Thread: Advanced Building Solutions Talus Wall Stone Veneer System

Is anybody familiar with the Talus Wall Stone Veneer System? It is a stone veneer that installs directly to the wall sheathing with screws over the house wrap....no lath required. It comes in panels.

I inspected a new house with it installed with no weep screed or flashing installed. The builder says it is installed per the manufactures installations instructions but the instructions say that before installation:

"Weep screeds, flashing, or perforated casing beads have been installed to provide drainage. It is critical to provide a means for drainage at all horizontal terminations."

The builder is offering the buyer an additional warranty on the installation instead of repairing it since he says it is installed properly. I'm just curious if anybody has had any experience with this product? I've gave the buyer my opinion so what she does now is out of my hands.

Advanced Building Solutions

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This is the first paragraph in the installation instructions: (bold and underlining are mine)
- Talus Wall System is designed for installation over wood or steel framing spaced a maximum of 16 inches on center and covered by an approved solid sheathing product as described in the current building codes. Sheathing shall be covered with a weather resistant barrier (WRB) installed per the manufacturers installation instructions. This product is developmental and has not been tested. It is not intended for use in applications over 30 feet in height.

Can you say ... YIKES!

First, a proper installation of the building wrap would require taping and sealing to the flashings, etc., second ... the product is in development and has not yet been tested??? Your client's house is the test bed for it! I would recommend getting a 50% reduction in price off the house to allow for it to be used for testing ... and then another 50% set aside in case the product fails further.

I showed her that is developmental statement and it did not faze her. This is a new neighborhood that is full of these houses so the builder is being careful to not open up a can of worms it seems. I have another inspection next month in the same neighborhood on a house by the same builder that the veneer has not been installed yet so I'll be curious if he changes how it is installed.

Originally Posted by James Duffin

I showed her that is developmental statement and it did not faze her.

Some people will stand there and watch a baseball getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and ... have no idea what that means ...

... until it hits them right between the eyes.

James if this area isn't too far away you might want to swing by the other house a couple times while work is in progress to document how the wall is being installed. Obviously at the end of the day when workers aren't around.
I have a file of work in progress photos from various jobsites around town just for a dastardly purpose. Sick I know. If I see a Condo/home development in progress while driving around town and I see issues. I'll pull over take a few key shots and move on. Theory being I may end up there doing an inspection at some point. Nice to have a couple historical photos. Only used the photos twice over the years but boy was it worth it.
I'd tell my client to run from that house. Those are what I like to call 'inherent to construction' issues. No cheap or easy way to resolve in 2 years.

Years ago I looked at a prototype house. Some system that the builder had brought in from Russia. The house looked great from a block away, it was all downhill after that. Anyway, like Jerry says, some folks don't see until it hits them between their eyes.

Judge it by its basics... flashing, clearances, etc. Unless you are a chemist, you won't know much about the compounds, anyway.