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EIFS and ICF Window Nail Fin Sealing

tbanwart | Posted in General Questions on

I have searched a lot of places for answers but cannot find anything regarding this.  Typically EIFS is applied to ICF directly over the top of the foam.  My question is how to deal with window flanges.  All recent advice on installing windows with a nail fin is to only seal the top and both sides, leaving small space for drain on the bottom. In the past, I always just sealed up all 4 sides.  My question relates then to if the EIFS appearance we are going for has the EIFS coming up to the bottom of the window over the nail fin, how does any water that somehow could get into the window buck area on the sash find its way out?  Wouldn’t the EIFS coming up to the bottom of the window effectively seal it up and cause water to get behind the EIFS between it and the ICF block – causing delamination?  I will mention that we are using ICF foam bucks and my thought was to create 2 small drain holes in the foam on both the right / left side along the bottom like weep holes in the event any water ends up on the sash.  I’d just EIFS around these and I think they would be mostly invisible.  Does anyone have any thoughts since we have no air gap / rain screen behind the EIFS – just the ICF foam?

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