Flagship Store a Smooth Operator

Room & Board desired a façade with a smooth finish—a challenge in this case, in that walls were planned as single monoliths, meaning no cracks or breaks could be visible in this minimalist vision.

The owners, along with Roth & Sheppard Architects, Hyder Construction, and Monarch Stucco got together to plan. To ensure they could achieve the desired smoothness, the team created a mock-up and refinished it several times to get the quality and finish desired. Extra time was spent to QA/QC the substrate to ensure it was very flat in order not to project any bumps, seams and/or blemishes.

StoTherm ci with Stolit Milano, StoPowerwall Freeform Finish, and StoColor Lotusan were chosen. The company’s ci system is a high-performance cladding system that integrates a seamless air and moisture barrier, called StoGuard, with continuous insulation and advanced drainage capabilities. “With the large, flat walls, we had to work really smart to make it as smooth as possible,” said Fields. “We decided to use StoPowerwall Freeform Finish over the reinforcing mesh and basecoat prior to applying the Stolit Milano.” The latter, he explained is an acrylic-based decorative and protective finish that can be applied as a light texture, smooth or ultra-smooth finish. A StoPowerwall Freeform Finish was used to help achieve the ultra-flat wall surface. According to Fields, this worked great and helped get it smoother—only one coat of Milano was used. “From an applicator perspective, Milano is probably the easiest product to repair. We can work it like a drywall material.”