Render over red brick ?

[iansr]

We have radically altered and extended our dormer bungalow.  The existing house was / is mainly red brick (with some areas of stone cladding), as is the single storey extension.  We are not keen on the red brick.  We are going to have wood cladding on the upper storey but below that we are thinking of having the red brick rendered.   

 

I know very little about render so any words of advice would be appreciated.

[Mr Punter]

I prefer normal render (sand:cement:lime) painted to the through colour or monocouche types.  Often it is good to have a coat of bonding material like Rend Aid to get a good key but depends on the brick.  If you are doing external wall insulation you would need a different system.

[iansr]

Both the old and new cavities are insulated, so no external insulation.