Bristol rendering recommendations

[Elldot]

Hello, I am new here, forgive me if this post appears twice but I got myself in a bit of a pickle :shock:
We have a late Victorian 3-bed house with very sad and decrepit rear render. I think it at some point it has been done in a cement render, and has been patched up and generally abused. It's now having a knock on effect on some of the electric socks. Does anyone have any recommendations for some good rendering people in or around the Bristol area..

Thanks
Elea

 

[plasticpigeon]

Was your house always rendered??? If not, how about removing it?

 

[Elldot]

I 'm not sure, but we will be removing all of the existing render and replacing with new.

 

[plasticpigeon]

It could be that if the bricks underneath are not too damaged, and are good quality, i.e. laid well and originally intended to be on show, it would be better to leave it brick, and get the pointing done instead. I think this usually looks more attractive and in many cases is better for the building.

 

[Elldot]

That's a nice idea, I think bricks are more attractive than render, but would'nt hacking offf cement render cause some damage to the face of the bricks?

 

[plasticpigeon]

I think sometimes it can damage bricks, but sometimes it can come off with minimal damage, you might be lucky!!! If at the back of your house the bricks are probably a little uneven anyway so a few nibbled edges won't look out of place. At the front the bricks are probably facing bricks which are nicer and more square so may not look so acceptable if a bit chewed.

I have taken a cement plinth off the bottom of the walls in my place with only slight damage even though the bricks are not very hard, certainly not as hard as the cement. There were a few broken bricks that I replaced but these were already broken probably due to the wet bricks freezing. If you or your contractor start by trying to remove the render with as little damage as possible you will perhaps have the option to leave it brick. It is amazing how good pointing can improve the appearance of a wall that is in quite a state. I think using an SDS drill or pneumatic hammers might be damaging to the surface though. Many people on this forum have removed cement render so perhaps they can give more advice.

I found this blog the other day which may be of interest.

http://oldlawnsrenovate.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/day-1-no-turning-back.html

 

[Zebra]

Before you start looking for render contractors, perhaps it might be wise to research render materials. Forgive me if you are already well aware of this, but if you just go to a render contractor, what you will invariably end up with is a cement render.

If you know what render you want to apply, ie a lime render, which will help the building to breathe and will not destroy your bricks, and is appropriate to the type of bricks that you have, then you can purchase the materials directly from the supplier and get someone preferably experienced in lime to stick it on for you.

Again, forgive me if I am preaching to the converted but there are different types of lime render, whether putty-based or NHL, you can also purchase through coloured top coat renders, and ones with different additives etc. Suppliers such as Mike Wye, Old House Store, and Ty Mawr can help to advise on the right product.

A good way I find to test whether contractors know about lime or not is to see whether what they understand by "a lime mortar/render" is a cement mortar/render with a bit of lime in it as a plasticiser. If that's what they think it is then they don't know about lime and old buildings.

If you leave the product choice up to the contractor you will most likely end up with cement though.

I removed a cement render from old brickwork, and though parts of it were relatively undamaged I decided to render again, but in lime..... Get the hammer and bolster out and try a bit and see!