Look at what is on the wall now
Dash, old render, bare stone or a mix of all three. Each one needs a different build up and they are usually on the same house.
What smooth render is, and when you need it
Smooth render is the finish people ask for when they want the house to look like it was built recently. There is no aggregate and no texture: it is a flat wall, usually white, cream or grey, with the openings cut square and the reveals run by hand.
It is less forgiving than dash, and that is the whole thing worth knowing about it. On a roughcast wall the texture hides a slight ripple in the backing coat. On a smooth wall, low afternoon sun across the elevation will show you every one. So a smooth render job is mostly about how flat the coat underneath it is, and that is where the time goes.
Taking dash off and rendering flat
Most of our smooth render work starts as a dashed house. The dash comes off, the wall is checked for anything that has blown behind it, and the build up starts again from a sound background.
This is a bigger job than rendering a new wall, because an old house is never flat and the levelling has to come from somewhere. It is also the job that changes a house most. The cottage style terrace in our work section went from brown pebble dash to cream render front and back, and it is unrecognisable.
Working round stone, bays and arches
A plain elevation is the easy version. Stone surrounds round a bay, an arched window head or a stone gable all mean every edge is cut and run to something that is already there and is not square.
There is no texture to hide an untidy line on a smooth finish, so those edges are the job. The villa in our work section has arched heads over the windows and each one was run by hand.
Filling in where something used to be
Blocked up windows, old flue openings and removed vents are all places where the infill is a different material from the wall round it, and it will move at a different rate.
Rendered straight over, they come back as a visible outline within a couple of years. Done properly, with the infill tied in and the background brought to one level, they disappear and stay gone.
How we do it
Start to finish
Strip and prepare
The old finish comes off, anything that has blown is cut back to sound work, and openings and infills are dealt with before any render goes on.
Beads and levels
Corner beads, bellcast at the base and stop beads at every opening. These set the lines the finished wall will be read against.
Backing coat, levelled
The coat that makes the wall flat. On a smooth render this is where nearly all the care goes.
Finish coat
The smooth coat, worked to a wet edge across the full elevation so no join shows.
Reveals, edges and clean off
Reveals run, edges cut clean to stone and brick, everything washed down.
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.
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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
Smooth render jobs we have done
Failed render round a garage and balcony put right
Render and roughcast repairs, Smooth render
See this job
Pebble dash to cream render with stone surrounds
Smooth render, Render and roughcast repairs
See this job
Smooth render on a detached villa
Smooth render
Before and after
The same wall, both ways
Pebble dash to cream render with stone surrounds. Drag the handle to see the before.
Dry dash replaced with smooth white render
Brown dry dash replaced with smooth white render and grey windows
Failed render round a garage and balcony put right
Cracked, black streaked render round a garage and balcony renewed
Pebble dash and bare stone to smooth cream render
Brown pebble dash and a bare stone gable replaced with smooth cream render
Rear elevation of a terrace rendered
Rear of a terrace rendered
Straight answers
Questions about smooth render
Can I have smooth render over the dash that is already there?
We would not. Rendering over an old dash means the new finish is only as well stuck as the coat underneath it, and old dash is usually the thing that failed in the first place. It also leaves a very thick build up at every reveal and sill.
Does smooth render crack?
Any render can crack. What matters is whether it cracks because the wall behind it is moving, which is a building issue, or because the render was put on too thick, too fast or in the wrong weather, which is a rendering issue. Beads at the corners and openings and a properly levelled backing coat deal with most of the second kind.
What colours can I have?
The jobs in our work section are white, cream and grey, which is most of what gets asked for. Through coloured renders come in a wider range than that, and the colour is in the material rather than painted on afterwards, so there is nothing to repaint.
Is smooth render warmer than dash?
Not on its own. If you want the walls to be warmer you are talking about external wall insulation, which is a render finish on top of an insulation layer and a different job. Ring us and we will tell you plainly whether that is what you are describing.
Get in touch
Get a price for rendering 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.