Re-dashing a city semi
Most roughcasting enquiries in Glasgow are the same job: an inter war or post war semi, dashed when it was built, now on a coat that has done its sixty years and is letting go in patches. The dash comes off, the backing coat is made good or renewed, and the house gets a new finish that will see out the people living in it.
What decides the price is how much of the old coat is still stuck on. A wall that has gone hollow across a whole elevation is less work to take off than one that is sound in half the places and loose in the other half, because the sound half still has to come away by hand.
Terraces, and the neighbours
In a terrace or a block of four the elevation does not stop at your boundary. Finishing to your own edge leaves a vertical line and a step in the thickness where the next house starts, and that line is more obvious than the tired coat was.
It is worth a conversation with the house next door before anybody starts. Two houses done together cost less each than two done a year apart, because the scaffold and the mixing station go up once.
Access off a city street
Scaffolding a gable that sits on a pavement, a lane or a shared drying green is a different job from scaffolding one with a driveway beside it. Sometimes it needs a permit, and that is worth knowing before a date is agreed rather than on the morning.
We would rather tell you the access adds to the job than find it out on day one and ask you for more money.
What else the walls in Glasgow are like
Out from the centre the city is full of inter war bungalows and post war semis, a lot of them roughcast, and a lot of them within a short run of us.
Artex is almost a given in those houses: ceilings, and often the hallway walls as well. Taking that flat is one of the jobs we do most.
If you are outside the city, we work across Renfrewshire and up to twenty miles from Renfrew. See the areas we cover.
Before and after
The same wall, both ways
White and black dry dash on a corner semi. Drag the handle to see the before.
Past work
Jobs of this kind
Brick to white dash with charcoal corner pillars
Roughcasting and dry dash, New build and extension render
See this job
Painted brick and old roughcast taken to white and black dash
Roughcasting and dry dash
See this job
What customers say
What customers said about work in Glasgow
Real Checkatrade reviews, word for word.
9.8out of 10
Checkatrade
from 60 reviews, 45 of them 10 out of 10
10/10
Brilliant Job, Very Happy
Needed a bedroom plastered, great communication from the start and a quick and efficient service, the guys did a great job and were very tidy, would definitely recommend!
10/10
Plastering wall
Repair was quick and easy
10/10
Roughcasting Masterclass
I can’t recommend McLellans Master Plasters highly enough. They rough casted our house to an excellent standard and also fixed our neighbour’s guttering and roofing, all for a very reasonable price. From start to finish they were prompt, professional, and reliable. Communication was clear, the work was carried out efficiently, and the finish looks fantastic. It’s refreshing to deal with tradespeople who take real pride in their work and deliver exactly what they promise. If you’re looking for high-quality workmanship at a fair price, McLellans Master Plasters are a brilliant choice.
10/10
Fantastic Job All Round
I recently hired Fraser from McLellans Master Plasterers. The quality of the plastering was brilliant the finish is perfectly smooth, clean, and ready for decorating. He paid great attention to detail and made sure everything was completed to an exceptionally high standard. He kept everything neat and left the place spotless once the job was done, which I really appreciated. If you’re looking for a plasterer who delivers top quality workmanship with great customer service, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Fraser at McLellans Master Plasterers. A fantastic job all round!
Straight answers
Questions about roughcasting and dry dash in Glasgow
Can you just patch the bit that has failed?
Sometimes, and when we can we will say so. A single failed area on an otherwise sound wall is a repair. The problem is colour: a patch of new dash on a wall that has weathered for twenty years will not match, and on a front elevation that is usually worse to look at than what you started with. On a gable or a back wall it often does not matter at all.
What is the difference between wet dash and dry dash?
Wet dash has the chips mixed into the mortar and the whole lot is thrown at the wall, which gives a rougher, more random finish. Dry dash has the mortar on first and the chips thrown onto it, which gives a more even, sharper look. Dry dash is what most people picture when they say pebble dash.
Is harling the same thing as roughcasting?
Yes. Harling is the Scottish word for it and it is what most older folk round here still call it. If somebody quotes you for harling and somebody else quotes you for roughcasting, they are quoting for the same wall.
Do you do tenement closes and common work?
Ring us and tell us what is being proposed and who is organising it. Common work goes through a factor or the owners together, and that changes how it has to be quoted.
What is roughcasting?
A render finish with stone aggregate in or on the top coat, over a backing coat that levels the wall. It is what most houses round here were built with and it is what keeps the weather out of them.
How much does it cost to roughcast a house in Scotland?
It turns on how much of the existing coat has to come off, the access, what the background is and the finish you choose, not on the wall area alone. We have written up what moves the number rather than printing a figure we would have to take back.
Get in touch
Get a price for roughcasting your house
Tell us what the wall or the room looks like now and we will come back to you with a price and a straight answer about what it needs.
Call us for your instant, no obligation quote
07501 844432