Lime render starting to crack.

[Ebenezer]

Forgot to say, the wall is lath and plaster.

 

[Zebra]

I have much the same problem - hairline cracks on a coloured render, and have managed to get the supplier of the render let me have a bag of their pigment to match. I tried it a bit before the weather turned, but most of the limewash washed out, didn't really stick in the cracks. I wonder whether some very small aggregate could be added, like kiln-dried sand perhaps.
Indoors I've been making a fantastic filler out of lime putty and fluff. It's amazingly strong yet still fine enough to use in small holes, but I haven't tried it outdoors. The fluff is not just stuff from under the bed, it's the stuff that's created when you saw woodfibre boards. Wood fluff. Tried it on a crazy whim, and since then have spent several evenings "making fluff" out of old woodfibre boards, for filler.

 

[Ebenezer]

I have much the same problem - hairline cracks on a coloured render, and have managed to get the supplier of the render let me have a bag of their pigment to match. I tried it a bit before the weather turned, but most of the limewash washed out, didn't really stick in the cracks. I wonder whether some very small aggregate could be added, like kiln-dried sand perhaps.
Indoors I've been making a fantastic filler out of lime putty and fluff. It's amazingly strong yet still fine enough to use in small holes, but I haven't tried it outdoors. The fluff is not just stuff from under the bed, it's the stuff that's created when you saw woodfibre boards. Wood fluff. Tried it on a crazy whim, and since then have spent several evenings "making fluff" out of old woodfibre boards, for filler.

Isn't horse hair normally used to strengthen it? Where did you get your render? Did you render it yourself?

I'm going to give this a go: http://www.oldhousestore.co.uk/conservation-filler-----1ltr-tub-554-p.asp

I'll try a small bit of the largest crack and see how it looks when it dries. The hairline cracks I wouldn't actually be able to fill without digging them out to make a bigger groove to get into.

 

[LadyArowana]

Isn't horse hair normally used to strengthen it? .

Rather insensitive to mention that to a Zebra, they are close cousins to horses you know, and I don't think that the horsehair always comes from a quick trip to the groomers. :lol:

 

[Zebra]

If I run out of fluff I'll put a bucket at the local livery yard, and ask the horses there to put in it any they don't need. Can't possibly produce enough myself at this time of year.
I should add though, that this fluff-based filler is for gap-filling on the base coat, building up corners and edges, that sort of thing. It will have a top coat over.
That Conservation Filler looks like good stuff though, that looks like a good idea. Is it recommended to use it outdoors?
No, I didn't do the render myself. I used Lime Green's WP Finish. On the woodfibre boards upstairs I used their PrepBond as a base coat, and downstairs, where it was new brick/blockwork, I used a lime/cement mix as a base coat.