Render specification

[Cadet982]

Hi - I'm looking for advice on render specifications.  We have plans for building a largely rendered house; brick plinth with brick chimney - bit like the Border Oak type house.  The house will be a traditional block masonry cavity wall construction.  However, driving around the country I see some relatively new builds on which the render has 'bled' - it looks like the pigment has started to leach. 

 

One of the criteria for our build was low/nil maintenance and I thought a render was going to achieve that.  I see that some renders need repainting after 'x' years.

 

Our proposed house is in Mid Wales and the plot is around 900 feet above sea level - we see a lot of weather here ?.   I'm keen that any render we use has longevity and requires little if no maintenance.

 

The other alternative is that we scrap the render elements and go for brick external skin all over.

 

Any thoughts/advice or pointer where I go to get some advice?

 

Thanks in advance.

[nod]

I run a render business 

K rend produce a variety of colours and finishes 

Most are virtually 0 maintenance 

If you use a reputable contractor 

By that I mean a contractor that has jobs local to you That is happy to show you round 

Not the guy that has skimmed your house and does a bit of render every now and then 

[Russell griffiths]

If you want zero maintenance I would just go brick or stone. 

[LA3222]

The render bloke I went with used Johnstones stormshield - said he used to use K Rend but Johnstones is better ?‍♂️

 

Much of a muchness really, ask ten different people and you'll probably get ten different answers. KRend seems to be the 'known' brand associated with render.

 

I had the Johnstones rep on site via the renderer but he then told me that the renderers work is good and johnstones warranty it once done - whether that means anything  in practical terms I dunno.

 

My house likewise pinches the 'look' of borderoak to a certain extent - my borderoak porches actually turn up next Friday ? 

[nod]

I’ve never come across Johnston 

K are the market leader by far 

I’ve used K on a weekly basis for over 20 years Cem rend before that 

The thing most like is batch matches are good 

 

There are loads of renders that guarantee no cracking 

Like most guarantees the onus is on the installer 

So pick a good one that will quickly sort out any minor problems 

 

We Give a five year no argument Guarantee

[dpmiller]

Never heard of Johnstone's @nod ?

 

https://www.johnstonestrade.com/specifiers/render

[nod]

1 hour ago, dpmiller said:

Never heard of Johnstone's @nod ?

 

https://www.johnstonestrade.com/specifiers/render

1 hour ago, dpmiller said:

Never heard of Johnstone's @nod ?

 

https://www.johnstonestrade.com/specifiers/render

Did I really say I’ve never heard of Johnson’s ?

[nod]

I think the price would dictate why I’m never asked to price site work 

at double what I pay for K 

[Redoctober]

6 hours ago, LA3222 said:

My house likewise pinches the 'look' of borderoak to a certain extent - my borderoak porches actually turn up next Friday ? 

 

Exciting ! We "pinched" Border Oaks design too and made it our own. Our porch was made by a local Oak frame yard and they managed to match the price for us. Good luck and hopefully once up, you can post a picture.

[Cadet982]

Thanks for comments.  We started off with a design that had the look and palette of modern building  - render, blue engineering brick and graphite window frames.  However, as time marches on we've softened the look somewhat.  I think we might end up with brick outer skin as it offer longevity, zero maintenance and a look that will fit nicely into the rural area in which we live.  Also, any outbuildings an garden structures will be easier to blend in.

[Micharlblueboy]

I did plastering many years ago and found one of the best renders to be was rough cast. You see it quite often on old farms and its a very strong maintenance free render. Back then you would apply a scratch coat, a top coat and then the rough cast coat. This consisted of sand, cement, stone. Its really hardwearing and the plasterer i worked with swore by it. Its a messy job. Google it and see what you think

[Cadet982]

15 hours ago, Micharlblueboy said:

I did plastering many years ago and found one of the best renders to be was rough cast. You see it quite often on old farms and its a very strong maintenance free render. Back then you would apply a scratch coat, a top coat and then the rough cast coat. This consisted of sand, cement, stone. Its really hardwearing and the plasterer i worked with swore by it. Its a messy job. Google it and see what you think

Thanks for the message.  Cheers.

[Vpip2high]

Where you see staining and runs on lots of many new renders it can be caused by water running off timbers/flashings and onto the render. I live and render for a living in the Highlands and would recommend roughcast/wetdash hard to apply but when done right is very durable.