# Is dryvit dead????



## mikeswoods

I was talking to a customer that just bought an eighteen year old house.

It has Dryvit outside--she said that they were turned down for homeowners insurance by three companies because of the Dryvit.

Darn near lost the financing because of the delays.

Has this product failed so completely that the insurance companies won't touch it??

I never heard of this before---maybe it's old news--I do interiors so I don't pay a lot of attention to things like this.---Mike--


----------



## loneframer

mikeswoods said:


> I was talking to a customer that just bought an eighteen year old house.
> 
> It has Dryvit outside--she said that they were turned down for homeowners insurance by three companies because of the Dryvit.
> 
> Darn near lost the financing because of the delays.
> 
> Has this product failed so completely that the insurance companies won't touch it??
> 
> I never heard of this before---maybe it's old news--I do interiors so I don't pay a lot of attention to things like this.---Mike--


 The last 2 times I switched homeowners policies, I was asked specifically if it was an EIFS exterior. I have personally seen quite a few buildings with DriVit exteriors that failed horribly.


----------



## Greg Di

Dryvit has been plagued by water penetration issues. It is very rare that the installer detailed the flashing properly so it's not uncommon to find moldy, rotten walls lurking under the surface.

It's a nightmare.


----------



## loneframer

Here's a link to some interesting reading...


http://www.fredbernstein.com/articles/display.asp?id=81


----------



## Cole82

Hate it, but have a nice size project comeing up to replace a crap load of it. Even though it failed once they want it again. Also have another customer that sold there house because they couldn't get HO insurance.

Cole


----------



## Tom Struble

there are now drainable eifs system that may not be subject to the same types of problems the original dryvit system had...again like in everything attention to details are key

funny thing i was just recently reserching this for some reason:shifty:

heres a great link for some general info

http://www.dspinspections.com/eifs_facts.htm


----------



## mikeswoods

Within two years they hope to strip this thing and get it sided--Someone will get a nice job there.


----------



## Greg Di

Whatever is left under it....


----------



## loneframer

I saw a beachfront dryvit building that I trimmed in the late 80s/early 90s get opened up about 5 years ago. I'd say 80% of the plywood sheathing was completely destroyed from moisture, the rim boards had to be replaced on most of the building. I'm not sure, but it looked like many of the joist ends were rotted off.

I know of another place in Margate that had the same issues. Major damage.

I've heard theorys ranging from the foam not allowing the wall the breath, to the finish failing and allowing moisture into the wall, only to be trapped. I've heard it blamed on flashing details and improper installation.

I've seen it glued directly to the plywood and screwed to the wall over Tyvek.

The bottom line is, the failure rate is entirely too high with fingers pointing in every direction.

One system that I have confidence in is 2 layers of #30 felt, wire, scratch coat, brown coat and finally a Dryvit finish coat. This house was built in the early 90s and the pic was taken last year.


----------



## dayexco

to me, drivit looksf like another HD or Lowes "DIY'er" thing....many of drivit the homes i see here, looks like you bought 4 x 8 sheets of the stuff and glued it to your home...none of them are unique, they all look alike. i think drivit has taken the "artist" out of the end result. i had a house that was built in 29 that was stucco, beautiful home..next door was stucco also, must have been done by a different contractor, because it was unique in itself also, and also very beautiful.


----------



## woodworkbykirk

around here dryvit is almost non existant in residential but its used quite often on large commercial base buildings. we have a really bad freeze thaw cycle so it doesnt hold up very well. one day its -10 celcius with heavy snow the next day its +5 and sunny

2 weeks ago the home show took place and i was talking to the creator of Evolution envelope sealant. basically blue skin in a tube. anyhow he was saying hes from out west and the builders are screaming at architects and designers to stop calling for dryvit on the outside of homes. too many issues and too many callbacks


----------



## Tom Struble

it was originally used over masonry buildings to help restore some of building damaged by the war in Europe,never was meant to make a cape into an Italian villa:no:


----------



## ESSaustin

My house has it (built in early eighties) and I hate it. Plan to replace it soon.


----------



## NJ Brickie

tomstruble said:


> it was originally used over masonry buildings to help restore some of building damaged by the war in Europe,never was meant to make a cape into an Italian villa:no:


Like tom said, works great over masonry, not so much over wood.


----------



## chris klee

i have seen it used in commercial buildings, when the company i used to work for built the cancer treatment facility the parapit was all eifs using dryvit. i asked it the stuff was good cause i always heard it was garabage. i was told that it was fine for commercial because it was over densglass with masonry tyvek with metal studs for framing. nothing to rot. the archi did say he would never spec it over any sort of wood.


----------



## CharlesD

I saw a lot of it while working commercial construction. But it always went over Densglass and metal framing. Never over wood.
Plus, don't you have to be certified to use the stuff?


----------



## GFRC

*Dryvit*

Just to clear things up a little 
Dryvit has an applicator problem.
There is nothing wrong with the material.
I have been applying Dryvit for over 20 years successfully
Be sure to have an approved applicator do the work
If you are going to put Dryvit over wood you need to first apply a moisture barrier like stucco wrap. That way if the Dryvit does fail it does not destroy the substrate. 
Dryvit or maybe we should call it EIFS (exterior insulation and finish system) is a very unforgiving product as if it is applied wrong and it fails it is only foam behind there and we all know how foam absorbs water like a sponge. 
EIFS makes a great commercial building application. It is cheap and does the job. Keep it up high and have a certified applicator install ... not the cheapest guy on the block, and you will have great success with it.


----------



## J L

Another issue with Dryvit/Eifs is termites. Many times the landscaping goes right up to the stucco and the foam is now below grade. The foam then becomes the new protected termite superhighway leading the termites into the home and into the moist wood behind the dryvit which termites love to eat. The stucco shell hides the damage they are doing so by the time termite damage is known, it's too late.

We see many cases here where to get a termite bond on a property, you have to have someone come through and cut the dryvit off 6" above grade.

I've also seen that critters like it - one client had a bunch of perfectly round woodpecker holes in it.


----------



## contractordan

Drivit is listed as an exclusion on on my liability policy and it was going to be on the other three policies that I researched. I don't use a lot of Dryvit, but have used on it on commercial buildings when I super'd for another contractor. I agree that it is an application problem....but everyone says they're the best applicator....how do you sort the good from the bad? I do believe it has it's applications though...just not on a home made of wood studs.


----------



## GFRC

*Re: EIFS*

As a GC or owner you should always see the EIFS applicators cert. which is given by the EIFS supplier. Dryvit, Sto, and Senergy all have programs in place now to help police the industry. I know, a day late ... but with the applicator cert. the jobs are tracked and the warranty is digitally attached to each applicator. 
But I see companies with all their i's doted and t' crossed when it comes to having all the right paper work to land a job and I watch their guys in the field continue to cut corners. So, I guess there is nothing better than just having a good EIFS guy you can trust to do the job right. Like a good mechanic you can trust.
p.s.
EIFS should not be used anywhere near the ground. I recommend at least 4 ft off the ground.


----------

