Stucco vs. EIFS

Stucco is a cement based exterior wall cladding that has existed in one form or another for over 5000 years.  Although the chemical composition, tools and application techniques have changed throughout the years, it's overall appearance remains the same.

Today, stucco is usually installed over framed construction with a substrate, weather resistive barrier, and troweled or pumped onto lathing material at a minimum of 3/8" thickness.  Once the stucco base has cured (normally a minimum of 7 days), a finish coat is applied.  This finish coat can be either a cement based color coat, paint or acrylic textured finish (the same as used for EIFS finish).

Because stucco is a cement based material, it is a hard and durable cladding.  However, because of it's rigidity, it is not flexible and is prone to cracking.  There are several reasons for a stucco wall to crack:  an inaccurate mix, weather conditions during application, improper lath installation, lack of or inadequate water curing, structural movement, etc...  While hairline cracks are common, they are strictly cosmetic and should not be of major concern.  Any crack wider than the flat part of a dime should be inspected for cause and future performance.  Your inspector should recommend one or more options to remedy this type of issue.

One way to tell whether you have a stucco or EIFS building is to look for metal expansion joints.  If your building has metal expansion joints (not to be confused with decorative aluminum reveals), it is a stucco cladding.  Stucco walls should also have metal trims around all windows, doors and terminations.  The trims around doors and windows may be covered with sealants, so the best way is to look at the bottom of the wall where the stucco ends to see if a "J Metal" is holding it in place.  If the bottom side of the termination is covered with either a base coat or finish, it is likely an EIFS wall. 

 "J Metal" Around Penetrations and Terminations
                        
 Lathing Material            
      
 Weather Resistive Barrier            
 
 Stucco Base Coat
 
 Finish Coat 
 

     Typical Stucco Cut-Away

If you still aren't sure and you think you may need inspection services, contact our experts to arrange an appointment.