Rendering 1930s semi
 

Our house is a 1930s north London semi with brick on the bottom half
and pebble dash on the top half. The pebble dash is unpainted, and
rather patchy - there are some areas which have previously had dripping
from gutters (now fixed). There are a few small cracks in the
existing render.

We would like to do something to improve the appearance of the house.

1. Would painting the existing pebbledash hide the uneavenness of the
existing pebble dash?

2. We are considering re-rendering over the existing pebble dash,
either with one of the polymer based things like K-Rend or Pliolite, or
with a cement based render. My main concern with this option is the
adherance of the new render to the existing substrate. Is a cement
based render more likely to stick on properly that the polymer stuff?

Any advice appreciated!

I have pebbledash too, and painted it looks a lot more even, certainly
a lot cleaner looking.

I agree that smooth render wont improve the look.

In article ,
"ben" writes:
wrote:
Our house is a 1930s north London semi with brick on the bottom half
and pebble dash on the top half. The pebble dash is unpainted, and
rather patchy - there are some areas which have previously had
dripping from gutters (now fixed). There are a few small cracks in
the existing render.

We would like to do something to improve the appearance of the house.

1. Would painting the existing pebbledash hide the uneavenness of the
existing pebble dash?

It's a horrible task to paint it, and that's an ongoing
maintenance nightmare -- it would be a negative point for
me if I was looking to buy your house.

Have you thought of trying washing it to start with, which
would not prevent you trying any other route afterwards if
you still don't like it?

2. We are considering re-rendering over the existing pebble dash,

Sounds like a bad idea to me, although I don't know the
products you mention. Might end up trapping damp behind,
and later frost damage could push the whole lot off, or
end up with damp coming through if it's a solid wall.

either with one of the polymer based things like K-Rend or Pliolite,
or with a cement based render. My main concern with this option is
the adherance of the new render to the existing substrate. Is a cement
based render more likely to stick on properly that the polymer stuff?

Any advice appreciated!

I hate it 'full stop' when someone has pebble dashed over they're house but
to render it would make it look flat and featureless. to me pebble dash is
no more than a sponge for absorbing water(rain).

Pebble dash is actually a weather protection layer if properly
done. If it's still on a 1930's house (OP didn't say it was coming
off), then it sounds like it was properly done.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In article .com,
"
says...
Our house is a 1930s north London semi with brick on the bottom half
and pebble dash on the top half. The pebble dash is unpainted, and
rather patchy - there are some areas which have previously had dripping
from gutters (now fixed). There are a few small cracks in the
existing render.

We would like to do something to improve the appearance of the house.

1. Would painting the existing pebbledash hide the uneavenness of the
existing pebble dash?

2. We are considering re-rendering over the existing pebble dash,
either with one of the polymer based things like K-Rend or Pliolite, or
with a cement based render. My main concern with this option is the
adherance of the new render to the existing substrate. Is a cement
based render more likely to stick on properly that the polymer stuff?

Any advice appreciated!

If it's anything like my house (lime mortar and soft bricks) I'd
avoid the plastic coating or cement render. I've an idea that
chipping out the render around the cracks, grinding it down a bit and
mixing with lime putty would be a reasonable way of matching the
original finish - anyone care to put me right?

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...
In article .com,
"
says...
Our house is a 1930s north London semi with brick on the bottom half
and pebble dash on the top half. The pebble dash is unpainted, and
rather patchy - there are some areas which have previously had dripping
from gutters (now fixed). There are a few small cracks in the
existing render.

We would like to do something to improve the appearance of the house.

1. Would painting the existing pebbledash hide the uneavenness of the
existing pebble dash?

2. We are considering re-rendering over the existing pebble dash,
either with one of the polymer based things like K-Rend or Pliolite, or
with a cement based render. My main concern with this option is the
adherance of the new render to the existing substrate. Is a cement
based render more likely to stick on properly that the polymer stuff?

Any advice appreciated!

If it's anything like my house (lime mortar and soft bricks) I'd
avoid the plastic coating or cement render. I've an idea that
chipping out the render around the cracks, grinding it down a bit and
mixing with lime putty would be a reasonable way of matching the
original finish - anyone care to put me right?

It is my view that pebbledash cannot be succesfully repaired to give a
uniform
appearance in most cases. I myself have experience with trying to blend in a
crack after it was repaired. It is not totally impossible but if there is a
lot of area
to repair it is too fiddly. The analogy that comes to mind is that of
repairing a scratch
or scrape on car paintwork. You can bodge it and use touchup paint, or you
can go
for a respray.
I'd say your options were to either paint it, or have it scraped off
and rerendered
( plenty of folks down my way having their houses rerendered after 70 years
of service ).
Just a personal view, paint looks nicer, particularly if you choose a nice
colour
( buttermilk is a favourite, anything but beige! ). I can imagine the need
for repainting
is a pain. but with one of the expensive paints ( Dulux weathershield, for
example ),
I believe 10+ years between coats is not unrealistic. I have a garage
painted in Dulux
Weathershield, and after 4 years there is no sign of discolouration or
deterioration.
It is a good idea to apply fungicide/bleach to the house first.

Painting pebbledash is a killer with a paintbrush, it will take days,
literally. I would look at
airless sprayers etc.

Andy.

In article , "andrewpreece"
says...
snip
Just a personal view, paint looks nicer, particularly if you choose a nice
colour
( buttermilk is a favourite, anything but beige! ).

There's a great variety of off-white to pale yellow houses around
here, with the occasional oddity like pistachio green or sky blue.
One thing I don't understand is why people paint their brickwork in
brick red - it very rarely looks right.