Exterior Insulation and Finishing System (EIFS) is a multi-layer exterior wall system that is used for commercial buildings and homes. This technique is sustainable and eco-friendly as it uses superior energy-efficient designs to maintain and extend the life of exteriors. It also offers much greater design flexibility than other cladding products.
Developed in Europe in the 1950s, EIFS has introduced in the Middle East almost 35 years ago and we were among the early adopters of the technology. Much work was done initially for commercial buildings, and later, on homes. Today, EIFS accounts for nearly 20% of all the Middle East commercial exterior wall market.
EIFS typically consist of the following components:
- Insulation board, made of polystyrene or polyisocyanurate foam, which is secured to the exterior wall surface with a specially formulated adhesive and/or mechanical attachment
- A durable, water-resistant base coat, which is applied on top of the insulation and reinforced with fiberglass mesh for added strength.
- An attractive and durable finish coat — typically using acrylic co-polymer technology — which is both colorfast and crack-resistant.
Features/Benefits:
The popularity of EIFS rests a great deal on the cost-efficient nature of the materials used. Superior energy efficiency coupled with the flexibility to be adapted to any design, make it a popular choice for our clients and partners.
Energy Efficiency:
If you’ve ever felt the comfort of being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold winter night, you have some idea of what EIFS can do for a home or building.
EIFS wraps the exterior in an energy-efficient thermal blanket. By insulating outside the structure, EIFS reduces air infiltration, stabilizes the interior environment, and reduces energy consumption by 40%.
By contrast, traditional “between-the-studs” insulation, no matter how thick, leaves “thermal breaks” — gaps where heat and cold pass more freely between the outdoors and space within — at studs, wall outlets, wall joints, and elsewhere.
EIFS can reduce air infiltration by as much as 55% compared to standard brick or wood construction. And since walls are one of the greatest areas of heat and air conditioning loss, improvement in the wall insulation can be very meaningful in terms of energy conservation.
What’s more, EIFS adds to the “R-value” of a home or building. (R-value is a measurement of the resistance to heat flow; the higher the R-value, the better the material’s insulating value.) Most EIFS use insulation board with an R-value of R-4 to R-5.6 per inch as the innermost layer in the wall system. When combined with standard wall cavity insulation, this extra layer can boost wall insulation from R-11 to R-16 or more.
Another point to keep in mind on new construction: Due to the energy efficiency of EIFS, it may be possible to specify lower-capacity heating and air conditioning equipment without sacrificing anything in terms of interior comfort.
Design Flexibility:
The rich appearance of EIFS bears a resemblance to stucco or stone, but the systems are far more versatile than these and other materials. Not only does EIFS offers virtually limitless colors and a wide variety of textures, but they can also be fashioned into any shape or design.
With EIFS, skilled applicators can create all sorts of exterior architectural detailing that would often be cost-prohibitive using conventional construction — cornices, arches, columns, keystones, cornerstones, special moldings, and decorative accents are few examples.
Most of these details are computer-generated. The designs are precision-cut out of insulation board, attached to the substrate or wall, then covered with the EIFS base coat, mesh and finish coat.
Using this ingenious process, EIFS applicators can give a striking, distinctive appearance to any building or residence.
Maintenance:
Unlike wood, stucco, and other siding materials, EIFS rarely need painting. Most EIFS systems are specially formulated with 100% acrylic binder, which gives EIFS superior resistance to fading, chalking, and yellowing. As a result, the systems tend to maintain their original appearance over time. And since the color is integral to the finish coat, even if the surface is scratched, the same color appears beneath the abrasion.
EIFS also has excellent resistance to dirt, mildew, and mold, which helps keep the building exterior looking clean and freshly painted. Should the surface ever become soiled, it can usually be cleaned by hosing it down.
The systems are designed to be very flexible, which makes them highly crack resistant. When walls expand or contract due to rising or falling temperatures, EIFS are resilient enough to “absorb” building movement and thus avoid the unsightly cracking problems that are so common with stucco, concrete, and brick exteriors.
EIFS are among the most water-resistant exterior surfaces you can put on a house. But as with all claddings, EIFS must be correctly installed and properly detailed if they are to perform properly. Otherwise, moisture can get behind the systems and cause damage, just as it can with wood siding, brick, or any other exterior.
Water intrusion is seldom a problem on commercial structures with EIFS. Water intrusion damage to homes is uncommon, but when it does occur, the moisture typically affects only small areas which can be easily and inexpensively repaired.
In cases where homes have been damaged, the problems have been traced to the use of poor quality (even leaky and/or non-code-compliant) windows and/or improper flashing and sealing. As a result, when building with EIFS, it is wise to use quality windows which are code- compliant and to make sure there is proper flashing and sealing around windows, doors, roofs, deck-to-house attachments, and all other exterior wall penetrations.
Periodic maintenance should include thorough checking of the flashing and sealing to ensure that the building envelope remains watertight. Damaged or missing flashing should be repaired or replaced immediately; likewise, cracked or deteriorated sealants should immediately be repaired, or removed and replaced.