Stucco Over High-R Foam Insulating Board

Exterior wall stucco application over Thermax™ foil faced insulating board: polyisocyanurate
- Stucco and insulating board application over masonry building walls
- Synthetic stucco application over high-R insulating board
SIDING EIFS & STUCCO - home
STUCCO EIFS DRAINAGE SYSTEMS & SIDING EIFS WALL LEAK POINTS - separate articles
STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION & STUCCO WAll FAILURES DUE TO WEATHER - separate articles
STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION - separate articles
STUCCO RECIPES & APPLICATION & STUCCO THIN COAT APPLICATION - separate articles
SIDING EIFS STUCCO PAINT FAILURES - separate article
Questions & Answers about stuccoing over foam board insulation - options, energy savings, methods for securing stucco
Solar Age Magazine Articles on Renewable Energy, Energy Savings, Construction Practices
References

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This article discusses the installation of stucco exterior wall finishes over insulating foam board, including the choice of high-R value insulating board for use under stucco on building exteriors.

Stuccoing over High-R Foam Board Insulation

Accompanying text is reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.

Readers should see STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION, and also SIDING EIFS & STUCCO and STUCCO PAINT FAILURES and also may want to review POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

This question-and-answer article about the choices of insulating foam board for use under stucco exterior finish on buildings, appears in full-text just below and quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.

Question: "In-Town Solar Condos: One Developers's Plan Book" (Solar Age, 9/83) includes mention of an exterior insulation system for masonry walls using 2-inch urethane under stucco.

I have had little success locating such a system in Phoenix that uses polyurethane and not polystyrene foam insulating board on the building exterior.

Can you supply me with information on a polyurethane insulation system or any other exterior insulation that might give me a better R-value than 2-inch polystyrene foam insulating board? - James Hoffman, Tempe, AZ.

Answer: First, a clarification - strictly speaking the rigid foam insulating board used in the La Vereda Compound (the subject of the article) was a foil-faced polyisocyanurate foam insulating board (Thermax™), not a polyurethane.

Ann MacKinnon, office manager of LaVereda developer Communico, said that The company often used Thermax™ over concrete block walls and under stucco on buildings, as do most builders in the Santa Fe area.

Wire stucco lath is placed over the foam insulating board and attached to the masonry below using concrete nails. MacKinnon said that "a builder Santa Fe who didn't know and use this technique would probably be out of business" because demand is high for adobe-like finishes. She added that lath and stucco can be used over sprayed-on urethane foam insulation as well.

Readers should also see SIDING EIFS & STUCCO and also may want to review POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION.

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Q&A: Stuccoing over High-R Insulation - use your browser's back button to return to this page

Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.

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Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years. ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
Steve Bliss's Building Advisor at buildingadvisor.com helps homeowners & contractors plan & complete successful building & remodeling projects: buying land, site work, building design, cost estimating, materials & components, & project management through complete construction. Email: info@buildingadvisor.com
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com
PAINT on STUCCO, FAILURES - discusses cause, cure, and prevention of paint failures on synthetic exterior stucco on buildings

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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

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Building inspection education & report writing systems from Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd

Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
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