Hi Guys – my first post…
I’m close to buying a home with 2 external chimneys finished with synthetic stucco. One chimney is fully exposed, so the syn stucco starts at the ground , the other chimney is within the perimeter of the house, so it is only exposed above the roof line
The lower portion of the fully exposed chimney is cracking and has a lot of give to it. I expect to have an eifs specialist inspect it, but am inclined to just tear it all out. Any thoughts as to options for chimney cladding to replace the eifs – traditional stucco perhaps?
Thanks
Replies
Depends on the house style and what you like, but the fake veneer stone products (Coronado Stone, etc) are getting used a lot around here on new construction. Some of them look pretty good.
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EIFS should last a very long time if its done right to begin with. Get someone who knows what they are doing and I'm sure your concerns can be addressed with only a couple of days labor plus material.
There are several different types of EIFS available today that are excellent products as long as they are installed according to the manufacturer's requirements. You will want a polymer modified (acrylic polymer) stucco, which will help to prevent cracking.
Probably the most popular system is the one coat - a base coat of polymer modified portland cement followed by a finish coat over metal lathe. Make sure the installer uses the correct starter track or weep screed, correct terminations and expansion and control joints. If using foam or brown board - do not install the stucco closer than 6" above the soil line.
I highly recommend having an EDI certified stucco inspector perform a stucco inspection and moisture testing prior to purchase.
>The lower portion of the fully exposed chimney is cracking and has a lot of give to it.
Can you explain "has a lot of give to it"?
Is that the insulation or the structural components or both?
I agree with getting a report from the specialist before deciding on a course of action. Today it'd be just hypothetical speculation. If the eifs goes with the look of the house, then stick with that once you know why the conditions you see happened. If you wanna change the look, we'd likely need pix to see what's appropriate. Most materials can work well if they're installed properly, so solve the first problem first, which is, what went wrong with the initial installation?
I just redid a chimney that was suppose to be eifs but all it was was plaster sprayed over plywood. The cap had some rot issues so I removed it and wrapped the chimney with house wrap and resided it with concrete board panels and used cypress for corner boards. You can get the concrete boards in 4X9' panels in a stucco look or smooth or even a t111 look.
I built scaffolding up the side which made the installation fairly easy.
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