Render repairs
Cracks, blown patches, hollow areas and render that has stopped doing its job. We find out why it failed before we touch the finish, because filling a crack without fixing the cause just moves the problem along the wall.
- Cracked render repair
- Blown render
- Patch repairs
- Making good after windows
- Chimney render
- Recoating
What we get called out to
Most of these start as something small that has been left a season too long.
Cracked render
Hairline, movement and structural cracks — diagnosed by their pattern before anything is filled.
Blown and hollow render
Cut back to a firm edge, keyed and rebuilt in the same system and thickness.
Making good after windows
Reveals, sills and beading rebuilt once the window fitters have finished.
Chimneys and parapets
The high-level render that goes first, done off a proper working platform.
Staining and algae
Cleaned down — after we have found out why the wall is staying wet.
Recoating tired render
Sound but shabby elevations levelled and given a new through-coloured topcoat.
The tap test, and why we do it before quoting
Render can look perfect and still be finished. If it has lost its bond with the wall behind, it is holding on by the edges and it will come off — this year or next.
We work across the whole elevation with a knuckle or a screwdriver handle and listen. Solid render gives a dull note. Blown render drums. Then we mark the hollow areas out and price the job on what is actually there rather than what it looks like from the pavement.
It takes twenty minutes and it is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that lifts a winter later.
Chimneys, gables and the awkward high bits
Stacks and gable ends take more weather than any other part of the house, so they are usually the first render to crack, stain or blow.
They also need proper access. Anything at that height gets a scaffold or a tower, and that is quoted in from the start rather than added once we are on site.
If you are having the roof or the gutters done, it is worth getting the render looked at while the scaffold is already up.
Want a price on your house?
Send a couple of photos of the elevations and we can usually give you a ballpark the same day, then confirm it properly on site.
Repair questions
Why has my render cracked?
Fine hairline cracks are often just the render drying and are usually cosmetic. Cracks that run in a line from a window or door corner are movement, and cracks that follow a straight horizontal or vertical path often trace something structural behind.
The pattern tells you a lot. Send us a photo and we can normally tell you over the phone whether it is a finish problem or something that needs looking at properly first.
How do I know if render has blown?
Tap it with your knuckles or the handle of a screwdriver. Sound render gives a solid dull note. Blown render sounds hollow and drummy because it has lost its grip on the wall behind.
Blown areas do not re-stick. They have to be cut out back to a firm edge and rebuilt.
Can you patch a small area rather than redo the wall?
Yes, and often that is the sensible call. We cut back to sound render, key the exposed substrate and rebuild the patch in the same system and thickness.
The honest caveat is colour. A patch in weathered render will show to some degree. If the wall is painted we can overcoat the whole elevation afterwards so it reads as one.
My render is stained and green. Can it be cleaned?
Often yes. Green and black staining is usually algae feeding on damp, and it tends to appear on north-facing walls or under a leaking gutter.
Cleaning treats the symptom. If the wall is staying wet because of a defective gutter, a cracked sill or a bridged cavity, it will come straight back, so we look for the cause first.
There are cracks after new windows went in. Can you make good?
That is one of the most common calls we get. Reveals, sills and the render around a new frame nearly always need making good once the fitters have gone.
We rebuild the reveals, set new beads where needed and blend the repair into the surrounding render.
Do you repair rendered chimneys?
Yes. Chimney stacks take the worst of the weather and are usually the first render on a house to go.
They need scaffold or a tower to be done safely and properly. We will tell you what access the job needs when we quote, and it is included in the price.
Is it cheaper to repair or re-render the whole wall?
If the sound render outweighs the damaged areas, repairing is nearly always cheaper. Once you are cutting out large patches across an elevation, the labour starts to approach a full re-render and you end up with a patchwork.
We will tell you honestly which side of that line your wall sits on, even when the answer is the smaller job.
Can you sort render before we put the house on the market?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Cracked and blown render is one of the first things a buyer's survey picks up and one of the easiest things for them to negotiate on.
Tell us your timescale when you ring and we will be straight about whether we can hit it.
Send us a photo
A clear picture of the crack or the blown area, plus one of the whole elevation, usually tells us most of what we need. Email them over or fill this in and we will ring you.