
In an older house it is likely that the walls will have to be insulated. Rendering work on a substantial part of a house must comply with building regulations. Planning permission isn’t usually required to apply render, providing the house isn’t listed or in a conservation area, and permitted development rights haven’t been removed (visit .uk and check with your local authority). If you have chosen rendering that needs painting, make sure you choose a weatherproof external paint.īack to Front Exterior Design transformed the exterior with the removal, resizing and addition of windows, and by applying render and new roof tiles Do you need planning permission to render your home? As well as a choice of colours, different finishes are also available, from very smooth to textured. Thin coat render systems are designed to be self-coloured so that they don’t need painting. Different types of render are also used with external wall insulation systems, depending on the application and the desired finish, including polymer cement, silicone and acrylic. Building up the renderĭifferent proprietary systems are built up of different layers, using various forms of insulation, including expanded polystyrene (EPS), mineral fibre (Rock Fibre) and phenolic foam (more expensive but superior performance). This is followed by one or two more thin coats of render, usually a primer and a topcoat. This mesh acts as a reinforcement against cracking. Creating a foundation for the render to fix toĪ fabric render mesh is then applied over the insulation, bedded into the first base coat layer of render. The type of fixing needs to be selected depending on the type of wall – which is either mechanically fixed or glued to the walls. Where external wall insulation is being applied before the render coat, this is usually in the form of rigid boards or slabs. Metal stop and angle beads are then applied around the window and door openings and corners (or the edges of a terraced property) to provide clean edges for the render. Any vents will need to be extended, and sometimes window sills must be extended too.

External detailsĮxternal details such as bargeboards will often have to be removed, along with rainwater and soil pipes and other external details such as alarm boxes. Any new finish is only as good as the wall behind it. Preparing the wallsīefore a building is rendered, the walls should be surveyed, with repairs made to structural defects and any movement stabilised – otherwise the render finish is likely to fail. Whether you attempt to do the work yourself, or hire a contractor, you need to understand the process so that you can plan it around the rest of your project.
#Smart wall render how to
(Image credit: French + Tye) How to render walls: a step-by-step guide They are self-cleaning, won't crack, and self-coloured so no need for painting. Expensive to buy, but easy to apply, you can recoup the material costs with reduced labour and maintenance fees. The product is based on cement render and comes ready to be mixed with water, then trowelled or sprayed on. Monocouche render: Monocouche means 'single bed' or single coat in French, and as expected this means only one coat is required.Silicone may be added for longevity and to prevent the need for cleaning. Acrylic render: This is often used as a top coat over existing finishes.They can be through-coloured, meaning they don't need painting. Polymer render: Usually cement or lime-based, they have polymers and other plastics added to them to help prevent cracking.It does need frequent repainting to look fresh too. It can be mixed on site and the materials used are cheap – but as it takes two to three coats, labour costs soon add up.


Prices typically start at just under £60 per square metre. Modern renders are a big improvement on the concrete renders widely used until recently. Consider the type of render you use carefully – lime render with a textured or patterned finish will suit old, historic buildings, while new, silicone-based renders that are flexible, breathable, low-maintenance and smooth in their finish will suit contemporary homes. Render can be applied to create a smooth, textured or patterned finish, and comes in a wide range of colours.
