Stucco questions for a barbeque island

[mfinley919]

I am considering using stucco on an outdoor barbeque island but have never used any stucco products before. It's about 70 sq feet so not too big of an area.

I have 1/2 hardi backer board on it now and don't know where to start. Are there any products that go directly over the Hardi board or do you have to wire lath first?

I've been told 3 different things by different people -

- Wire lath, then scratch coat, and then stucco.

- Scratch coat directly over Hardi, then stucco.

- Stucco directly over Hardi board.

Also, I assume you have to use a fiberglass tape on all the seams and corners first no matter what?

[montytx]

Depends on what system you are using. The simplest these days is Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems or EIFS, which uses tar paper, then foam core board, then a cloth mesh, then stucco ( which comes in 5g buckets). You simpley spread it on with a trowel and your done. I dont know if you can use this systeom straight over hardi. I dont see why not. You ought to get the phonebook and find a local stucco supply shop in your state and ask them. THey should be able to tell you what works and doesnt work.

[Rich]

Not sure about over the hardiboard.. most applications I've seen are over something like Densglass or Denshield (that yellow stuff). They essentially go right over top of it as the surface has a fiber mesh type stuff over it to accept the stucco finish.

[ecparks]

mfinley919,
I had the same setup you're asking about on my outdoor barbeque. I used 1/2" Durock instead of Hardi. I used a few bags of stucco mix (tinted to desired color) applied directly to the Durock! Just make sure you tape and seal your seams with thinset as if you were laying tile!