Advice on Render on Gable

[Ferdinand]

I have an end gable where the render is coming loose in patches. It has been much repaired over the years and is not especially prominent.

 

The details are:

 

- Solid wall - half brick.

- Cement render.

- Dri lines inside.

- House well ventilated.

 

My idea is probably to chip off what is there and rerender the whole thing, probably with concrete render. The existing is probably 100 years old. I would take the Tv aerial down at the same time.

 

Any comments would be most welcome.

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Ed Davies]

Nobody who knows what they're talking about has said anything here for 5 hours so I'll have a go: wouldn't something a bit more vapour open (“breathable”) be better than concrete?

[Simplysimon]

ewi before render?

[bassanclan]

Before you go hacking it off check that you don't HAVE to ewi (if you didn't want to)

[Ferdinand]

27 minutes ago, bassanclan said:

Before you go hacking it off check that you don't HAVE to ewi (if you didn't want to)

 

Would that be due to Buiding Regs.

 

I had not had that thought. Is that the same as indoors ... more than 50% of the thermal element being re-rendered requires a full do-over?

 

Cheers

 

F

Edited March 1, 2019 by Ferdinand

[bassanclan]

I don't know the latest regs on it, but it's worth double checking before you start

[Ferdinand]

Thanks guys.

 

The reason for doing it now i because I am adding a leanto for the T, and the roof will be on soon.

 

There is no intention to do EWI; I looked at that for the whole place when I started doing major upgrades a few years ago, and it was 14-15k - nowhere near viable in energy or rental terms. Since then I have upgraded to roughly halve the bills despite increasing the floor area by 50%, so I think that the >15 year payback exception would apply to a small project on this gable.

 

There are currently no damp issues, so I may be alright with cement render.

 

Need to think a little still, but it is looking like remove the loose stuff, patch, and paint with masonry paint for the aesthetics - perhaps brick red. Painting is not something I want to do, but perhaps I should this time.

 

Any further comments also welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Ferdinand

Edited March 2, 2019 by Ferdinand

[bassanclan]

If you are painting I would do exactly as you say just patch up anything loose and it'll look 100 times better

[gravelld]

Sounds like my journey @Ferdinand - see the other thread on high build coatings. Turns out there are flexible paints out there which can accommodate, to some extent, cracking in render. I'm still in the middle of researching this.

 

By the letter of the regs, if you re-rendered you would have to upgrade the thermal element. But there are loads of exemptions and general word on the street is that it's possible to avoid if you simply prove the extreme cost would be a problem.

[Ferdinand]

20 hours ago, gravelld said:

Sounds like my journey @Ferdinand - see the other thread on high build coatings. Turns out there are flexible paints out there which can accommodate, to some extent, cracking in render. I'm still in the middle of researching this.

 

By the letter of the regs, if you re-rendered you would have to upgrade the thermal element. But there are loads of exemptions and general word on the street is that it's possible to avoid if you simply prove the extreme cost would be a problem.

 

Thanks.

 

The calculations are in the Regs and I think I would meet the exclusion, but I am not disposed to spend a couple of days or £250 proving it which is a theoretical requirement.

 

So I may patch and do basic normal masonry paint. That should give me 7-8 years and once once leanto roof is up it can be repainted relatively painlessly.

 

Ferdinand

[scottishjohn]

first job is to get up there and tap it all over to see exactly how much of it is no longer attached to brick work  and sounds hollow when you hit it