Leaks blamed on exterior of fake stucco

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Leaks blamed on exterior of fake stucco

Sunday, February 11, 2007

The Record, NJ

By KATHLEEN LYNN

STAFF WRITER

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When the six-story Prospect condominium was built in

Hackensack around 1990, the builder clad its exterior in a synthetic

stucco called exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS).

EIFS is popular with some builders because it insulates buildings

and gives the look of stucco at a lower price. Real stucco is a

cement/sand blend; EIFS consists of rigid foam insulation panels

attached to the building, topped by a base layer that includes mesh,

and finally a finish coat. It can be used to embellish buildings

with cornices, pilasters and other architectural details.

But soon after the Prospect was completed, residents began

complaining that water was getting into the building and damaging

its substructure. Eventually, the condo association filed suit,

joining a number of lawsuits that claim EIFS can trap water

underneath its surface, where it can rot a building's frame and

sometimes foster the growth of mold.

The Prospect case was recently settled, with the builder,

property management company and two contractors agreeing to pay the

condo association a total of $1.65 million. Bowens, the

attorney for the builder, Lookout Builders Inc. of Hackensack, said

Lookout is now pursuing a legal claim against the manufacturers of

the EIFS and the windows used in the building.

Other cases are pending, including a lawsuit involving another

Hackensack condo, the 22-story Camelot, built around 1981. That

suit, filed in Superior Court in Hackensack, says the Camelot's EIFS

surface allowed water to seep into the substructure. Further, the

lawsuit says, efforts to caulk and seal the exterior in 1997 did not

solve the problem.

Loscow, a spokesman for Rhode Island-based Dryvit, the

manufacturer of the EIFS used at the Camelot and a defendant in the

lawsuit, denied that the EIFS itself is a problem. Rather, he said,

the trouble is caused by faulty installation and bad seals around

doors, windows and rooflines -- which would cause problems no matter

what cladding is used.

" All buildings, if defectively built, will trap moisture, " Loscow

said. " There is absolutely nothing wrong with EIFS. Like any other

system, if it's built properly, it will keep moisture out. " He said

Dryvit offers extensive training in proper installation to

contractors.

Both the Prospect case and the Camelot case were filed by

Start & Stark of Princeton, where lawyers Don Brenner and Randy

Sawyer have made a specialty of EIFS lawsuits. They have filed suits

involving not only condos, but also single-family homes and other

buildings.

EIFS was developed in Europe, where building substructures are

usually made of concrete or masonry and are not damaged by trapped

water. But in the United States, substructures are often wood, which

will rot if exposed to too much water. And damp wood is " the ideal

environment for termites and carpenter ants to do massive damage, "

said Del Greco, a West Paterson home inspector who is

critical of EIFS.

Early generations of EIFS, introduced in the U.S. in the 1970s,

claimed to be waterproof. But water inevitably found its way in, and

had nowhere to drain, Brenner said. Later, EIFS manufacturers

developed products that allowed rainwater to drain out.

But that later-generation EIFS is often badly installed, allowing

water to seep into the substructure when cracks developed around

windows and doors, Brenner said. That's why his company's lawsuits

usually name not only the manufacturer of the EIFS but also any

contractor involved in its installation, and often window and

roofing companies as well.

The product has been particularly controversial in the South, where

high humidity worsens the potential for damage, according to Maurice

son, a certified EIFS inspector and home inspector based in

Tenafly.

son recommended that people living in EIFS-clad dwellings

should have their property tested regularly for dampness, at the

very least. And they should consider replacing it altogether, he

said.

" If you can afford to, pull it off, " he said. " It peels right off

like a banana. And go to real stucco. "

E-mail: lynn@...