The Best Ways to Finish Exterior & Interior ICF Walls

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Co-authored by Ryaan Tuttle

Last Updated: November 17, 2023 References

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Exterior Finishes

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Interior Finishes

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You can finish exposed ICF walls with pretty much any interior or exterior finish you choose, but how do you pick the best option for your project? In this article, we'll walk you through a variety of finish options for both exterior and interior walls. Keep reading for plenty of tips on durability, style, and overall attractiveness so you can create the look you want and end up with a finish that lasts.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Selecting Various Exterior Finishes

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Clad the exterior walls in brick or stone facing for an eye-catching finish. Select a natural stone or brick cladding that complements the building’s architecture. Attach the brick or stone siding to the exposed ICF wall using construction adhesive.^{[1]
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- In addition to giving exterior walls a timeless, striking appearance, brick and stone finishes are also very long-lasting and low-maintenance. Brick and stone can last for centuries with little to no maintenance.
- If you choose a brick or stone exterior finish, there are endless options to choose from to find something that suits your style and budget. Keep in mind that natural stone tends to be pricier than brick, but manufactured stone costs about the same or a bit less than brick.
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Cover the walls in wood, vinyl, or hardboard siding for a classic timber look. Choose real wood siding for the most authentic appearance or vinyl or hardboard siding for lower maintenance and a more durable finish. Screw the siding panels into the exposed ICF using corrosion-resistant screws, such as galvanized or stainless steel screws.^{[2]
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- If you use real wood siding, make sure to paint or stain it to protect against weathering and make it last longer.
- If you want to use an artificial timber-style siding, keep in mind that hardboard siding is more durable than vinyl siding, but costs more. It also requires maintenance every 5-10 years, whereas vinyl siding requires no maintenance.
Tip: If you want to use real wood siding, pine is one of the more affordable hardwoods for siding, while cedar is one of the most durable and rot-resistant.

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Stucco exterior ICF walls for a textured finish. Attach stucco wire to the exposed exterior ICF walls using screws. Cover the wire in 3 coats of stucco, letting each coat dry before applying the next.^{[3]
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- Select a smoother or rougher texture of stucco based on the look you want to achieve. For instance, you could use a stucco with a pebble aggregate to create a pebbled look or a stucco with a sand aggregate for a fine-grained texture.
- Some advantages of a stucco finish include that it is fire-resistant, rot-resistant, low maintenance, and sound dampening.
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Cover the walls with prefinished concrete panels for a raw modern look. Stick prefinished fiber cement panels to the exposed exterior ICF walls using construction adhesive or according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This will create a clean, contemporary finish that weathers naturally and blends into the surrounding environment.^{[4]
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- This could be a good option for a high-end home with very contemporary architecture or a new apartment building or condo complex.
- Concrete cladding provides a lot of extra year-round thermal protection and is very weather-resistant, fire-resistant, and low maintenance. They are also very easy to install and remove, in case you ever want to change the siding.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Choosing Different Interior Finishes

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Finish interior walls with drywall or gypsum wallboard for painted walls. ^{[5]
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[v161695_b01]. 6 October 2022.}Attach drywall or gypsum wallboard panels to interior exposed ICF walls using drywall screws. Cover the drywall or wallboard panels with 3 thin coats of joint compound, letting each coat dry for 24 hours before applying the next. Paint the walls 24 hours after applying the last coat of compound.^{[6]
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- Both drywall and gypsum wallboard will produce the same finish on your interior ICF walls. They are essentially just different names for the same type of product. This type of paneling is also known as sheetrock, wallboard, or plasterboard.
- This is also one of the most affordable interior finishes you can choose.
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Install wood tongue and groove paneling for a rustic look. Nail 1 in (2.5 cm) by 2 in (5.1 cm) horizontal furring strips into the ICF walls at 16 in (41 cm) intervals. Cut wood tongue and groove panels to the height of the wall, then nail them to the furring strips, interlocking the tongues and grooves as you install the panels.^{[7]
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- You can purchase unfinished wood tongue and groove paneling or prefinished paneling. If you choose unfinished paneling, you can leave it as-is for a natural wood look. You could also paint or stain unfinished wood paneling to achieve the final appearance you want.
- A tongue and groove finish is more expensive than a drywall or gypsum wallboard finish in terms of the cost of materials. However, it tends to cost less in terms of labor because you don’t need to apply multiple coats of joint compound to the wall.
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Cover interior ICF walls in acrylic plaster or stucco for a textured finish. Choose a fine-textured acrylic plaster or stucco if you want a smoother texture or a coarse-textured stucco or plaster if you want a more pronounced texture. Apply 2 coats of the plaster or stucco directly on top of the insulating foam using a trowel, smoothing it out and letting it dry between coats.^{[8]
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- You can get acrylic stucco and plaster with pigment in it if you know you want the wall to be a certain color. Otherwise, you can use white plaster or stucco, which can always be painted over later.
- A plaster or stucco finish is the most expensive and labor-intensive interior finish you can choose.
Tip: Stuccoed or plastered walls can give a room a kind of vintage Mediterranean vibe. Combine them with stone or tile floors and exposed wood beams to complete the look.^{[9]
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