Eifs Problem

Dorin Morgos

I have a big problem with eifs finish coat, I applied it over the base coat that weathered for about 4 months, and after 2 days started "sagging" and bubbling up. I was told it was efflorescence, and scraped up the bad patches of the wall, cleaned with a 10/1 mix of water/muriatic acid, applyied the finish again (looks like hell) but it started sagging again. Can anyone help, it's a big wall and hate to base coat it over again. thanks

plazaman

actually, scrape down peeling areas, do your wash down, and basecoat over again. 2nd coat basecoat doesnt take much time at all, it really goes fast.

its much faster and cheaper than keep applying finishes


another option is to check with the manufacturer, maybe they have a surface primer/conditioner

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Dorin Morgos

thank you, will see if they have a primer first, might be easier than base coat.

Tscarborough

I am not sure of your problem, never having heard of anything like it for an acrylic finish. Can you post some pictures, and give us the wall makeup and particular products you used?

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Dorin Morgos

I used sto for everything. 1.5" foam over osb (to which i first applied sto gold, a roll on moiture barrier) applied with basecoat and some fasteners where needed. Then basecoat with a fiberglass mesh, around April. also sto. Unfortunately some things came up and I wasn't able to apply the finish till now, which is sto medium sand finish. Maybe efflorescence occured and the finish didn't adhere in those areas? I don't have an explanation of why it happened again though after we cleaned it with an acid wash. I have a lot more surface to cover, but now I'm scared, don't want to waste too much time.

Tscarborough

Something is not right. There should be little to no efflorescence from the base coat, and even if there is it will not cause bubbling of the finish. Delamination, possibly (but doubtful), but not bubbling. Regardless, any acid wash is only going to make it worse.

Was the base coat white when you applied the finish?

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stacker

did you spray the finish on?
i just sprayed 1600 feet of sto brand last week,i only had one place that sagged.the only reason it sagged was my bro-in-law was running the sprayer and held it in one place to long.

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Dorin Morgos

the finish was troweled on, and it went on nice, didn't sag when we left the site. The base coat was grey, nothing unusual, other than the fact that it stayed in the elements for 4 months or so, on a side where the sun beat down on it all day, and also there weren't gutters up so rain did get to it.

Tscarborough

IT shouldn't matter if it was 4 months. There is something else at play.

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Tscarborough

OK, I checked with my manuf. rep. He says there is only one circumstance in which he has seen this and that was when the wrong amount of portland was added to the basecoat. Was the basecoat you used premixed, or jobsite mixed?

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Dorin Morgos

we mixed on site, pb 101 basecoat from sto in bags & mixed with water. It went on as usual without problems, can't think of anything we may have done differently this time. We usually fill up a pail to a certain point on the mixing paddle with water just to make things go faster and to keep us from guessing how much water to use. It was a big wall so we went fast, didn't use half buckets or added more water if the basecoat would start setting. Did your rep say how to remedy the situation? I just picked up some primer from my supplier, will try that tomorrow and see what happenrs. thanks

Tscarborough

Their literature says that it has to be primed before application of the finish coat.

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Dorin Morgos

Sounds like I'll have to start reading the literature. We've never primed before, and I know none of the installers around here do that either, and my distributor just suggested it as a last try. I will give it a shot tomorrow, thanks.

Tscarborough

We don't recommend it on the brand we carry either.

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stuccoman

Primer is not the problem. Just another cya by the mfgrs. imo

What else got on the wall?

A picture would really help.

The finish is only on as thick as the aggregate with sand finish.

Where on the wall did it sag/run off the wall?

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Dorin Morgos

If you click on my name and then go to album, i have 3 pics there of what happened. The spots where it happened are pretty random, maybe 20% of the wall. We laid it thin as usual, can't really go thicker like you said, as thick as the aggregate.

stuccoman

What is above those spots?

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Dorin Morgos

Above those spots are big patches of wall where the finish "took", we couldn't scrape there, it was nice and dry there.

stuccoman

Moisture from the back side or something sealed the base coat maybe.

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Tscarborough

That looks like water infiltration to me.

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