Systems or Components?

EIFS “manufacturers” are system integrators and brand managers. Acrylic resins, fillers, pigments, cement, coated glass fibre mesh, sand, insulation and other system ingredients all are purchased. Different EIFS brands get them from the same sources as often as not. Any plasterer can become an EIFS manufacturer, particularly in the US market, where the basic materials are sold to all comers by some suppliers. Brand-name installations offer service and reliability. Selecting the right products, and ensuring that they work together adds value. It relieves building designers and owners of responsibility, and gives them a single party to complain to if things don’t work. Caveat emptor still applies however. Does the manufacturer have a solid history of research, testing, and proven application? Does the warranty cover details, penetrations, junctures with other components, and, in the event of failure, compensation for consequential damages? Does the manufacturer assist at the delivery, in the drawing room and at the job-site, to ensure that detailing, site conditions, and workmanship are all adequate? If there is a failure, will it be fixed? If there is a 3rd party inspection program, who will shoulder responsibility for a failure?