Sandstone is not block
A great deal of Paisley is red and blond sandstone, and a stone wall has to be allowed to let moisture back out of it. Put a hard cement rich coat on it and the water that gets in has nowhere to go but into the stone, which is how a wall ends up damp inside after being made watertight outside.
So on stone the mix matters more than the finish does. It wants to be softer than the stone behind it, so that when anything moves the coat gives rather than the wall face.
Where a failed harl has gone back to stone
On the older terraces you can often see the stone through what is left of an old harl. That is the wall itself taking the weather, and from there it only goes one way.
Those are worth looking at sooner rather than later. Taking a failed coat off and re-harling is ordinary work; repairing spalled stone first is not, and that is the bill that waiting creates.
The inter war edges of the town
Round the outside of Paisley there are whole districts of inter war and post war semis and short terraces, roughcast from new and most of them now on a second or third coat. Block or brick behind, nothing complicated in front.
These are the ones where the choice is genuinely open: a like for like re-dash, or taking it to a flat smooth render if you want the house to look different rather than new.
What else the walls in Paisley are like
Round the edges of the town there are whole districts of inter war and post war semis, bungalows and short terraces, most of them roughcast from new and most of them now on their second or third coat.
These are the straightforward ones: sound block or brick behind, a coat that has simply come to the end of its life, and a full re-dash or a change to smooth render as the choice.
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 Paisley
Real Checkatrade reviews, word for word.
9.8out of 10
Checkatrade
from 60 reviews, 45 of them 10 out of 10
10/10
Very Professional, Efficient and Fair
I hired Frazer from Mclellan’s Master Plasterers to carry out an over-due plastering job on my external wall. Frazer replied to all my messages via the Checkatrade app very promptly and said he could carry out the work without a problem having given me a very reasonable quote. On the day, Frazer arrived on time and carried out the work there and then. I am delighted with the finished job and would strongly recommend Mclellan’s Master Plasterers.;
10/10
Reliable, very reasonable and excellent
When my kitchen was being fitted changes had to be made to my electrics that were unforeseen and caused damage to my wall where the tiles were due to be fitted. McLellan Master plasterers responded to a post I made on a local social media page looking for a plasterer to come and repair the damage ASAP. They arrived the same afternoon and made a fantastic job of repairing my walls and done an additional patch while they were here.
10/10
Emergency removal, reboard and replaster a collapsed ceiling.
Can't thank Fraser and him team enough for the urgent response and restoring of our hallway ceiling. Thankfully Fraser was able to attend within hours of me reporting the issue and due to the danger of the collapse he was able to move around jobs to deal with what was a very scary situation. Job was fully completed within 3 days of my initial request. New ceiling looks great. would highly recommend. Thank you, Val & Fabio.
10/10
Kitchen replaster
We needed our full kitchen replastered ahead of a refit. Fraser quoted based on photos for the kitchen and also for the artex ceiling. The team assisted us with removal of tiles and boxing, left everything tidy and gave us info to help us with painting once they'd finished up. Helpful, friendly and unobtrusive.
Straight answers
Questions about roughcasting and dry dash in Paisley
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.
Can you render over sandstone?
It depends what is on it now and what condition the stone is in. Stone needs a build up that lets moisture out of the wall. We will look at it before saying yes.
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