I’m inspecting EIFS as it is being installed on a small apatment building. The balconies have a short EIFS wall instead of railings with balusters. The top of the wall is curved/rounded. Technically, parts of the EIFS is installed horizontally (the top) so it is wrong but since it is curved, water will flow off and not set on the surface. Never seen this attempted before and I can’t find anything that specifically prohibits a curved surface. Any thoughts?
As long as the water drains off, typically, it isn’t problematic but following the particular manufactures installation instructions of what is being installed is warranted.
What brand is it?
The brand is Sto. They specifially say no horizontal surfaces (or low slope) I’ve never seen an installer create rounded tops on EIFS before and this may be open to some interpretaion. I’ll try to get a picture today.
Minimum slope is 1:2, or 27 degrees (never less), according to:
Found the answer to this from the manufacturer. Fisrt, they couldn’t imagine why the installer would go to the kine of trouble he did to shape the EIFS that way, that’s why I couldn’t find a specific yes or no. They have never seen anyone do this either. Second, they said no. ANY horizontal surface, even a small one will allow water to sit longer than recommended and the top coat will start to emulsify and eventually flake away. The Mfg was very helpful and gave me a good reason to say no to this.
Keith,
You have the definitive answer from Sto, the manufacturer; they always call for a 6 in 12 slope. I have seen one manufacturer call for a 3 in 12 slope for EIFS; all others have been 6 in12.
One additional thing to keep in mind is the climate. In South Dakota, the top surface will be subjected to freeze thaw which can also damage the finish coat. I have seen many bull nose bands on wall surfaces; they have the same concern on the top where they level out to meet the vertical wall above on a recent case the tops of the north facing bull noses were loosing their finish.
If you have a Hard Coat Stucco or Traditional Stucco the slope requirements vary considerably from 6 in 12 down to “slope” with the sketch showing the top surface almost flat.
Thanks everyone. The rest of this project is an unbelievable mess to boot. I’m tempted to walk away from it unless they get some trained/certified installers and a competent supervisor. They look at me with blank stares when I talk about back wrapping. None of this can turn out well and I’m not going to teach then to do their job. Ron, do you offer a class for installers too or just inspectors? I took your inspection class when you held it at the NACHI TV studios. Good class. I’d take it again as a refresher.
Keith,
Glad you found the Home Inspector class on stucco inspections useful. The full stucco inpsection certification class is offered by EDI at www.exterior-design-inst.com/ This class is also good for installers.
However; all Stucco manufacturer’s also have training classes for their applicators and all applicators should be trained and certified by the manufacturer; bad news if they do not understand backwrapping. 
Since you have taken the class you should have access to the on-line class for a reference and refresher class.
Ron
Didn’t know I’d have access. Scary thought, I might be in it. Uff Da. I’ll check it out. I am AWCI certified. EIFS is just starting to be popular around here so inspections for it are slow. I’ll recommend the EDI course to thse guys.