Written price after a look at the job
Rendering
External Rendering in London
Reinforced basecoat, mesh, then a top coat chosen for the wall it is going on. Rear elevations, side returns and extensions.
Dust sheeted, swept and cleared down daily
One person on site, start to finish
Work planned around parking and access
Rendering in London is mostly rear and side work: the back of a terrace, a side return, a new extension, or a garden wall patched so many times it is more filler than brick. Front elevations in conservation areas are a different conversation and usually a planning one.
The system matters more than the colour. A render is a build up of layers, and most of the failed render that gets stripped off around London failed because a layer was skipped, not because the wrong shade was picked.
What goes on the wall, in order
The wall gets prepared first. Blown and hollow sections come off back to a sound edge, old paint and organic growth get cleaned down, and anything that will not hold a render is dealt with rather than covered.
Then a basecoat goes on, and while it is still green, alkali resistant mesh is bedded into it so the whole elevation has a reinforced skin that can move slightly without cracking. Once that has cured it is primed, and the top coat goes on last, worked in a continuous pass across each elevation so there is no join line halfway up a wall.
Top coat options, described honestly
Silicone systems are through coloured and vapour open, which suits a solid brick wall that needs to dry outwards. Monocouche is a one coat through coloured render, scraped back to an even texture, and it sits well on new blockwork. K-Rend is a widely used through coloured range covering both of those working methods.
Those are options, not a sales pitch. Which one goes on your wall depends on what the wall is made of, how exposed it is, and what the neighbouring properties look like. There is no claim here to be an installer for any particular manufacturer, and anybody telling you one product is the answer before they have seen the wall is guessing.
Solid walls, and why breathability comes up
A lot of London stock is solid brick with no cavity. Those walls were built to take up some water in the wet and give it back in the dry, and they behave badly when something stops them doing that. A hard cement render with paint over it does exactly that: water gets in at a crack, cannot get back out, and pushes the render off in sheets.
That is why a vapour open system usually makes more sense on an older wall than a sealed one. It keeps driving rain out while still letting the brickwork dry outwards, which is the behaviour the wall was designed around in the first place.
Access, scaffold and the neighbours
Almost no London render job is reachable from a ladder. A rear elevation usually needs a scaffold, and getting one into a back garden means carrying it through the house or over a neighbour's side return, which is a conversation to have before the date is set rather than on the morning.
Materials, waste and water all have the same problem. Where there is no front access, deliveries get timed and broken down, and waste goes out the way it came in. It is worth saying at estimate stage if there is a shared passage, a locked side gate or a parking bay that needs suspending, because all three change the price and the programme.
When to get it looked at
- Render that is cracked, hollow or coming away in patches
- A rear extension or side return left in bare blockwork
- Painted walls that blister and need redoing every couple of years
- Damp showing inside on a wall that faces the weather
- A garden or boundary wall patched past the point of patching
- Pebbledash that sounds hollow when you tap it
Rendering on site
Photographs of finished work go here. Until they do, each frame is labelled with what belongs in it rather than filled with a picture of somebody else's job.
Rendering across London
Central and South West London
ChelseaKensingtonFulhamBatterseaClaphamWandsworthHammersmithPutneyPimlicoWestminsterBalhamTootingEarlsfieldSouthfieldsBarnesRichmondTwickenhamChiswickActonEalingShepherd's BushNotting HillHolland ParkBayswaterPaddingtonMaryleboneBelgraviaKnightsbridgeBrixtonStreathamDulwichCamberwellKenningtonVauxhallNine ElmsStockwell
Rendering: frequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission to render my house?
Often not at the rear, but it depends where you are. In a conservation area, on a listed building, or where an article 4 direction applies, changing the external finish can need consent, and several London boroughs have exactly those controls on whole streets. Check with your borough before committing to a colour.
Can you render over pebbledash?
If it is sound and rings solid, it can be overclad. If it sounds hollow, is cracked or is lifting, it comes off first. A new system over a failing one buys a few years and then the whole lot lets go together, new and old.
How long does rendering take?
A rear elevation on a terrace is usually one to two weeks once scaffold is up, because the basecoat has to cure before the top coat goes on. Weather moves that. A top coat is not going on with frost or heavy rain forecast, because a finish rained on before it cures will craze or bloom.
Will rendering stop my damp?
It stops wind driven rain soaking into the wall, which causes a lot of damp on exposed elevations. It will not fix rising damp, a failed gutter or a leaking pipe, and rendering over those hides them rather than solving them.
Other work
Plastering
Backing coat and finish on walls taken back to brick, or fresh board skimmed flat and ready for paint.
Read moreSkimming
A finish coat over walls and ceilings that are sound, flattening out years of patching and filler.
Read moreDry Lining
Stud partitions, lined out walls and insulated board, set out square and boarded ready for skim or tape.
Read moreRendering in London
Call Frank or send the job details and he will come and look.
Get in touch
Tell Frank what the walls are doing and he will come and look at them. The visit is free and the price comes after it, in writing.
- Phone07788 866598
- WhatsAppMessage 07788 866598
- CoveringCentral and South West London