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ABSTRACT The early-age reaction kinetics of alkali-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) binders as determined by in-situ isothermal calorimetry are discussed in this paper. Particular attention is paid to the [...]

ABSTRACT This paper presents an investigation into the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio, and stress-strain relationships of alkali-activated portland-cement-free concrete made with fly ash or ground granulated blast [...]

Because EIFS are a jointless type of wall cladding that can be installed over a huge wall area without joints at all, it's clear that the only way for water [...]

There is work underway to develop a standardized protocol for inspecting EIFS as it is being installed. This work is being done by the ASTM technical society. The protocol, as [...]

In North America, EIFS is pretty much a single type of design, namely expanded polystyrene insulation adhesively attached to the supporting wall, and a thin, synthetic, two-layer, glass fiber mesh-reinforced [...]

You'll love this. I once had this funny story told to me. It's about the 'need' to use reinforcing mesh in EIFS base coats. It goes like this: In an [...]

In my 30-plus years of working with EIFS, I've seen some pretty crazy things done with this product. Part of this zeal to experiment with EIFS' capabilities is that EIFS [...]

EIFS is a construction product. But it is the type of construction product that is used in architectural construction--in human-occupied buildings. I make this distinction to separate EIFS from industrial, [...]

I received an odd email the other day from a company located in a town whose name I can't pronounce--somewhere in India. They had found me through Walls & Ceilings. [...]

Perhaps the most common phone inquiry I get is to do an 'EIFS inspection'--whatever that means. The word 'inspection' has a lot of connotations, such as checking the EIFS application [...]

There's a good bit of EIFS on the central Gulf Coast, including some large casinos and hotels right at the water's edge. Some of these EIFS got clobbered so bad [...]

There is embedded trim and then there is flashing. What's the difference? Flashing is not bonded into the EIFS coatings but may be in loose contact with the coatings. Embedded [...]

Readers may recognize my name as the columnist for the monthly W & C column, The Finish Line, about EIFS. Prior to my immersion into the world of EIFS, I [...]

I'm frequently asked for a second opinion regarding someone else's EIFS inspection report. The reason is almost always that the person paying for the report is not satisfied with the [...]

One of the most significant changes to the design of EIFS in the last few decades is the advent of EIFS with drainage. EIFS with drainage has a cavity behind [...]

I get a lot of consulting inquiries about moisture aspects of EIFS. They fall into two basic categories: bulk liquid water leaks and the presence of water somehow related to [...]

Much has been written in W&C about the issue of insurance in the EIFS industry. The Exterior Design Institute, a trade association based in Norfolk, Va., has recently developed an [...]

Anyone with even a little bit of experience with EIFS can tell war stories about getting dragged into situations in which the EIFS on a building is supposedly leaking. It's [...]

I'll bet there are a lot of readers of The Finish Line who have run into the following situation: You get a phone call from an alleged customer who rants [...]

Of all the types of e-mail questions I get via www.eifs.com, one of the most common is from homeowners and inspectors looking for tips about how to investigate leaks in [...]

The ability to create large, seamless, flat wall surfaces is one of EIFS's unique design features. This attribute is not overlooked by architects and is frequently exploited. However, it is [...]

It's an understatement to say that there is a lot of current interest about the matter of water in relationship to EIFS. Most of this interest centers around leaks of [...]

In my consulting work I often review the construction details for EIFS projects, both LI for new buildings and old ones. The former is intended to get it right the [...]

In the early days of the EIFS industry I in North America, the damage resistance of EIES from impact was a big issue. Architects and building owners want to know [...]

In the May column 'Keep it Dry,' I talked about issues to be dealt with when using EIFS that incorporate a water resistive barrier. WRBs are most often used in [...]

I often get calls from people wanting to 'beef up' the performance of their EIFS walls. There are some things you can do to improve performance and this month's column [...]

When I do technical seminars about EIFS, one of the most frequent questions is, 'Should I use adhesives or mechanical fasteners (screws plus washers), or even both, to attach the [...]

When EIFS with drainage is used, the details at the termination of the EIFS are different from traditional EIFS. This is especially true at the bottom edge of an EIFS [...]

One of the most popular design features of EIFS is its ability to mimic other materials. This includes being a stone, concrete or stucco look-alike. This feature of EIFS is [...]

The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti has focused attention on many things about that country, including politics, economics, its history and culture, and many other poignant topics, not the least [...]

When EIFS was first introduced into the North American market in the late '60s, there was skepticism about its performance. Designers and specifiers asked, 'How well would such a lightweight [...]

This month, instead of having the column be a single topic, I'm going to have a lot of small topics. Most of these are things that I have seen or [...]

Last month I discussed fastener design, thermal bridging and other topics. This month we'll get into more detail. WIND FORCES The purpose of mechanical fasteners is to keep the EIFS [...]

This is the first of a two-part article on mechanical fasteners. This method of attaching the EIFS insulation has an interesting history. It is also different from the normal way [...]

I'm frequently asked to look at existing EIFS projects to assess their condition (as in a house sale) or to determine what's causing some problem (as in the case of [...]

Several times a year, I get inquiries from companies that want to enter the EIFS business. Sometimes, it's a big company wanting to set up a new division and it [...]

The term inspection has different meanings to different people. To some it means an assessment of the condition of an existing building. To others it means an l-depth probe for [...]

It's pretty obvious that the U.S. economy is now in a depressed mode, and that home sales, and building construction in general, are two of the many affected industries. Over [...]

Rust streaks: it's surprising how one teeny tiny granule of iron--the size of a pin head--can ruin an entire EIFS facade. Large rust stain streaks can be created by an [...]

Most of the inquiries I get for help with existing EIFS projects have something to do with an odd problem that no one can figure out how to work around. [...]

I often do consulting regarding buildings with problems. While I don't care much for the adversarial atmosphere when dealing with unhappy people and their lawyers, sometimes the problems involved are [...]

Over the years l've seen eifs applied to some pretty odd wall surfaces ('substrates'). if you are determined to use eifs as the new cladding on an existing building, you [...]

In the early days of EIFS in North America, one of the gripes about EIFS was its vulnerability to impact damage. The advent of heavyweight reinforcing meshes partially solved the [...]

The code requirements for the use of EIFS over moisture-sensitive substrates like wood include adding the capability for the EIFS to drain. This added capability results in an EIFS product [...]

Most people involved with EIFS realize that the modern type of EIFS widely used in North America (that uses EPS and thin synthetic coatings) was originally developed in Europe around [...]

It's been a year since Katrina clobbered New Orleans and surrounding areas. I've been down there to work on some of the EIFS buildings. I thought you'd be curious about [...]

Over the years, I've had a number of companies as clients that make and install signs. Most of the signs are used for commercial applications (stores and hotels) and they [...]

AESTHETIC REVEALS When a flashing overlaps an aesthetic reveal, keep in mind that there is a recessed spot in the wall surface at the reveal. An example of this condition [...]

This is part one of a two-part article on flashings. Flashings are a very important part of an EIFS-clad wall assembly but are not an EIFS product per se. Hence, [...]

One of the questions I am frequently asked is how to fix sealant joints when the edge of the EIFS is coming apart or the sealant has detached from the [...]