I would be VERY wary if I were you. At bare minimum, I would have a home inspector with experience detecting moisture intrusion problems in homes with stucco/EIFS look at the house in question before you commit to buying it. EIFS is the trade name for synthetic stucco. You may want to look in "EIFS" via your web browser to get more info on potential issues. I lived down South for 10 years (left in 2003) and saw lots of issues with EIFS. Good luck.

I wouldn't believe her either. You don't want it to be an EIFS, but a hardcoat. DH believes EIFS hasn't changed at all, that the year doesn't mean a thing. We're outside of Bham and I've seen terrible issues with synthetic stucco in our area.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions about the house being unfit to buy, do a search on this forum for EIFS. I have responded countless times to misinformation regarding this product. (A couple of the subject lines include "EIFS prone to dents?" and "Need information about exterior stucco." Just because a house has EIFS does not mean it has moisture. Whether the EIFS was installed properly will tell if there might be a potential problem.

If I did not know who applied the product, I would have a home inspector who is familiar with EIFS do an inspection to check for weep holes and proper flashing and detailing around windows (including caulking). You yourself can look for obvious signs of failure, i.e. buckling or peeling of the product.

As always, I or my DH are happy to answer questions about EIFS. Our new home finished last year is EIFS and the outbuilding below is being finished today. We would not be putting it on our dream home if it was inherently flawed.

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around here the product id Dryvit used prior to the 2000 scare that has people still wary of fake stucco
my realtor told me she has someone who is builder who built a personal home w/that exterior--has it on the market--has had three contracts but when inspection reports come back with mention of FUTURE water intrusion, people back out---so now he is considering removing the "fake" stucco and replacing with real thing or pouring a concrete ledge around exterior and making it brick--would would require redoing windows and other things
Both are expensive but does not know if he will ever sell even if he reduces the price...
I notice that the pictures you posted show your stucco built up from ground on brick---so it is not close to ground for moisture wicking up from standing water...
that is great look--but you could not call your home a "stucco" home--it is an accent feature like rock or Hardie plank siding would be...

We all know there are perfectly fine DryVit homes out there, but the public PERCEPTION is that these are/can be problem homes. In sales, perception is reality. You don't want to be fighting that when it's your turn to sell the house.

In a cluster of homes near me only one house was DryVit. It has consistently sold for less than its similarly sized, similarly aged neighbors. Last sale four years ago was to a realtor. Last summer she replaced the DryVit with hardcoat. Her family is growing and she needs a larger home. She's looking ahead to selling the place.

I love in a small town in SC. Recently built stucco homes (within the past 15 years) sell for about 20% less than their brick counterparts.

As chisue states, it doesn't matter if "your" house was done properly. In my area, people think that stucco homes have a high probablilty of potential problems. It doesn't matter what kind of stucco your home is. Ninety nine percent of the poulation doesn't know the difference and doesn't care. People are going to pay less for them or pass on them completely.

If you have standing water close enough to the ground to have the EIFS wicking up, you are in big trouble. No matter what siding you have, water high enough to cover your foundation will cause problems with any substrate you have underneath it. You typically have a foundation wall and never have I seen EIFS, hardiplank, vinyl, etc. come directly to the surface of the ground.

As for our home not being a true EIFS home, we used the cultured stone as an accent feature because that is what is popular in the midwest. However, my inlaws have a full EIFS home done during the early 80s and have not had a bit of trouble. Our other home built in the early 90s also had full EIFS and we just sold it for well over market value. The home inspector said she had no trouble recommending an EIFS home done properly.

As for brick homes selling for higher than EIFS homes, you are right. Brick has always sold for more than homes with other types of siding. Brick is and has always been perceived as a permanent and long lasting exterior, which it is. However, it is nearly impossible to change the exterior of a brick home as it is permanent. The reason many people are choosing EIFS is for the ability to change color and style down the road. I would never try to compare EIFS and brick for resale just as I wouldn't compare brick and vinyl -- they are two different animals.

As for public perception, that is what I am trying to do in forums such as these. Just as word got around about shoddy workmanship in the south, so can the word that done properly EIFS is a perfectly acceptable siding.

It's not workmanship that is the problem with stucco--hardcoat or EIFS--on wood frame. It is a defective design that allows no method for draining moisture from the wall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brick, stucco, housewraps.

Another note about resale issues. Others above mentioned that potential buyers may be fearful of a home with EIFS, but I have also heard that some relocation companies will not become involved in a transaction involving EIFS. For people doing corporate moves, that would be a deal-breaker. I think, by the way, that the reputation of EIFS is significantly worse in the South than in other areas of the US. I am now in the Midwest, and people build/buy EIFS homes all the time here. Most people don't seem to be aware of the bad rep.

I have also heard that, in some areas, it is difficult or impossible to get insurance for homes with EFIS, because of the bad loss record the insurance companies have had with them.

downsouth1993,
Where in North Florida are you moving? I may know a home inspector with experience with EFIS that could check out your prospective house. Email me if you want.

BEWARE--my realtor said that relo not taking up the slack on that type of house is why building them around here pretty much came to a halt...companies were stung so badly at having to buy them and then could not move on re-sale market so they quit offering to cover that exterior as part of relocation packages...if people are transferred a lot, they just refuse to buy them...makes a difference in some markets like my area where certain % of higher end homes fall into that buyers' market ...
you see a few "real" ones but they are usually expensive, custom homes...

gardenchick1: "The home inspector said she had no trouble recommending an EIFS home done properly."

Well...that does not say much for the HI...as the HI would need to document that it was done properly, which is not possible unless she was their during construction...which is why HI's are NOT supposed to recommend anything...other than that something does or does not need repair or further evaluation. Ask the HI if she would be willing to pay for the tear out if she is wrong...

That said...the problem with EIFS is even if it is done correctly (few and far between, as few if any contractor's subs do a "perfect" job on anything), no house is entirely impervious to water intrusion forever.

However, unlike other cladding, the sheathing under can dry more readily...with EIFSÂ..it locks moisture in to the house....in a way that the standard weep holes etc. don't entirely mitigate.

The bottom line is as others have stated...perception. There have been so many problems with EIFS that it has affected the resale value of such homes. After all, exactly HOW does one prove that their EIFS home is one that was done perfectly??

Relo manuals warn employees to steer clear.......insurance is indeed an issue...and no Home Inspector can equivocally tell any buyer for certain if water has intruded...or not.

A synthetic stucco home is a risk...for those who are comfortable with the risk...and the inherent resale issues, so be it...however, it truly is a risk that is entirely unnecessary to take....and apparently expensive, supposedly well built homes are just as suspect...see below.

Here is a link that might be useful: EIFS, Mold & Michael Jordan

I often pass the little subdivision where the Jordans built. There is another home there visible from the road that has been sitting a long time framed, with the Tyvek ripping off it. A "bad apple" house can spoil a neighborhood.

An EIFS house in our town sold at auction last year, supposedly "repaired". Buyer ripped it all off and did hardcoat. Neighbors were relieved.

The primary problems with EIFS have been:

1. The early systems used a "soft coat" finish rather than a "hard coat" finish reinforced with fiberglass mesh. I don't believe the soft coat systems are even manufactured anymore so you probably won't see those terms much anymore.

2. The insulation was installed tight to the sheathing with no drainage plane. It is pretty easy to determine if this occurred by looking at the bottom edge where a perforated weep screed should be located.

3. Many of the houses were in warm humid climates where the wall tended to dry to the interior air conditioned space rather to the exterior.

i would agree with logic. there is a lot of false advertising out there and you just can't be confident that something gets done correctly or at least to your expectations unless you do it yourself or have control over the project. i'm sure every contractor out there who offers EIFS will claim they put it up correctly and in the most proper way. would they tell you otherwise?

same argument for any part of house building. brick also has a proper method to ensure water drains correctly.

Most wall systems can be designed to work in almost any location in the US but each wall system would be designed differently for different locations. Discussing wall system design out of climate context is generally a waste of time.