I’m working with a client whose GrailCoat over SIPS has failed. The contractor has died, the SIPS are rotting, the statute of limitations on latent defects is only good for 6 years in NC, and it has been 6 years and 4 months since the CO was issued. GrailCoat says their 10 (now 20) year warranty will only supply more GrailCoat.
I’m wondering if anybody here has had any GrailCoat experiences, and what was the outcome?
Thanks for any information.
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Replies
Holly
I had heard of the stuff, sounded good. No experience however. If it was the same, was this a "waterproofing" you could put over plywood also?
Hope you get some response on the subject other than my just saying hello.
OK, I'll say it
Sounds like you found the holey Grail.
Rez bump!
Hey Ralph!
It is that job. I'm not responsible, but am trying to help out the home owner with the repairs.
I would love to see a sucessful GrailCoat job. IMO the system is flawed, and bogus. The selling point is that the stuff is waterproof, and does not need a drainage plane... as a matter of fact, it won't stick to any drainage plane on this planet!
GraiCoat also advised the installers to cut back the peel and stick window/door wrap so that the coating could stick to the bare OSB SIPs. Guess where most of the leaks are!
I just thought you may have seen some Fla news about this stuff, since that seems to be where most of their jobs have been.
Hope you have enough energy to fest after your indentured slave stint w/ Hussein! Say hey to Kathy.
Holly
Let's try another tack...
has anybody here had a good experience with GrailCoat? How about any experience?
Yes Snort, see my reply below. Design Fan. Contact me for details.
I realize this reply is OLD but see my Design Fan posting below. I love this stuff. If you'd like to take a trip to Annapolis, Md we'll show you the house. My applicators were Grailcoat employees and they did not cut back the window wrap. No leaks anywhere in a 15 year old house build on a hill of clay slime!
GrailCoat Failure (post #203706)
I used Grailcoat on an ICF structure. Before committing to purchasing the TF System brand of ICF I asked their representative I was working with if he could verify that I was able to directly apply grailcoat to their system without adding more foam and without problems. He told me that I could and that another customer of theirs had used Grailcoat without problems. I then placed my order and built the home.
The Grailcoat was applied exactly as instructed. I had no problems with Grailcoat. I found it easier to install than I was told it would be. I used Dura Flex and applied the finish with a plastic pool trowel. The finish was extremly smooth and we loved it.
Our issue was with the ICF. The VERTICAL metal flanges 1/2" below the surface would apparently get warmer than the surrounding EPS. The metal would puff out the entire height of the exterior wall to the point it was visually convexed every 12" on center. Not pretty. This made the house look like a monochromatic candy cane.
The Grailcoat flexed and did not crack or leak water into the envelope but it was hard to look at the house of our dreams with this weird striped texture.
I've had years of finishing drywall and concrete. I'm very comfortable with a trowel. I also went to a Grailcoat seminar. My application was identical to the instructor's.
I believed it apparent that the metal being too close to the exterior finish was the problem. I hired two sets of EIFS professionals to cover the Grailcoat on two separate occasions. Both were Basecoat, mesh and finish. Both eventually developed cracks at the centers of every metal flange. We added ceramic dust to a quality acrylic latex paint which was supposed to level the thermal issues with metal and foam. It cracked. We made one final attempt to sopped the cracking by painting with an expensive acrylic paint garanteed to flex and not crack. It cracked. Nothing we put over this form could tame that metal constantly expanding and contracting. The Grailcoat was not a problem for me.
Inspection & maintenance
As with any of the coatings claiming long term durability, it doesn't eliminate the need for maintenance - small cracks and gaps have to be taken care of annually regardless of how long the warranty is. If that simple sentence were accepted by homeowners and property managers it would literally double or triple the effective lifespan of whatever coating we're talking about. The devil is in the details.
I will bet lunch that any condo complex or new housing development chosen at random will have no less than 10% of the residences suffering from deferred exterior inspection & maintenance that will eventually result in repairs down the road that could have been avoided.
I built a 7600 sq ft Grailcoat house on a foundation in Maryland, wild fluctuations in temperatures, humidity from the Chesapeake Bay, several hurricanes and 3 mild earthquakes. In 15 years I have developed only one small 2 ft long crack in a corner where a beam ends.I am still amazed by how flexible it is. We were so impressed with the product that we brought Grailcoat employees from Florida to apply it to the house. I have no reservations in recommending it as a product, but use a skilled stucco applicator. We do know someone else who used it with a poor contractor and has a less than desirable result but still no leaks! I am happy to discuss it with anyone interested.