Plastering services in Shropshire
External rendering for Shropshire properties
Refresh tired exterior walls with a finish suited to the building, the background and the exposure. A dependable render quote starts with the substrate and the defects, not the colour.
About 60 seconds · Photos optional · No obligation
Rendering enquiries fail more often than any other kind when they are priced from a photograph alone. Cracking, hollow areas, failed previous coatings, poor detailing around sills and copings, and water getting in at ground level all change the specification. A new finish applied over an unresolved problem has a short life and takes the money with it.
The system has to suit the building. A dense modern cement or acrylic render on a solid-walled Victorian or stone property can trap moisture in a wall that was built to breathe, and the symptoms then appear inside as damp and blown plaster. On a modern cavity-walled house that is much less of a concern. On a listed building or in a conservation area, the specification and often the colour are not free choices.
External work also brings practicalities that belong in the quote rather than in a surprise: scaffolding, protecting windows and paths, weather windows, waste, and agreeing exactly how the detail around openings, pipes, eaves and the base of the wall will be handled.
Typical rendering projects
- Cracked, hollow or failing render on a house or extension
- Patch repairs where a section has come away
- Full re-render of one elevation or a whole building
- Rendering new blockwork on an extension
- Removing an unsuitable cement render from a traditional building
- Refreshing a tired but sound render with a new decorative finish
What changes the price
- Area, number of elevations and number of storeys
- Scaffolding — often a significant line on its own
- The condition of the existing surface and how much has to come off
- The system specified: sand and cement, lime, monocouche, silicone thin-coat or insulated
- Detailing around windows, doors, sills, eaves, pipes and ground level
- Whether the property is traditional and needs a breathable specification
- Weather, because exterior work has a season
- Access, ground conditions and where a mixer and materials can stand
External rendering: common questions
My render is cracked. Can it just be patched?
Sometimes, where the cracking is limited and the surrounding render is well bonded. Tap it — large hollow-sounding areas mean the render has come away from the wall and patching will not hold. A patch is also very hard to make invisible unless the whole elevation is finished afterwards.
Which render system should I choose?
It depends on the building, not on fashion. Modern thin-coat silicone and monocouche systems suit modern substrates well. Traditional solid-walled and stone buildings often need lime, because they need to breathe. The right answer comes from someone looking at the wall, not from a list.
Do I need scaffolding?
For anything above single storey, almost certainly. It is a real cost and it should appear in the quote explicitly rather than being assumed away. If you already have scaffolding up for other work, say so — the timing can save you a lot.
Can rendering be done in winter?
It depends on the system and the weather. Most renders should not be applied in frost, and some have minimum temperature requirements. A contractor turning work down in a cold snap is being professional, not difficult.