Hi guys, I have an idea for using my pink foam supply to fill a hole in my front yard that’s been bugging me for a while now, I want to construct a garden pagoda lantern similar to this:

I plan to make to core out of pink foam then cover it with a fine exterior stucco mix, but before I get too deep into this, a few questions for the guys who have built outdoors using foam.

1. Whats a good brand of stucco/finish covering for foam that will give it a for more durable surface than plain paint?

2. If I am not concern with fine detail (obviously), is it a good idea to cover the foam base with chicken wire before I stucco coat it?

3. Is any kind of finish coat recommended? I was planning to give it a good dose of Thomson’s water seal minimum.

Thanks

If weight is not a concern then just carve it and paint it with latex paint (which seals it) then you can paint over that with oil base and sand for the texture or textured paint. My fear would be that the stucco is to heavy for the foam the way it’s laid out. (make sense?)

That’s why I was thinking the chicken wire would act as reinforcement and tie it all together. Paint’s thin surface alone would get damaged pretty quickly (weed whacker kicking around pebbles) so I figured 1/2 inch of stucco would be pretty durable.

Vic, have you ever heard of Dryvit ? It’s a thin stucco coating that is used over styrofoam. It comes in five gallon buckets and is ready to use right out of the bucket. Joints are first taped over with mesh tape, similar in size to drywall joint tape. It looks like gauze and has an adhesive side. You probably won’t need the tape for your project however. I would check with some local lumber or drywall suppliers.

Krylon makes a stucco textured spray paint .

Sanded tile grout. Remember to seal it once it is dry.

Have used this technique many times to make Adobe looking buildings for the layout.

Okay Dryvit I’ve heard of. Sanded tile grout I’ll keep in mind, I’m going to seal it with Thomson’s regardless of what I coat it with.