Foam and stucco failures have created an uproar in North Carolina Last August, Allen Golden, assistant director of the New Hanover County, N.C., building inspectors' office, reported to the municipality that nearly all of the area's 3,200 houses sided with exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) might have damaging moisture inside their exterior walls. Spurred by homeowner complaints, Golden had inspected 31 houses covered with EIFS. He had found excessive moisture in all but two, and several had substantial rot. Although Golden's initial sampling was not statistically sound, his results proved to be accurate. Since August, inspectors have found moisture problems in 98% of 300 randomly selected EIFSsided houses in Wilmington, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Fayetteville, and the Outer Banks. In most cases, according to the building professionals who inspected the homes, damage affecting
