EIFS and Stucco issues that you can see!

Being one of only a handful of qualified EIFS/Stucco inspectors in our area, I'm often called out to inspect the EIFS or stucco cladding on a home.  Many times, I can see glaring issues from the street when I drive up to the home.  Those issues do not take any special equipment or really much knowledge after you know what to look for. Hopefully this Blog will allow readers to identify some issues prior to making an offer on a home.

This is a hardcoat or real stucco home. This was about 12 hours after a rain shower and the water stain is a telltale sign that we have a problem. The flashing dead ends into the wall and the water has no place to go but down the wall. A simple piece of kick-out or diverter flashing could have been fabricated to direct the water off the roof instead of down the wall.  The lack of rain gutters is not much help either.  Look for stains, dry or wet!

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Same house, but this time they have added the kick-out flashing, but it was not installed properly!  The stain is telling us that something is wrong!

This is an EIFS home. The EIFS is on the roof line, it should be 2" above the roof surface! Also we have no visible flashing at the sidewall and the roof!  It is also missing the kickout diverter flashing at the bottom to kick roof water runoff into the gutter.  This you can see from the street!

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Here we have the diverter flashing, but it was just stuck into place and now it is funneling more water into the wall!  The first picture is the interior of the window next to this diverter flashing. The wall is wet and the wood is swollen!

The following are just some common issues that you can spot now that you know what to look for!  

I hope that this little bit of on EIFS and Stucco problems will help you with your current home or if you are looking for a new home. Keep in mind that we are one of just a few companies in our area that can offer an EIFS/Stucco inspection with your home inspection.  Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions on what you might be looking at!