Glossary
The words you will hear on site
38 terms, in plain language, so a quote or a site visit reads clearly. Linked from the guides where they come up.
- Acrylic finish
- The coloured, textured top coat of an EIFS wall. The colour runs through it, so it never needs painting.
- Backer rod
- A foam rod pressed into a joint before sealant, so the sealant has the right depth and shape to stretch.
- Base coat
- The reinforced layer under the finish: a polymer-modified cement coating with fibreglass mesh embedded in it. The strength of the wall.
- Blister
- A bubble or lifted area in the finish. Water is behind it.
- Caulking
- Sealant in a joint, usually at windows, doors and transitions. The most common failure point on any stucco wall. See sealant.
- Control joint
- A planned joint in a large wall that lets it move without cracking.
- Counter flashing
- Metal let into masonry above a roof or chimney flashing, covering the top edge so water cannot run behind it.
- Crown
- The top of a chimney. A proper crown overhangs with a drip edge so water falls clear of the face.
- Drainage EIFS
- An EIFS with a drainage plane behind the insulation, so any water that gets in runs out at the bottom. Standard on wood-frame houses.
- Drip edge
- The underside of a sill, band or cap shaped so water drops off instead of running back along the wall.
- Efflorescence
- White mineral deposits on masonry or stucco, left when water moves through and evaporates. A sign of moisture.
- EIFS
- Exterior Insulation and Finish System: insulation board, reinforced base coat and acrylic finish, installed on the outside of a wall.
- Elevation
- One face of a building, as in the front elevation. Jobs are often quoted and phased by elevation.
- EPS
- Expanded polystyrene, the white insulation board used in EIFS and the core of architectural mouldings.
- Fine sand finish
- The most common modern texture: smooth and even with a fine grain.
- Finish coat
- See acrylic finish.
- Flashing
- Metal or membrane that directs water out over the face of the wall at windows, roofs, decks and transitions.
- Grade
- Ground level. Stucco and EIFS stop above it; below grade they trap water.
- Kick-out flashing
- A small angled flashing where a roof edge meets a wall, kicking water into the gutter instead of behind the stucco. Often missing, often the cause of a wet wall.
- Lath
- Metal mesh fastened to the wall to carry traditional stucco or the scratch coat under stone veneer.
- Manufactured stone
- Stone veneer cast from concrete and pigments to the shape and colour of natural stone, light enough for a framed wall.
- Mesh
- Fibreglass reinforcing fabric embedded in the base coat. Extra layers go at corners and impact zones.
- Moulding
- A decorative profile around windows and doors or along a wall: sills, bands, quoins, keystones, cornices. Ours are coated EPS.
- PB EIFS
- Polymer-based EIFS, the most common type on houses, with thin flexible coatings high in polymer.
- Pointing
- The mortar between bricks. Failed pointing must be repaired before stucco goes over brick.
- Primer
- A coat applied before the finish on some systems or colours so the finish bonds and the colour is even.
- Quoin
- Blocks at the corner of a building, a classical detail done in EPS on stucco houses.
- Recoat
- A new finish coat over a sound existing finish, usually to change colour.
- Resurfacing
- A new mesh-reinforced base coat and finish over the whole existing wall. Stronger than a recoat; less than a new system.
- Scratch coat
- The first cement coat over lath in traditional stucco or under stone veneer.
- Sealant
- A flexible compound in a joint that stretches with movement and keeps water out. Must be compatible with EIFS finishes; most hardware-store caulking is not.
- Sheathing
- The boards or panels on the outside of the framing that the wall system is attached to.
- Sill
- The bottom of a window opening. A proper sill slopes away from the window with a drip edge beneath.
- Spalling
- Brick or concrete flaking off its face, usually from water and freeze-thaw. Repaired before stucco goes over it.
- Substrate
- Whatever the system is attached to: sheathing, block, concrete, brick or old stucco.
- Traditional stucco
- Cement plaster applied in coats over lath, with no insulation. What most people mean by stucco on older houses.
- Weather barrier
- The membrane or coating over the sheathing that keeps water that gets past the cladding away from the structure.
- WSIB
- The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. A contractor with WSIB coverage insures its own workers, so an injury on your property is not your liability. Stucco & Co is covered.
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