#moontwp

I have heard this phrase said since I was a kid. As an adult, business owner and builder, it translates essentially as, “it’s one thing to say you believe in a product and another thing to actually spend your money on it.”

For years I have extolled the virtues of EIFS, (Exterior Insulated Finish’s System) or in other word, synthetic stucco. EIFS became popular in Germany in the post WWII period. The half ruined buildings were rebuilt with chipped bricks from neighboring buildings. 

Since the bricks did not match, they needed to be covered. Masonry stucco was not new to Europe, but the drawback to masonry buildings are that they provide very little insulation. This is where the foam insulation proves so very helpful.

A layer of foam is applied over a used brick structure and then synthetic stucco is troweled on top of the foam, creating a water-tight insulated covering that can be used to create a myriad of different architectural styles. 

Stucco can be used to create a Tudor manor house, a quoined formal French château, an arched Spanish villa, and yes, a Tuscan ranch. EIFS got into a lot of trouble in the US because it was applied over wood structures. While the EIFS seldom failed, windows, doors, and wood trim often did. Once the moisture got into houses, it could not get out.  A ton of homes rotted from the inside out. Most of the damage was caused in the Carolinas, where boom times in the 1990’s created a perfect storm; a product requiring great care and knowledge when applying, being applied by untrained crews working in a frantic pace to keep up with an unrealistic schedule.

For years I told clients that the product was not the problem, the application was, especially since EIFS industry developed a new waterproofing system membrane as an added precaution. Some building inspectors allow the EIFS foam to be mechanically attached over Tyvek Stucco Wrap but I have always believed, as does Moon Township’s building inspector, that two layers of paper are required. 

I tell the framer to install the Tyvek paper as if he is providing the only waterproofing and I tell the EIFS installer (or synthetic stone installer, which Is a similar products with similar dangers) that they need to apply their Tyvek paper as if they are applying the only waterproofing system. 

 After the paper, foam sheets are screwed onto the wall.

The screws are set into the foam so the foam can be scraped smooth and level. Then the dimpled holes are filled. 

 and the entire wall is brown coated.

I know the coating is actually grey, but we call it brown coating because the type of tradesmen that applies stucco used to apply plaster, which has a first coat that is actually brown. (I just wanted to clarify because, having grandchildren, when you call grey brown, you get corrected.)

The key to avoiding failures in an EIFS application is that the seams between the stucco and the windows and doors need to also be waterproofed. The most important thing is that the gap be as wide as a finger,

 which allows a wide caulk joint. This is the biggest challenge with all the EIFS contractors I have worked with over the years. They left small gaps and the smeared the caulk over the crack, not into it.

Once the brown coat is on and the gaps created, the finish is troweled on.

 I initially selected a color that was tan, matching some of the stone but Deby and a couple of friends told me that it would look better if the stucco was darker and stood out from the stone.  So we selected a darker color……………………..and had a moment of panic when the first finish coat was applied.

 Deby said our house looked like a pumpkin. 

I was concerned at first as well, but then we decided to give it the chance it deserved. Once the plastic was removed from the stone, we loved it! 

It is certainly not dull, and in fact I say that it is a happy house. I love it, Deby loves it and we have gone ahead with the rest of the exterior painting.

It truly is becoming a Tuscan country villa.

Picking the lights was Deby's thang!!! And boy did she pick some very nice pendant lights from Cardello Lighting. Although a bit pricy, Deby assures me that these lights will make the entire home “pop” when we walk in and will make a bit of an eclectic statement. 

Knowing that Deby wanted a specific look with the granite tops, we chose a builder’s grade cabinet, but a very well built one from Wellborn Cabinets from one of our local designers, Larry Lucci. I told her we had to keep that selection in budget if she wanted her granite choice!

   Her counter top selection, which I do love, is white with black veining and just enough tan tones to tie into the Tuscan Cottage feel and to blend with the fireplace stone.

   I suggested to Deby that although the house certainly has a relaxed feeling, it can look like she had the kitchen installed by a designer from Florence, who brought a more sophisticated urban look to the kitchen with granite counter tops in a Carrera marble mode.  

Stay tuned,

As discussed in an earlier blog, based on compromise, preference and the pitch of the current roof, we came onto the theme of a Tuscan Cottage. 

The Tuscan Cottage look, which is obviously a European genre, but works so well with low pitched roofs, both gable and hipped. But to really pull off Tuscany I felt we needed the look of a red clay tile roof.

 Let me just tell you, the cost of a real tile roof is prohibitive! So I searched high and low and found GAF brand Monaco shingles. Though also a significant upgraded that we wrestled with, we decided (well, I guess I should really say that I decided) this selection would be worth the upgrade.

Deby agreed, and as is mandatory if you are going to stay married for 37 years, my roofing decision came with some tradeoffs as she has certainly chosen interior upgrades that I did not think were worth the cost.

Somehow after all that discussion about the roof upgrade, Deby forgot what the shingle selection was because when she pulled up to the house the day the shingles were being installed, she called me in a panic.

“They are all curled up!” she exclaimed. I assured her they were not. “No!”, she said, “They are!” I explained that they are supposed to look that way to simulate clay barrel tiles that are typical for Tuscan homes.

Once completed, we BOTH believe that these shingles were a good choice; they look real! Like most upgraded materials, these shingles are more difficult to lay. We are fortunate that Ryan Zilwegger’s guys took the time to lay the pattern correctly. 

More to come,