sandtex , and how do you know? and is it problematic?

[robgil]

the out side of my house is painted in a pink masonry paint , its pink. it looks like a silk paint , almost glossy. could this be sandtex? what is sandtex? did i say its pink? anyhow , my brick chimney stacks are also painted in it , and its pink.
the house should be limewashed (in pink) so i am thinking perhaps this stuff should be removed at somestage in the future and replaced with a breathable paint like limewash (pink). what do you guys reckon? do i need to buy shares in notromors?


*pink is growing on me , honestly.
but i wont be rushing out to buy a pink shirt anytime soon , i just cannot pull off pink properly.

 

[Flyfisher]

You have a classic Suffolk thatched cottage; what other colour would it be? :wink:

Anyway, it's a good job the colour is growing on you as I'd guess it's unlikely you'll be able to change it since you're in a conservation area. Just stock up on some ox blood to mix into your limewash.

I'm not entirely sure about Sandtex, but they do have a technical helpline on their webpage; might be worth an enquiry. They might even be able to identify a sample of your paint. Otherwise, Strippers of Sudbury have stuff on their webpage to remove masonry paint.

 

[robgil]

i am actually loving the pink , when people point it out to me 'ooh you live in a pink house' i can put on my manly voice and say 'yes , its paint made from the blood of oxes' , it would definitely look better in limewash though.
i shall give sandtex a call and see if they can give me an idea if its one of their products. sodbury strippers may well also be getting a call. thanks flyfisher.

edit - i am glad its a pink house and not a pink tent , a pink tent would just be way too camp.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Brilliant robgil!

Everyone looks nice in pink - honest. Everyone. You should try it sometime.

What's under this pink again? Have you read Sandtex's scary website? http://www.sandtex.co.uk/pdfs/MasonryPaintColour.pdf I can't see your shade of pink, but that's not to say they didn't make it. Is your paint textured at all?

In an ideal world I suppose you'd use Klingstrip and get it all off before repinking. The limewashes are much nicer pinks, but, honestly, I like your pink house, as you well know!

Edit-FF's post just before says it all better.

 

[robgil]

they have fuffolk pink on there but its not looking like the shade ive got. the stuff on my walls looks really hardcore ,a creamy thick rubbery kind of very pink paint.

 

[Penners]

Sandtex comes in two flavours - sand-filled (known as textured) or smooth. You can also get the smooth in a one-coat finish.

Before you consider spending a lot of time and money on stripping off your exterior paint (Sandtex or not), I'd suggest that you ascertain what's underneath it. If it's cement render, then in terms of breathability the building is not really going to be any better off painted with limewash.

 

[chuckey]

The pennies just dropped. I had heard of Ox's blood being one of the components of canal beds to make them water proof. Surely its playing the same role in Suffolk lime washes?
Is the result breathable though?
Frank

 

[robgil]

i wont really be using ox blood guys.
the main concern i have is the chimney stack , its un-rendered bare brick . the rest of the house is a mix of cement and hopefully lime but i am no expert and cannot see it properly under the pink paint. a lot of the render on the rest of the house has blown and is cracked and sounds hollow when tapped.
this is the worst of it i think , probably patched up when the extension was grafted onto the side of the house.

 

[Penners]

That looks very much like the Sandtex colour "Suffolk Pink" to me. Our last house was painted with it - I hated it but it was sound, so it stayed.

See what you think (bearing in mind that the photo was taken on a dull day):

 

[Jon Maine]

i just cannot pull off pink properly.

You can get help with that!!

I would say that the render in your pictures with the trowel marks left was mainly if not totally cement render.

Go the whole hog, lime it, an elevation at a time, you know you want to.............

 

[robgil]

it could be penners , its very close if it isnt. although yours does look like a matt finish where as mine is more of a silk finish.
jon as much as i would love to re-render the house i would hate to hazard a guess at what i will find under that render. it could be a can of worms thats best left unopened. saying that though so much of it has blown there is very little left clinging to the walls anyway.

 

[Moo]

under that render. it could be a can of worms

In which case it should be opened as soon as possible. Who knows what horrors are lurking inside?

And I can think of few things more satisfying than prising off loose render. One wall at a time seems an eminently sensible approach.

 

[christianb]

All masonry paints are breathable to some degree, even gloopy ones. Alas, not really good enough for old buildings though.

For the pink colour (if you must :wink: ) you need to use burnt sienna earth pigment mixed in with the limewash.

C.

 

[Penners]

All masonry paints are breathable to some degree, even gloopy ones.

The paint may be (a bit), but once you've got cement and gloopy paint on there, I reckon the house has the equivalent of a plastic bag over its head.

it should be opened as soon as possible. Who knows what horrors are lurking inside?

I agree. If the render is blown anyway, then the best possible thing would be to pick it off and re-render with lime mortar. As Jon says, if the budget's not generous, then perhaps do one wall at a time.

Your house will love you for it.

 

[Feltwell]

Sandtex is just a trade name (Sand Textured, geddit??? But then they decided to release Sandtex Smooth........). What you have there could be any one of many different manufacturer's masonry paints. Lime render and wash would be great, but pragmatically do you have damp problems and can you afford the work & time?

Nowt wrong with a pink house anyway. My (female) friend used to have a bright pink Fiat X1/9 sports car, which in true Italian style broke down regularly. On one occasion she broke down close to her work, and she got her boyfriend to come out on his motorbike and wait for the AA man whilst she walked to work.

AA man duly arrives, with a greeting of "Do you always wear your leather trousers in your pink car sir?"