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Exterior walls : Monolithic cladding

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Some homes with monolithic cladding types areat risk of being leaky buildings, so you need to bespecially vigilant in your maintenance checks.

Monolithic cladding is made of sheets that are coa-ted to give the seamless appearance of concrete,masonry or plaster.

Types of Monolithic cladding

EIFS: (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems)EIFS cladding sheets are made up of polystyreneboards with a plaster and paint nish. This type of cladding has been popular in New Zealand sincethe 1980s.

How to identify it?

• This type of cladding system is deep – ap-proximately 40mm-60mm – which meansthe windows may appear recessed. If thewindow has been lined up with the face of the inner timber wall, from the outside youwill be able to see a sloping section of plas-ter from the window frame to the face of thewall.

• If you put your hand underneath the clad-ding at the base of the plaster, you may beable to feel the smooth continuous plasticbase capping.

• If you saw the house being built you may

well have seen a lot of white, as many polys-tyrene cladding products are white.

 

Texture coated fbre cement 

Texture coated bre These cladding sheets are made from cement, nesand and cellulose, with a textured coating appliedand painted after the sheets have been installed ontothe walls. This type of cladding has been around

since the 1970s.

How to identify it?

• This cladding system is thin – only about7.5mm thick – so windows are usuallymounted over the cladding with a shallowsill. There may be mouldings around thewindows to give the impression of depth.

• If you touch the underside of the cladding,you will feel thin sheets.

• If you saw the house being built you maywell have seen a lot of pink or grey, asuncoated bre cement sheet may be thesecolours.

 

S t u c c o 

Stucco house

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Exterior walls : Monolithic cladding

 Cement-based plaster is applied over a variety of backings including bre-cement and plywood shee-ting. It is then painted. This is the oldest of the threetypes of monolithic cladding and has been used inNew Zealand since the 1920s.

How to identify it?

• As with EIFS, stucco is a deep cladding sys-tem, approximately 25mm. It can be iden-tied by the recessed windows and slopingplaster, as with EIFS.

• When you put your hand underneath thecladding you should be able to feel the bot-tom of the plaster.

• If you saw the house being built you maywell have seen a lot of blue, as stucco bac-king sheets are often this colour.

Maintaining monolithic cladding

The main things to look for are:

• Places where water can get into the framing,and

• Signs that water has already got in.

Water might get in through holes, cracks, loosecladding, xings, joints that have separated, arounddoors and windows, anywhere where the sealing hasfailed, and any area where water can pool againstthe cladding.

Signs that water has got in include:

• Cracks and splits in the cladding our joints.• Moisture staining or other visible water

damage.• Musty smells.• Eorescence (white chalky substance) at

 junctions or cracks.• Mould, moss or colour degradation.

• Blistering or fading paintwork, or bubblingor peeling wallpaper.

Vulnerable areas to pay attention to:

• Check around the house to make surethe cladding is at least 175mm above theground (lawn or garden) or 100mm frompaved surfaces.

• Check pergolas, cantilevered decks, fas-cias or guttering penetrating the cladding,poorly formed ashings and meter boxeswhich are not sealed or ashed.

• Check any areas where the cladding is pene-trated by bolts, screws or handrails.

For general maintenance, wash the cladding re-gularly. You may be required to wash at specicintervals to keep the warranty valid. Follow themanufacturer’s recommendations.

Washing the cladding will extend the life of the ma-terials. It’s particularly important for houses nearthe sea.

To wash, use a soft brush and low-pressure hose,concentrating on areas rain doesn’t reach, like wallssheltered by eaves. For sea spray, moss and lichen,you might have to use specic cleaning products ora one part bleach to four parts water solution andsoft brush. Hose off residue with plenty of waterand avoid using ladders around wet areas as muchas possible. Check with the manufacturer of yourcladding and your local hardware store if you areunsure.

Before you wash, check for cracks or damage.

Don’t use a high pressure water blaster as it candamage claddings.

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Exterior walls : Monolithic cladding

Problems with monolithic cladding

 You may be able to make minor repairs to claddingyourself, but for any monolithic cladding systemyou should contact the manufacturer for advice onthe correct products to use. If you don’t know whichsystem you have, try to identify a similar system andfollow the general advice from that manufacturer.

If the cladding is a specialised system and less than15 years old, it may still be under warranty. Again,contact the manufacturer if you know who this is.

If your house is a leaky building you’ll need profes-sional help. If the house is less than 10 years old, youmay be able to make a claim under the Weathertight Homes Resolution Act 2002.

Leaky Buildings

Some homes with monolithic cladding types areat risk of being leaky buildings. Design and instal-lation are critical factors in ensuring your home isprotected from being a leaky building. If the designis inherently awed, comprehensive work beyondmaintenance may be required to solve the leakinglong term.

If your home is at risk of being a leaky building, youneed to be especially vigilant in your maintenancechecks. Carry out a careful inspection of the claddingat least once a year.

For stucco check carefully for cracking of the plas-ter, check around ashings and other penetrationsthrough the plaster and seek professional advice if you have any concerns.

For texture coated bre-cement look particularlyfor cracks in the jointing. Cracks in joints should beraked out and re-formed, do not attempt to seal withsealant. Contact an approved applicator to carry

out repairs to the cladding. Check the waterproof coating to ensure re-painting is not required.

For EIFS pay particular attention to the corners of windows and exposed edges and anywhere that thepaint nish might wear or crack. Do not attemptto repair with sealant but contact an approved ap-plicator. It may be that only certain areas requirerecoating. Many EIFS systems in New Zealand are

specialised systems. If you are able to identify whichsystem your home has, follow the manufacturer’sspecic instructions for maintenance and repair.If you cannot establish the specic cladding systemat your home, the literature on the product which itmost closely resembles will give you some genericguidance on maintenance.

Look for signs that moisture might be soaking up intothe cladding, often indicated by darker colourationalong the bottom edges of the cladding.

If you have concerns that you may have a leakyhome you should seek professional advice. 

Organisations that can provide further informationon the leaky building issue include:

The government’s Weathertight Homes Resolution Service– call them on 0800 116 926 between 8.30amand 7.00pm (Monday to Friday).

BRANZ Helpline on 0900 5 90 90 (calls cost $1.99/min +GST).

The New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyorson 0800 113 400.

Consumer NZ on (04) 384 7963.

The Leaky Homes Action Group, which was formedto support the owners of leaky homes.

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Exterior walls : Monolithic cladding

 

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