Page 228 - Construction Waterproofing Handbook

RESIDENTIAL WATERPROOFING 4.3
other hand, residential contractors were, as they still are, inadequately prepared to properly
manage any serious coordination required among subcontractors when an EIFS was used as
an exterior finish.
Thus, while synthetic stucco has only slowly made headway back into the residential
market, it is clearly one of the few manufactured products for residential construction that
comes with very specific detailing for ensuring watertight installations. EIFS manufacturers
offer excellent details and instructions for terminations and transitions; unfortunately, there
are very few homebuilders who can manage their subcontractors well enough to ensure
that the 90%/1% principle does not result in serious leakage, as is the cases with all other
exterior finishes used in residential construction.
This is why residential construction is kept relatively uniform and simple. Contractors,
subcontractors, and building code inspectors alike are not prepared to handle unique
designs and finishes. This is also why architects who design larger residential homes often
recommend commercial contractors to complete the work to ensure proper management of
field details and installation. All too often if the system specified or the detailing required
is not available at the local building supply store, then residential contractors and subcon-
tractors make due with what they think might work.
To the untrained residential contractor it only seems that waterproof systems are
designed and intended for commercial construction when, in fact, they are designed and
used for all types of construction, including residential. This is why, in this edition of this
book, while there are no real differences between residential and commercial waterproof-
ing techniques, we have provided a new chapter on residential waterproofing to reinforce
the principles and practices already set forth in all other chapters, including, of course, the
difference between caulking and sealant.

MULTIUNIT RESIDENTIAL VERSUS SINGLE-FAMILY
CONSTRUCTION

The term residential commonly refers to single-family homes, as differentiated from mul-
tifamily construction or apartment buildings. It should be pointed out that while multi-
family construction typically requires a higher-grade contractor’s license to complete the
work, most multifamily contractors are as untrained in proper waterproofing techniques as
residential contractors.
Most apartments are built to a height of three floors—typically the maximum height per-
mitted by the local building code without the need for an elevator. The techniques used, par-
ticularly wood framing, are the same as those used in most residential construction.
However, the height of the apartment building results in more problems from exposure to
the elements and more water infiltration. However, as in residential construction, the fail-
ures of the building envelope meet the 90%/1% principle, and while the contractors usually
are better trained and informed about the need for proper transitioning and coordination
among subcontractors, water infiltration problems usually can be traced to a lack of proper
supervision of subcontractors responsible for the details of a watertight structure.
Throughout the rest of this chapter, it should be understood that the techniques and
examples presented apply to both single-family and multifamily structures.