Pebble Dashing Technique
 

I've seen lots of threads on pebble dashing but no one so far has
actually said how its done.
What is the technique for applying the stones evenly, or is there a
device that will distribute them quickly and evenly.
+ how thick should the render be.

I'm doing an area at the front of my house that measures about 15 by
10 feet ( its not even that big because most of the area is window )
which at present has some nasty cladding on it that I want to get rid
of, left by the previous occupants... it's vile!!

Could anyone recommend any good websites if they can't explain ?

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

In article ,
(agent zero) writes:
I've seen lots of threads on pebble dashing but no one so far has
actually said how its done.

Sheet of polythene on the ground under the wall to catch the stones
which don't stick (which is most of them). Bucket of stones under
left arm, small hand spade in right hand (ideally about 4" square,
flat bottomed with lip round 3 sides). Stand, back to the wall, as
close as you can without touching it. Spade goes in bucket and comes
out with stones on it, and you bring your right arm with spade up
quickly to your right shoulder and stop abruptly with the spade
facing the wall. The stones continue to fly just above your
shoulder into the wall, leaving a pattern of stones stuck to the
render which is same size and shape as the spade. Most of the stones
fall away, because they hammered the stone in front into the render
and there was no more exposed render to stick to. You repeat this
over and over, moving along by the width of the spade each time,
and you will then have a line of stones across the render. You will
need to recover the stones from the sheet and refill your bucket
every so often.

I've only done this in a class, not for real. When I looked back
at what I'd done, my line wasn't very straight and there were some
patches missing which needed another spadefull aimed at them. The
teacher who demonstrated was doing about 4 spadefulls a second,
had a perfectly straight line, and of course, no patches missing
(and didn't even need to turn round to check there were none
missing;-).

What is the technique for applying the stones evenly, or is there a
device that will distribute them quickly and evenly.

You don't apply 'evenly', you apply completely, so as little
render as possible shows. The stones are supposed to the the
exposed surface to fend off the elements.

+ how thick should the render be.

Hum -- I don't remember. We did two coats -- scratch coat was about
10mm, and the top coat probably depends on the size of the stones,
I would guess about 1/2 their diameter. I'm not 100% sure if pebbledash
really needs a scratch coat (we used the scratch coat for other
finishes too, which certainly did need it).

I'm doing an area at the front of my house that measures about 15 by
10 feet ( its not even that big because most of the area is window )

I'll bet there's no glass in it by the end... ;-)

which at present has some nasty cladding on it that I want to get rid
of, left by the previous occupants... it's vile!!

I would suggest you do not bring pebbledash down to a level where
people (particularly children) will brush or fall against it. It
can cause injuries.

It might be a good idea to practice somewhere first. If you mix
the render up as a 1:5 lime:sand mix (training mix) with no cement,
you can hack it all off afterwards providing you don't leave it too
long, although it will stain the wall.

--
Andrew Gabriel
Consultant Software Engineer

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

"N. Thornton" wrote in message
m...

..
This washes the cement off the stones and the end result is
pebbledash.

Wonder if there' a third way...


Catapult

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

(agent zero) wrote in message . com...
I've seen lots of threads on pebble dashing but no one so far has
actually said how its done.
What is the technique for applying the stones evenly, or is there a
device that will distribute them quickly and evenly.

You do mean genuine pebbledashing, I take it, as explained by
others... or Tyrolean? That is a different ballgame altogether, you
normally get a hand-cranked device (eg item 61310 at www.hss.co.uk) to
spatter the stuff on the wall.

David

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

"Chris Oates" wrote in message m...
"N. Thornton" wrote in message
m...

.
This washes the cement off the stones and the end result is
pebbledash.

Wonder if there' a third way...


Catapult

Masonry nails?

Use a dust pan and throw under arm upwards. Any patches you miss, go
over again. They will only stick to bare render.

You have to wash the fall-out before re-use and you will be too slow
for that.

Put a little waterproofer on the scratch to stop the topcoat drying
out too fast. Go like hell with the render or do small bits at a time
(not recommended.) You would be alright treating the sides and the
bottom of the windows as three seperate walls though.

Talking about mixing the render and stones:

I used some brick sand in plaster on an internal wall once and got a
very nice looking finish. I had to rub it though and the small grit in
the sand was not sharp but polished.

I cant believe people still put pebbledash on houses. Its bloody awful!

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

Cordless Crazy wrote:

I cant believe people still put pebbledash on houses. Its bloody awful!

Not sure that they do; but there are still a great many around (like
mine) which have it, and if it's been painted in the past (like mine),
it will need maintaining. :-(

David

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

In article ,
Cordless Crazy writes:

I cant believe people still put pebbledash on houses. Its bloody awful!

I can't believe people followup 3-year old threads. Its bloody awful!
Well, looks like we were both wrong...

My first encounter with it was at primary school, where it was used
to face the 1900 school buildings which formed the playground
perimeter -- not a smart idea. (I wonder if its still like that now?)

My house has some decorative panels of pebbledash, and I quite like
those set, as they are, slightly back from surrounding frames of
eiter brick or render in different places. They are all well above
6' from the ground so don't represent an injury hazard (unless they
were to fall off, which they've shown no signs of yet).

--
Andrew Gabriel

Pebble Dashing Technique
 

"Cordless Crazy" wrote in message
...

agent zero Wrote:
I've seen lots of threads on pebble dashing but no one so far has
actually said how its done.
What is the technique for applying the stones evenly, or is there a
device that will distribute them quickly and evenly.
+ how thick should the render be.

I'm doing an area at the front of my house that measures about 15 by
10 feet ( its not even that big because most of the area is window )
which at present has some nasty cladding on it that I want to get rid
of, left by the previous occupants... it's vile!!

Could anyone recommend any good websites if they can't explain ?

I cant believe people still put pebbledash on houses. Its bloody awful!


--
Cordless Crazy

Yep, makes house look like council estate bungalows! Our 1821 cottage has
been insulted by the stuff inthe 1980s. This year its being removed and
re-rendered smooth.

Nice.

Steve

Ditto here. My house was afflicted when it was built in the late 50's, but and considering replacing it all with a system similar to Protectacoat for a guaranteed, no-maintence finish which lets the house breath and looks decidedly better