EIFS 101 – What you need to know about exterior insulated finishing systems in IDS-DMV
Exterior Insulated Finishing System, EIFS, is a synthetic type wall rendering g or stucco system. The system is comparatively very lightweight with significantly better insulation values, compared to traditional cement render and stucco systems.
The pictures below show an area in a Washington DC alley. The wall was struck by a vehicle, possibly a trash truck, which gouged and scraped the EIFS wall surface. The damaged area it shows a cross section of the surface. You can see there is a yellow fiberglass reinforcement on top of a insulative Styrofoam type substrate. On top of the yellow reinforcement, a cementitious finish coat has been applied.
Exterior insulated finishing systems perform well against the weather. They have superior qualities to traditional stucco because the cement type materials used in the mixture have modern polymer additives.
On the surface exterior insulated finishing systems appear to be hard and solid. However, when you tap on the surface of a EIFS wall you can hear a hollow sound, indicative of the inner core being nothing more than lightweight styrofoam.
