typical eifs issue but HELP please !

We are in the process of writing contract on home that is a spec home and a very well built one at that. HOWEVER, they used dryvit and it failed to pass inspection. Our first reaction was to bail out, so we did. Now we decided to take our chances and just lower price a little bit and fix the problem with our own contractors. We dont trust the builder- great reputation and all- to acknowledge other errors, and want an independent party.

They said that the detailed trim around window- which is dryvit- should be fine to stay. The rest of the house will be torn down and replaced with I believe 5 layers of the stucco material over board I believe. He did mention it may crack in the cold weather and settling. Is leaving the windows and trim around doors (eifs) really ok with the rest of it being stucco? He said the stucco will breathe so its not an issue like when it was dryvit.

Our concern is what they may find when they take down the eifs. What if there is mold? Can it be toxic? The house is not old- its only about 6 yrs or so and like I said- this is this builder's (who is VERY well known) concept home so the rest of house is impeccably built. No evidence of mold or other problems at all. The wood and fascia we were told may be bad- how bad- we dont know. We are waiting on the contract going through- but we basically are taking responsibility to fix the house properly. The seller and builder would just have repaired the EIFS and that is unacceptable. Hence- we lowered the price by 50,000 and said we will do it all on own. The quote we got (ths house is around 4000 sq ft i think) was 61,000 to reapply the stucco- and about 20,000 to take off the EIFS and replace some boards- this may change as we get in there, and apply tyvec paper. Mold is another issue. My husband figured worse case scenario- we have to fix it and its going to be 120,000 at the most! That seems like a lot- but the house is large home- over 7000 sq ft with english basment. We looked in the interim and nothing compares. We truly love his home and the inside is unbelievably done- architecturally, etc. So when the inspection originally was bad- we were needless to say devastated. Please tell me we arent making the hugest mistake of our lives and this is 'doable'! Any other advice- I would really appreciate. Thanks for your time- By the way we are in the Illinois area. .

Who knows what evil lurks behind EIFS ? The swami knows.

Black mold cannot be detected until the EIFS is stripped off. Black mold and other mold can be killed using a solution of bleach and water.

The idea of leaving foam details around the windows is absurd. On the EIFS tear offs we have done, we have found rot around the windows, not only on the sheathing but the framing. We have torn EIFS off a house where the windows didn't open and close anymore. On one EIFS tear off we did on a 6 year old house, the windows could be pulled out with your fingers because the framing was so rotten. None of this can be corrected until the EIFS is removed.

One thing typical on EIFS houses is a wide gob of caulk around the windows. Usually under the caulk is black mildew where the caulk contacts the wood window.

I think a $ 120,000 budget is a little cheap, considering the size of the house, and the fact you are venturing into the unknown. However, buying a EIFS house is a huge gamble and it could be more. Besides the money, also you have an inconvenience for months while the work is done.

We have torn off a lot of EIFS, so I can speak from experience.