Dawn, Ken, and the Starz have been Dave Ramsey’s personally Endorsed Local Providers for Real Estate in the Birmingham area for 7 years and are Dave’s top agents out of over 600 agents nationwide!

Find Out More

 

    Tab content 4 here
    Tab content 4 here

    What's the Deal about Drivit?

    EIFS and Drivit questions answered. - By Ken Boyd

    Exterior Insulation Finishing Surface (EIFS),known to most people as Drivit,was to be the competition for brick and the exterior of the future. The insulation factor is great for keeping utility bills low. It is kind of like living in a Styrofoam cooler, as the exterior of the home is actually wrapped in Styrofoam, which then has a stucco like material that is then applied to give the decorative appearance.


    Great material... except...in the early stages of use, many builders made mistakes. The biggest mistake was to apply the styrofoam such that the bottom was buried below ground level, thinking this would provide additional insulation. True...but...they did not think about termites. Termites need darkness and moisture to build their tunnels that lead to their food source. The styrofoam up against the foundation created a perfect path from the termite nest to the framing of the home. This was termite heaven, and the home owners had no idea what was happening as termites do not make a lot of noise. It is important to know that this did not occur on all homes built in this manner. I have seen several homes where the drivit was removed and showed no damage to the framing. Some "specialist" found this as an opportunity to scare people into removing the drivit and replacing with brick, at an inflated cost, unnecessarily.
    When drivit is applied properly, there is a mortar like 8-10 inch band that circumvents the home preventing insect movement. Proper caulking of all areas that are in contact with drivit are very important. Improper caulking leads to moisture penetration behind the styrofoam and over time can cause rot of a build up of mold. The mold issue was huge, then the lawyers, like termites, had a feast. (No disrespect lawyers, I met one once I liked)


    EIFS is still used widely. Most shopping malls, like the Summit, are built with this material. When done properly, it is a great material.Homes in many areas of the country are still being built with EIFS.
    When purchasing a home with EIFS, it is very important to have an inspection performed by a liscensed inspector. Making a point to do a periodic visual inspection is important once a purchase is made, checking the caulking around windows and doors.


    Probably the biggest problem today is the uninformed realtor who has no knowledge of EIFS and whose only info has come from what they have heard. Drivit homes can be a very good purchase value as they tend to be priced lower due to the perception of a problem. I have owned a Drivit home and had no problems. All construction was proper with banding and caulking. It was a big home and our utility bills were LOW! And best of all, when we sold, we made a profit. Of course, it was a beautiful home.

    In summary, I guess you could say, "I ain't skeered of drivit."