Month: May 2016


How long does render last?

09 05/16
How long does render last?

How long does render last?

Ren­der is one of those things you want to fit and for­get – once it is on the wall, you want it to last a life­time. So make sure you get it the right first time!

Which type of render lasts the longest?

There are sev­eral dif­fer­ent fin­ishes and bases that you can use on your wall, and each will have its lifes­pan. Any BBA-cer­ti­fied ren­der that goes on your wall will have to have a 25-year lifes­pan as a min­i­mum (sub­ject to suit­able main­te­nance). Some will far exceed this, while oth­ers will only meet the tar­get longevity rather than exceed­ing it.

Sand cement ren­ders, which are the old­est (and for many years most com­mon) type of ren­der, can have a very short lifes­pan. They tend to crack more eas­ily than mod­ern ren­ders, and they there­fore open them­selves up to water ingress and bio­log­i­cal dam­age, as well as look­ing very unsightly. In less than ten years, even if installed cor­rectly, you will likely see crack­ing and dam­aged ren­der.

Mod­ern com­bi­na­tion ren­ders with an adhe­sive base coat and min­eral, sil­i­cone, or acrylic top coats are much more flex­i­ble and less liable to crack­ing so that they will have lifes­pans of 25 years plus EWI Pro has had their sys­tems cer­ti­fied by the BBA to last at least 30 years.Biological influence on renders

Even though a war­ranty may sug­gest a lifes­pan of 25 or 30 years, veg­e­ta­tion grow­ing on walls can significantly reduce that. Vines, Ivy fungi, and moss can all cause dam­age to the ren­der and stain­ing to the top coat. As part of our war­ranty, we always ask that the walls be kept free of all veg­e­ta­tion. This will help ensure a full lifes­pan for your ren­der.

Fur­ther­more, some ren­ders will con­tain an inhibitor that works as a fungi­cide and her­bi­cide to pre­vent unwanted bio­log­i­cal mat­ter build­ing up on the walls.

Maintenance

While some ren­ders will have inher­ent lifes­pans that are longer than oth­ers, the impor­tant thing to note is that unless the sys­tem is main­tained accord­ing to the man­u­fac­tur­ers instruc­tions, the lifes­pan may be dimin­ished, and the war­ranties may no longer apply. EWI Pro has sev­eral impor­tant stip­u­la­tions that cover their war­ranty – one being that the walls should be painted once every 8 to 10 years, for exam­ple. If these instruc­tions are fol­lowed, the ren­der should last long.

Pebbledash and durability

While it may look outdated and uncool, peb­bledash is still great for areas where a hard-wear­ing ren­der is required. Peb­bledash that 100 years or older can still be seen on many UK prop­erties, and the rea­son is that it that is so hard wear­ing and resis­tant to dam­age that it really can last that long. Hav­ing said that most of these older peb­bledash ren­ders are cracked and not work­ing entirely as intended. They are usu­ally sand cement, so non-breath­able, and are prone to fre­quent crack­ing. So it is prob­a­bly time to look at replac­ing these old ren­ders.

Remem­ber that when replac­ing old ren­der, you will need to strip it off the wall first, unless you are insu­lat­ing the prop­erty at the same time. Peb­bledash is arduous to strip and dis­pose of, so insu­la­tion is a suitable option.

It is how you install, not just what you install.

While the mate­ri­als you use are obvi­ously impor­tant, you also need an installer who knows what they are doing. A substandard installer can take the right mate­ri­als and pro­duce a poor fin­ish, which won’t last the test of time. If you com­bine qual­ity and cor­rectly spec­i­fied mate­ri­als with an expe­ri­enced and good qual­ity installer, you will end up with a ren­der that will last gen­er­a­tions.

Remem­ber that if you need a quote for your ren­der or insu­la­tion work, just get in touch with Be Con­struc­tive. We can quote you for a full range of dif­fer­ent ren­der and insu­la­tion sys­tems to suit your home, expertly installed by our expe­ri­enced teams.

FINDING AN APPROVED OR RECOMMENDED INSTALLER

We have teamed up with EWI Pro to help provide homeowners with an approved and recommended installer network across the UK. EWI Pro are one of the UK’s leading render manufacturers and our experiences with them have always been extremely positive. They have excellent technical support and a vast array of quality products. Their list of approved and recommended installers are specialists, so by choosing one of them to complete your project, you can be assured that the work and the materials installed on your property will be to the highest standard.

If you are looking for an approved or recommended EWI Pro installer, please send an inquiry by filling in your details on the form provided!.







    Unsure of what materials you require?

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    EWI Pro Training Academy

    We are delighted to announce we have partnered with the EWI Pro Training Academy in Aylesbury to bring you a series of professional installer training courses.

    We have 6 unique courses to choose from, each targeting a different area of the External Wall Insulation installation process.The training courses are completed over the course of a half-day or full day, and installers will receive an EWI Pro certificate upon completion.

    Why this programme?

    The EWI Pro Training courses are designed with an all-round approach to learning. You will be given the chance to learn about installing EWI systems through a mixture of classroom and practical, hands-on training.

    This programme also allows you to learn from experienced EWI professionals with years of industry experience. This way, you will leave the course equipped with the most relevant skills.






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