM Standards that govern stucco in the Florida Building Code. There are two basic types of changes that are undertaken, editorial and content, and by far the most common are editorial.
Because EIFS are a jointless type of wall cladding that can be installed over a huge wall area without joints at all, it’s clear that the only way for water to get behind the EIFS is somewhere at the edge of the EIFS. This penetration is most often at windows, openings and flashings.
The preceding is the beginning of a song performed by Styx that was a hit in the ’80s. It describes the trials and tribulations that many people faced during that time by misusing a certain illegal white substance.
Have you been around long enough to see the changes in construction? Remember when general contractors actually knew how to organize and schedule a project to actually run efficiently and not just a lot of talk about production?
A recent report titled “The Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth through 2015,” by Harvey M. Bernstein, paints a very rosy picture for green building growth in the coming years.
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