Flying Siding

Flying Siding

Exterior Wall Finishes

Wall finishes in a hurricane zone is an interesting series of decisions. It certainly depends on what materials the walls are made of. If we do go with ICF blocks for the walls, we need to think about the rigid foam block and the outside wall exposed to the environment. Due to weathering I would not choose wood. There is a Hardieplank siding, which has concrete in it, but our ideal style is more Mediterranean. So stucco is probably the answer.

Assuming we do go with stucco there are different methods to use. Concrete homes can have the plaster applied directly to the concrete block. To add insulation we may use ICF blocks for the walls. The exterior walls will have exposed foam. The stucco will need to be applied with a different method. There will need to be waterproofing, wire mesh and a few layers of stucco.

Stucco Wall Finish

Stucco Wall Finish

If there is damage from a hurricane, how easy is it to repair the wall? Is it a matter of spraying ICF foam into the damaged area and re-stuccoing the exterior?

Elastomeric wall coatings are designed for exterior masonry surfaces like concrete, stucco and concrete block. They are generally acrylic latex masonry paints designed to be applied in very thick films (about 10 times as thick as regular paints); they are tough and flexible, and stretch as cracks underneath open and close, thus bridging the cracks and keeping wind driven rain out while maintaining a nice appearance. These coatings are called EWCs for short. They can be tinted to a light color. For integral plaster color, see examples of colors.

Spanish House Style

Spanish House Style

Other design considerations I have are:

For precast sills and lintels concrete (not concrete block), paint with “blue glue” so paint and stucco holds to surface.

The frame work and corner beads for the stucco should be plastic, where as steel rusts.

Stucco must be minimum 5/8” thick.

Typically between floors, there should be some banding. Do not use foam or plastic banding between floors, it does not last. We will need to find other ones, are there concrete ones?

Old World Plaster Finish

Old World Plaster Finish

What pattern will the stucco have? Heavy patterning? Light checking? We don’t know yet.