Re-render versus solid wall insulation
So a question we get asked a lot – do I simply re-render my home or do I get it insulated at the same time, so solid wall insulation plus a render topcoat.
So firstly – what is render?
A render is a protective covering that is applied to the walls to protect the underlying brickwork. It can also be done because it can improve the look of the property if done correctly (i.e. some people prefer the render look to the exposed brickwork).
The render applied to properties now is very different to the cement render that has historically been applied to homes. These new renders are flexible and strong and completely watertight – this means they move with the building and therefore don’t crack over time, meaning you get a long lasting, maintenance free protective layer on the outside of your home.
What is solid wall insulation?
The only real difference is that with Solid wall insulation, we also add a layer of insulation under the render. We tend to recommend adding 100mm of EPS insulation board since this really makes a difference in terms of thermal performance – taking the u-value of the wall down to less than 0.3w/m²k – which is better than current building regulations.
The cost difference between just render and solid wall insulation
The price to get your home re-rendered (or rendered for the first time) is a little dependant on whether the underlying render needs to be removed – this will be the case unless it is structurally sound, because we can’t anchor our render on an unstable material – it just won’t last.
If you need to remove the existing render you are looking at a price of approximately £70/m².. If you can put our render straight on the wall without removing the existing render (because it is strong enough) then the cost comes down to approximately £55 / m².
These numbers are exclusive of VAT – which in the case of re-rendering a property is charged at 20%. This price should also cover scaffolding costs except in exceptional circumstances!
