[gturn]

I'm looking to add a screened-in swimming pool. To keep with the spanish architecture, I would like to place stucco-covered arched walls close to the side of the pool (and use those to support the screen-roof).

I was looking at maybe using the stucco-finished Hardie board, because it would be so much easier than traditional stucco over plywood, and so much lighter than pouring concrete arches. However, I'm running into issues that I can't find answers to, and wondering whether Hardie board is suitable for this project.

1. Exposed corners. Can Hardie board be used on exterior corners without Hardie trim? I don't think having thick trim on all four corners of each pillar would look particularly good.

2. 2" clearance requirement. Hardie board can only be applied down to 2" above a deck (and safe height could probably be higher than that since this is a pool deck). Any ideas on what I could use to fill in the gap? I thought about putting a stone fascia on the lowest 4' or so, and stucco higher up, but that only delays the inevitable - what could I put between the top edge of the stone fascia, and the lowest edge of the board? Here, Hardie trim might look OK, but I'm not sure it would help - wouldn't it just create a cavity behind the trim that would allow wicking of moisture into the board without any chance of drying out? Am I being overly cautious, or is this a potential solution?

3. The curve of the arch. So Hardie board seems to be applied in planes only, and from previous experience, it is not particularly pliable for fitting to a curved surface (such as the underside of an arch), but I have found information that it can be applied to some contours by wetting. Anybody got experience on the limitations of bending this stuff. I'd be looking at about a 2.5' - 3' radius (5' - 6' archway).

4. Any other options that I haven't considered? Should I just bite the bullet and look at doing the whole project in traditional stucco?

[joypulv]

1. I plan to use Hardie Plank as vertical trim, despite being only 1/4" thick and having a slight bevel. I'll just turn the angle inside.
2. How about stone tile or copper flashing?
3. A 12' plank can be lifted about 3' each end easily. That's not going to help your needs. The specs on it say not to get it wet. Shrinks or expands, I forget. After all, it has sawdust in it. Scoring the backside of drywall is easy because of the paper holding the showing side smooth, but that won't work with Hardie. So I don't know.
4. Maybe combine different materials?

Maybe a Spanish cedar pergola?
Screen roof over a pool.. sounds like mammoth screens.. and how will you clean them?