We planned our siding project be completed in fall of 2022. We still need some sort of exterior cladding for the window and door walls. Notice how I say "still". Initially we really wanted to do stucco but for some reason we can't order the materials in our location. We can get lath and all the materials needed to go under stucco but the stucco itself is just not shipped to our region.
I looked everywhere, talked to building supply places and it just doesn't get shipped here. I think if we hired contractors they could get it but not DIY home owners. I don't know of any homes in our region that use stucco. It seems to be a thing only found on commercial building. That commercial only application may be why we can't get it. In our frustration we initially gave up on stucco and then wasted too much time in the late summer researching alternate cladding. We looked into everything from hardi board and recycled rubber roof tiles to composite recycled plastic and wood fiber siding. This last one was a strong contender (I loved the super modern look) but everything has the same issue. All these materials are flat straight edged materials. Our zip walls are flat but they are not straight edges. The zip meets irregular dome arch.
Not only would we have trouble fitting the materials nicely in the irregular arch shape but we would need to fabricate some sort of trim for where the siding edges meet the arch in the alcoves. My design brain also has an issue with repetitive patterns calling attention to the arches not being symmetrical. They were created by the airform and are very organic in their curved shape. For these reasons, we wanted stucco. More frustration stopped my research on siding options altogether and moved on to how we would cover the exterior of the dome surface. Our current plan (once we can afford it) is to install a shotcrete chain shell exterior over the airform. This is a change from our original plan and stems from wanting something more durable to falling tree limbs etc. We originally planned to coat the dome in silicone but after finding out how easily the foam dents and leaves a permanent mark we have changed to wanting concrete. (If you push hard with your thumb you can indent the foam under the airform. It doesn't damage it but the dent is there to stay) After a lot of research, I arrived at lime wash over a concrete shell. Lime wash is eco friendly, never needs to be scraped or sanded, and new coats can just be directly applied over old applications after simple cleaning. Lime wash causes a chemical change in the concrete and it becomes part of the concrete making it resistant to water and still breathable. Our underlying airform is the water barrier so the concrete is just needed as protection from sun and damage. Concrete is not waterproof and it does crack so it can't be a waterproof solution by itself.
Lime wash got me thinking about lime stucco (the thicker cousin of what is essentially a lime paint job). Once again we don't have anywhere locally to buy materials BUT there are companies that actually ship because it is not readily available anywhere. I ended up choosing a company in California to ship us a pallet of the two types of lime stucco we would need.
Unfortunately, our bad experiences with freight delivery companies continue. We are now at 2 out of 7 deliveries where the shipment was undamaged. I am not even sure those 2 should count because they weren't delivered by a freight company. They were delivered by the window manufacturer directly with their company truck. If I count them I should probably include appliance deliveries and building material deliveries. So really.... EVERY SINGLE FREIGHT DELIVERY HAS BEEN DAMAGED! Eeesh... People who drive forklifts for freight companies have very bad aim. All shipments were clearly punctured by forklifts. The lime stucco wasn't an exception. By the time we found the product, ordered from 3000 miles away (arrived damaged) it was too late in the season to have above freezing temps required to apply the stucco.
The inside of the freight truck looked like a drug deal gone bad with white fine powder everywhere. This is how I picture our fork lift drivers based on the condition of everything we have gotten delivered so far.
Now we wait until spring and consistent temps above freezing to start the stucco.
My builder has been working a bit at a time on a solution for the windows. At first they were going to use hardiboard but, like you, we decided against that. My augments are narrower than yours and because it rains here the windows aren't inset at all. They took strips made of some sort of rugged plastic, ripped them in half, screwed on brackets to which they attached the strips, and are now in the process of folding the edges of the air form over and nailing them to the strips. I think they plan to use a stucco to finish them, and have already started nailing the wire mesh in place.
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