Look at the wall and sound it out
We check what is on there, what is behind it and how much of it has let go, and tell you whether it is a patch, a gable or the whole house.
What roughcasting and dry dash is, and when you need it
Roughcasting is the finish that most houses round here were built with, and it is the finish that keeps them dry. A roughcast wall is a backing coat that levels the blockwork or stone, and a top coat with aggregate in it that takes the weather and sheds the rain off the building.
It goes by a few names depending on who you ask and how it goes on. Harling is the old Scottish word and still the right one. Wet dash means the aggregate is mixed into the mortar and thrown at the wall together. Dry dash means the mortar goes on first and the chips are thrown onto it while it is still green, which is what gives you the sharper, more even look people mean when they say pebble dash or dry dash. We do all of it, and which one suits your house depends on what is on there now and what the wall behind it is made of.
Re-dashing a house that already has a coat on it
This is the job we are asked for most. The existing dash has gone patchy, stained or brown, or it has been painted over and the paint is flaking off and taking the dash with it.
The first thing we do is find out whether the old coat is still stuck to the wall. You can hear it. Tapped with a hammer, sound render rings and debonded render sounds hollow, and a wall can look perfect and be hollow across half of it. What we find decides whether this is a repair, a partial strip or a full strip, and we would rather tell you that before anybody starts than discover it on day two.
New dash on new work
On a new build, an extension or a garage, there is nothing on the wall yet and the whole build up is ours: a scratch coat combed to give the next coat a key, then the finish coat with the aggregate.
The part that matters is the scratch coat, because it is doing the levelling and the bonding and it is the only coat nobody will ever see. Put a finish on a scratch coat that was rushed, or on blockwork that was soaking or bone dry, and you will see the joints of the blocks through the finish by the second winter.
Colours and mixes
White, white and black, speckled black and white, light grey, golden and cream are the mixes on the houses in our work section, and you can see all of them finished rather than on a sample board in a merchant's.
A plain white looks sharpest on a short elevation and shows every run of water off a blocked gutter on a long one. A speckled or a mixed aggregate hides weathering better. If your house is a semi or a terrace, it is also worth thinking about what the house attached to yours is finished in, because the two walls meet and the join never lies.
How we do it
Start to finish
Access and protection
Scaffold or towers go up and everything that is not getting dashed gets covered. Windows, doors, decking, driveways and the garden.
Strip and make good
The old coat comes off where it has failed, and the wall underneath gets made good so the new coat has something flat and sound to sit on.
Backing coat
The scratch coat goes on and is combed, then left to set properly. This is the coat that does the work.
Dash the finish coat
The finish goes on and the aggregate is thrown while it is green, working to a wet edge so there is no join showing across an elevation.
Clear and check
Scaffold down, everything washed off, and a walk round with you in daylight.
Three ways to start
Ring, message, or send the details
Ring 07501 844432
You get Fraser. Tell him the wall and he will tell you what it probably needs.
Call nowSend a photo on WhatsApp
A photograph of the wall tells us more than a paragraph of description can.
Open WhatsAppSend us the details
Fill the form in at the bottom of this page with a photo or two and we will come back to you.
Go to the formPast work
Roughcasting and dry dash jobs we have done
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
Before and after
The same wall, both ways
White and black dry dash on a corner semi. Drag the handle to see the before.
Brick to white dash with charcoal corner pillars
Plain red brick house and extension dashed in white with charcoal brick pill
Painted brick and old roughcast taken to white and black dash
Red painted brick and old roughcast taken to full white and black dry dash
Yellow roughcast renewed in a light dry dash
Tatty yellow roughcast over brown dash renewed in light dry dash with new st
Grey dash renewed in a speckled black and white
Grimy grey dash renewed in speckled black and white with dark surrounds
Straight answers
Questions about roughcasting and dry dash
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.
Will painting the roughcast be cheaper than renewing it?
In the short term, yes. The thing to know is what happens afterwards. Paint on roughcast seals the wall, and a wall that cannot breathe holds the water that gets behind it. When it eventually flakes it takes dash with it, and the next person has to get the paint off before they can do anything. Several of the houses in our work section started as a painted wall.
Can you match the dash on the house next door?
We can get very close on the mix and the aggregate. We cannot match twenty years of weathering on the neighbour's wall, and nobody can. On a semi this is worth a conversation before we start.
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. Or send a photo of the wall on WhatsApp.