EIFS replaced with REAL stucco
McLean, VA

EIFS rots studs Parex rots chimney
You might recognize this picture. I am holding the camera with one hand, and pulling out the rotten corner post with the other. Juan C. sticks his hand through the
wet and rotten chimney.
Dry rotted chimney More dry rot
Chimney above the roof line is badly
dry rotted. This is from water damage.
All the OSB had to be replaced and the chimney rebuilt above the roof. 
What is dry rot? The sheathing either
plywood, or in this case, OSB is kind
of like rotten newspaper or leaves.
You can easily stick your finger in it.
how not to apply EIFS EIFS torn off
More dry rot. 6 year old house with EIFS
shows serious rot.
A view of the back of the house, the worst
side. The whole wall was wet when we
tore of the EIFS. After drying for a few
dry days, it was mostly in good condition.
Only 13 full sheets of OSB had to be replaced.
rot under window Peeled off
Under the windows was wet and rotten,
like a sponge. Most of the black spots
in these pictures is where the wall is
soaking wet and rotten. It stinks, too.
The membrane, was ripped into smaller
pieces and thrown in the dumpster.
I bought a leaf vacuum and shredder to
vacuum up all the styrofoam-whoops-
you have to say foam board-styrofoam
is a trademark of Dow Chemical.
Still, it's the same flimsy stuff they make
coolers out of. You know those coolers
you buy when you go fishing that only last one day? Same thing.
EIFS tear off EIFS removal
Sheathing on back was full of termites.
Termites love EIFS- it's soft and easy to tunnel through. So do other critters- We found carpenter ants, all kinds of bugs and even a family of snakes living in the foam.
After the walls dried out, black mold was killed on the sheathing with a solution of bleach and water. This is the killer mold that makes people sick. If the sheathing seemed solid we left it and just killed the mold. There was also a green mold that died when it dried for a couple days.
My advice is, if you have this stuff (EIFS)
on your house tear it off as soon as possible.