The Art of Perfect Stucco on the Brown’s House
The stucco finish of Ryan Brown’s new Monolithic Dome Home.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
The stucco system on Ryan Brown’s Monolithic Dome home will last 10 to 15 years before a top coat will be needed. The top coats are easy and cost-effective to apply and can be done by the homeowner or local paint contractor.
This dome is one of the most fun we’ve built. It was a great project with some standout features. We added large gothic arch augments, connected the four domes with wide radius saddles, and put in sizable windows and one of the biggest skylights we’ve worked on in a while. The exterior stucco was the final touch, bringing the whole dome construction to a close. It’s more than just a shell; it’s a well-crafted space with personalized character.
Below is a quick pictorial about how we did it.
The first step to any coating project is washing the dome. A simple yet important step. Coatings are only as good as their substrate, and we need a good, clean substrate so that our coating will adhere properly to the Airform membrane.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Next, Crews installed termination strips and extra waterproofing around the rear windows, the skylights, and all openings in the dome.
After waterproofing is complete, the next step is to apply MonoForm Primer. Monolithic manufactures this primer designed specifically for Airform membranes. It’s dyed red to highlight where you’ve applied the primer. We chose to roll this primer on since it was windy the day we started. It can be applied using an airless sprayer, but it’s not always the best way.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
While half the crew rolls on primer, decorative foam is installed around the openings. In this case, the customer wanted the face of the extended augments to have a little more of a point. This takes some time but gives the openings the nice finished look that a home needs.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Next to last, Install the base coat. The base coat is either spray-applied or trowelled on. This coat allows us to cover up all of the seams and any wrinkles that may have been created during the dome’s construction.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Finally, apply the acrylic stucco. One of the advantages of acrylic stucco is that we can dye it any color. The customer chooses a color, and we send over a color swatch for approval before applying the stucco.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
The back of the Brown’s new dome home faces the road, while the big windows under gothic arches look out over a wooded area.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
We built four connected domes with big Gothic arches and added sizable windows and a huge skylight. It was finished off with exterior stucco. With the dome shell construction complete, this house is ready for the interior to be finished.
Mike South / Monolithic Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0