Tips For When You Decide To Render Your Own Home

The exterior appearance of any property has a critical bearing on many things; the home’s value, the overall aesthetic look and how neighbours regard occupants are all affected. So, it stands to reason that you should keep your property looking good and protect it against the elements. One great way to protect homes and improve the appearance is to coat the brickwork and other exterior features with a mixture of sand, cement, and other materials, which is referred to as render, available in various colours and different guises render protects homes against erosion.

The Rendering Overlook

Normally exterior rendering is completed by time-served professionals, but with the correct set of rendering tools, the budding amateur can conduct some prior research and good preparation. We’ll look at the tools needed and the different types of render and briefly touch on the rendering process giving you a great starting point to collect further information and decide whether it’s something you might take on.

Types Of Render

One of the first considerations is the type of render you’re going to use; available in smooth, patterned, and textured finishes and a range of colours, and it deserves a proper investigation. The main types of render in use today are –

• Lime render – normally used in older homes, it is flexible and breathable.
• Cement render – this budget option is mixed on-site and needs multiple coats and frequent repainting.
• Polymer render – uses a lime or cement render base and added polymers to prevent cracking; coloured options avoid the need for painting.
• Acrylic render – often used as a topcoat over other finishes; silicon is added for longevity.

Polymer and Acrylic renders are available pre-mixed, which simplifies the mixing element of the rendering process, which might be an advantage to the beginner but take the time to properly investigate what type might be best suited to your home.

The Rendering Tools You Will Need

Whether you intend to purchase or hire, the tools you need to render successfully are as follows –

• Stainless steel trowel – find a comfortable, well-balanced example.
• Square notched trowel – essential to ensure the basecoat is applied correctly.
• Bucket trowel – used for moving wet render.
• Plastic and Sponge floats – used to smooth out imperfections or apply a textured finish.
• Corner trowel – vital if needing to render around corners.
• Speedskim – Not essential but a great timesaver.

You also need all the appropriate PPE, hard hat, boots and googles as a minimum and have a first aid kit handy for any possible incidents.

The Rendering Process

The full process will normally take a couple of fine and dry weather days, so plan with an eye firmly on the weather forecast; alternatively, have a large polythene sheet or tarpaulin handy if the rains do arrive. The process then follows these steps –

• Preparation of surfaces removing any loose debris.
• Mixing or preparing your pre-mixed render – always follow instructions.
• Application of first coat of render.
• Scratch the first coat for better bonding with the next coats.
• Application of further coats.
• Floating and sponging down the final coat.

These steps are a basic and brief description of the rendering process; further research will give you a full understanding of the job at hand.

Hopefully, you’ve now got a good understanding of what rendering entails; whatever you decide, you’ll be able to move forward with your project and transform your home.