exposed styrofoam around foundation

[bigtimeelectric]

my girlfriend is looking at buying a new townhome and I looked at it today from the outside. the problem is around the outside there is about 12" of styrofoam exposed beneath the siding. they painted the foam but you can also see where the grounds crew had hit it with the weed whipper. the home is a sla b on grade. looking at the other 30 town homes around they all had this foam. I think this is a very poor design. does any body have any experience with this?I am n ot sure how to deal with it because you don't want to loose it and I don't believe the association allows personal landscaping? maybe its a non issue?thanks

[Surface Tension]

A picture would help a lot here.

How thick is the foam.

Does it go below grade.

If the all these homes have the same exposed insulation then it be best that the fix is the same for all of them. You should ask the person(s)in charge or town home board about it.

[CFRay]

I agree that is a poor design. Sunlight will break down most foam products and leave a "chalky" surface. There are some trowelable cement/stucco type products that are marketed for that application. Stucco contractors work with products known as EIFS, applied over the white expanded polystyrene foam. The foam you see is likely an extruded denser foam. The surface of the foam would need to be cleaned first, maybe a fiberglass mesh adhered first.

[RoosterR]

Probably an ICF foundation. Insulated concrete form. You can by a product called Ground Breaker that you fasten to the foam. From under the siding to a litte below grade. Comes in different widths and lengths. Looks like milk house liner.

[Redlantern]

Would ICF be used on slab on grade? What would be the advantage of doing that? Just curious.

[Tom7227]

A real thorn in owning a townhome is the association. If they don't want to do something, and won't let you do it, you could be out of luck. My parents live in a place with a resident run association and it was a major pain because no one wanted to spend any money. The whole place ended up sliding way south of acceptable because they were too cheap to enforce an over 55 clause. Ended up with bangers above my parents. Do some serious questioning and talking to residents before you leap.

[muchowja]

You can put stone on it or some type of stucco.

[RonT]

Does anyone know where you can purchase this Groundbreaker product. I have a similiar issue on my house.

[bonehead99]

I recently built a place and had the same issue with exposed foam. There is a product out there specifically for that, I don't recall the name. To apply you first put on a fiberglass mesh, it comes in either 12 or 6 inch wide rolls. Then you trowel on the product, 2 coats. The last coat I gave a broom finish so it looks nice. The material comes in 5 gallon bucket, I think white or gray. I think the name is "Tuff something". It is sold at Men****. It's very durable

[traveler]

I used the same product last year and it worked great and looks good.

[Pooh]

ground breaker is good stuff. easy to install, looks awesome, and is fairly durable. not sure on price. should be able to find it at your local lumber yard or big box store. beware of doing anything to a townhome, remember its not yours.

[muchowja]

Why is a townhome not yours?

[nofishfisherman]

In a town home you basically own the inside of your unit and the association owns the outside of the entire building. Meaning you aren't normally able to do any alterations to the outside of the structure, landscaping, etc.

[RonT]

I finally got around to installing Groundbreaker and it looks great. Pretty easy to work with and the end result is amazing.