Rendering Brickwork
Your home’s external brickwork benefits from have an extra layer to protect it against rain, wind and snow. Rendering not only protects your brickwork, it also helps with insulation. And, if you’re looking to give your house a facelift, it’s a great way to change the texture, appearance and colour of your house.
What is Rendering?
Render is applied to exterior brickwork in two or three layers to create a smooth or textured finish. Early examples of rendered brickwork tended to be quite uniform – we’re all familiar with the grey pebble dash of 1950s buildings.
Now there’s a whole variety of external plastering finishes to choose from:
- Cement. This is one of the most popular options for rendering brickwork. The cement is mixed on site and 3 or 4 coats are applied to ensure no cracking. Once dry it’s painted, and repaints are recommended every few years to keep the render looking fresh.
- Lime. This has been used to protect homes for centuries, and it’s currently enjoying a resurgence. Lime plaster acts as a sponge; it soaks in moisture, holding it in the plaster till it evaporates. The porous quality allows your brickwork to breathe and protects it from damp.
- Polymer. Known as a ‘thin coat’ render, because it requires less volume than cement or lime. Polymer rendering is pre-coloured and there’s plenty of different hues to choose from. There are also a range of different textured polymers, for the specific finish required.
- Silicone. A render that shares many characteristics with polymer. There is the same range of colour and texturing options. What differentiates acrylic, however, is its enhanced waterproofing – it stays clean by staying dry.
Does Rendering Brickwork Require Planning Permission?
This is an interesting question that we get asked quite often. In the majority of cases you don’t need planning permission to change the look of your home’s exterior. If, however, you live in a conservation area, you may need to get permission before going ahead. It could be that there are only certain colours that you can use.
Is it Possible to Use a Mixture of Materials?
There are so many cladding alternatives available now that clients are becoming increasingly creative with their exterior design. The combination of rendered brickwork and timber cladding is a particularly popular choice.
At Logic Plastering we always enjoy the challenge of working with mixed cladding – but, a word of warning. This approach tends to be more expensive as the materials are purchased in smaller quantities, and different tradesmen are needed to install them.
About Logic Plastering
We’re a Bedford-based plastering business. We’ve been around for over a decade now, and we’ve built ourselves a solid reputation for high standard work in that time. Whether you’re looking for internal, or external plastering our skilled and experienced tradesmen will provide a thoroughly professional service. We always turn up when we say we will; we finish to the agreed deadline and we clear up after ourselves!!
Looking for external wall rendering in Bedford? Logic Plastering provides a range of plastering services, including rendering brickwork. Call us on 07809 228328