Stucco

Implement drain pipes in walls

Add first layer of EPS up walls

Top of wall make good with foam

First layer of EPS at top of wall

Add second layer of EPS up walls

Implement window sills

Implement window surround

Stucco

I want the stucco to look like house brick so it looks like an English house. The brick pattern is scored into the stucco surface. The indents are colored gray to look like mortar and the raised brick areas are colored house brick red-y-brown. The best company I can find that specializes in stucco that looks like brick is Dryvit. They train and certify local subcontractors.

Use the stucco applied in 3 layers. This should give an overall thickness from the surface of the EPS to the outside of the stucco of 1 inch. The mortar indents will subtract from this 1 inch thickness.

Want to have a 1/4" gap between the EPS and the fiberglass lath so that the stucco can get behind the lath. The gap can be created by using nylon spacers under the screws that attach the netting to the ICF plastic web struts.

Three coats: Scratch, Brown, and Finish.

The purpose of the first base coat, the scratch coat, is to embed the metal lath and provide a base for the brown coat. The scratch coat gets its name from the fact that it is physically scratched with horizontal marks. These scratches create a “key” for the next coat to grab onto and a shelf for moisture to aid in curing of the brown coat. The brown coat covers the first base coat and creates a plane surface, leading to the best possible results for the finish coat. The finish coat is the thinnest of the coats, and its purpose is to impart a decorative surface to the plaster.
The final stucco coat will be done when all the walls are up, ie the final coat will be for the whole house in one go.

Need to figure out how this works with the simulated brick. Can I do the scratch coat myself, live with this for a while, and then have a certified Dryvit contractor do the final finish.

Use Latex Stucco. It is more sticky and more flexible.

It is good if the stucco is breathable and latex stucco may not be as breathable as traditional stucco.

Some people recommend using building paper on the EPS so the stucco does not stick and can move freely given the different coefficients of expansion. I think it is better to get it to stick to the EPS. Hopefully the EPS is compliant enough so the stucco does not crack. It is worth living with the scratch coat for a while to check it does not crack.