April 9, 2007
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Dryvit vs. Quik-R
We may have found our answer to exterior insulation.
First we looked again at Dryvit EFIS (Exterior Foam Insulation System). It has a relatively high R-value and lots of good press, but it is also expensive. Prohibitively so, for our budget. The Dryvit racket operates partly by keeping all its parts integrated in a single package for the consumer: you have to hire an authorized Dryvit contractor to do the job, and that person must use 100% Dryvit-branded components, down to the colorants of the non-cement "stucco" outer layer. You aren't supposed to be able to buy any of the Dryvit stuff piecemeal. So if you want any of it, you buy the whole bundle, from your local monopoly (the authorized Dryvit installer in your area).
Well, Bob thought he might have found a way to get just the insulative sheets, install them ourselves and put whatever stucco we want over the top of it. Two problems arose: the reputation for fragility that Dryvit has (dents easily), and the manufacturer's warnings that you must use polymer-based stucco coating (not much dent protection there) not a stucco based on portland cement (which doesn't mind the occasional ball impact).
And the price was still not thrilling us.
Enter Quik-R. I still don't know how I stumbled across this stuff, having never found it in umpteen Google searches. I think it was a tip from Seth Spangle. But it seems perfect for us: it is just one inch thick, has an R-value of 6, comes in 4x8 sheets, and is lined on both sides so it doesn't break too easily (it's really styrofoam on steroids, after all). But it does not weigh much and can be cut with a utility knife.
And the price is actually reasonable.
Now the tricky part: getting our hands on the stuff as quickly as possible!
