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Seriously Smooth Plasterers
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Seriously Smooth Plasterers
Rendering
Rendering is the application of hard-wearing plaster to external walls in order to protect a building from the damaging extremes of weather. Rendering is a technique that has been used for centuries, employing many different types of materials over it's long history. Most of these materials have been natural products that were growing or were found naturally in the local vicinity, such as timber, clay, and animal waste. These days mud and dung renders are thankfully not as popular as they once were, but wood and lime are still used along with modern plaster based renders. Technology is advancing all the time and today's materials are robust, durable, and protective, giving a smooth contemporary finish that lasts for many years before needing to be renewed. Not only will applying external render protect your building from the elements, but it also has the effect of making your home far more energy efficient. It's believed that around thirty per cent of all domestic heat is lost through normal external walls, but this is vastly reduced by the addition of render plaster on the outside. Therefore good quality rendering will help to save the planet as well as lower your bills! It's important to be clear what modern plaster rendering looks like. The word itself can conjure up images of the drab grey pebble dash of the 1960s, but luckily that's a world away from the stylish products that are available on the market today. Modern renders provide a clean elegant look to a building and are available in a range of contemporary colours and textures. The recent additions of silicone and acrylic to traditional plaster renders has allowed for greater durability, flexibility and usually a maintenance-free lifespan. Smooth or textured surfaces can be either painted to suit, or pre-injected with a colour of your choice prior to application. Rendered houses today look stunning and flawless, with clear bold lines toned in attractive modern colours and shades. The materials in modern render will not only protect your building from potential damage from wind and rain, but they will also save you money on your heating bills as well as updating the look of your property. A professional render will add value to your home and increase both its value and saleability. Whatever the style of your property and whatever your budget, there are a wide range of render options to choose from. Whether you're after smooth or textured, traditional or modern, there is a render to suit your needs. A Handy Guide to Renders Cement Render Cement based renders are a popular form of external render used on buildings throughout the world. Based on a mix of cement and sand, they sometimes have other products such as lime added to them to reduce cracking while drying. They are a good, cheap and hard-wearing option and are relatively easy to apply allowing for a flat or textured finish depending on the techniques used. Any outdoor paint can be used to colour them once dry, however, once applied they do require regular painting to keep them maintained. Concrete renders can be brittle and contain no elasticity and are therefore subject to cracking should there be any settling or movement of the underlying building. Cement renders are usually mixed on site and often require several coats of varying coarseness to apply. Lime Render Lime Renders have been protecting the walls of buildings in Britain for centuries, and they have recently seen a new revival in popularity as their usefulness and practicality are being rediscovered by a new generation of eco-conscious consumers. In the past they were often applied to walls built of poor quality brick or rubble stone to protect against the extremes of weather, and they are chosen today not only for these qualities, but for their beauty also. The advantages of lime renders make them an ideal choice for period properties. They have the ability to absorb excess water from rainfall and then subsequently release it by evaporation. This process prevents moisture from penetrating the walls underneath and creating damp. Lime renders also allow moisture from inside the building to pass through the walls and out, without being trapped in-between. This ability to 'breathe' prevents damp and moulds from accumulating and thus prevents the building from decaying. This qualities make lime renders a popular choice for renovation projects and conservation work in older houses where modern materials may not be desired or suitable. In the recent past, the application of non-breathable concrete renders on period properties has caused significant damp formation and even structural damage to occur. This lack of understanding of the processes of moisture retention has sadly led to a lot of problems for some people with older houses. Not only do they allow a building to breathe, but lime renders also have the added advantage of being extremely flexible. They will bend and stretch along with the underlying building during any sort of movement or settling. Unlike concrete renders they do not crack under structural pressure, but will extend and contract with the natural shift of the building. Even modern buildings move more than most people realise, and period properties in particular, especially those built of timber-frame construction, are subject to motion caused by changes in temperature and weather as well as settling of the ground underneath. Lime also has natural fungicide properties and this helps prevent the growth of mould on exterior walls, keeping buildings healthier and looking cleaner and well-maintained. Alongside all this, the beautiful natural finish of lime renders greatly enhances the appearance of both modern houses as well as older ones. Unlike modern renders, however, they usually require reapplication every four to five years, but they are otherwise maintenance free. All in all, lime renders are generally a far superior product to most cement-based renders, but unfortunately they do require more skill to apply. This is a factor that has usually been reflected in the more expensive costs of lime rendering. Recently though, many companies have been researching and introducing new high-tech lime render products intended to be easier to use but still retaining all the advantages of this traditional product. The addition of silicones into products such as K-Lime, brings this age-old rendering material into the modern age. Polymer Renders These are a recently introduced type of render which are based on a traditional cement render mix but with specially selected polymers added to it. Unlike normal cement renders they are extremely flexible and elastic and so will not crack under pressure of movement or settling. They are also extremely durable and largely maintenance free over a long period of time. Polymer products are usually premixed and can be pre-coloured and through-coloured so that there is no need to paint once they have been applied. This is a particular advantage for some high-rise structures and buildings that have exteriors that are more difficult to maintain regularly. Polymer renders come in a wide range of contemporary shades and textures to suit any modern home or commercial building. They are usually premixed and only require water to be added to prepare them for application. This allows for the quality of the render to remain consistent and gives a superior finish over the entire building. As they are silicone based, most polymer renders will still allow the underlying property to adequately breathe, preventing the accumulation of damp and trapped moisture. Several of these products are even self-cleaning which is ideal for those buildings where there is lots of vegetation and the risk of organic overgrowth. Acrylic Renders These are any type of render that has a plastic acrylic which is added to their formula. The acrylic allows the render to be stronger and far more flexible than traditional cement based render and so they do not crack after application. Acrylic renders have the ability to form an impenetrable barrier to water yet still allow the building underneath to adequately breathe. They are also resistant to mould and bacteria. and are extremely fast drying allowing painting to commence just a few days after application. They are manufactured in a wide variety of different finishes and textures allowing for a full range of contemporary looks to choose from. Acrylic renders do not degrade in UV light, and are extremely weather resistant. Acrylic renders are also easier to apply and can be rolled, trowelled or even sprayed onto a surface, forming a thin coating of fine acrylic hairs to create a highly flexible mat coating. Acrylic renders can be applied to a wider range of surfaces than concrete render, including already painted walls, concrete and timber. K-Rend K-Rend are a leading British plaster manufacturer who have helped to popularise the use of silicone in modern renders. They are probably the most popular rendering products available on the market in the UK at the present time. Silicone is both highly water repellent and self-cleaning, and is therefore largely maintenance free. K-Rend manufacture a number of different products, for every kind of property. They come in a range of colours and finishes, and are extremely durable and hard-wearing. |
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Why not protect your property from the elements and give it a stunning new look? Rendering will also save you on your fuel costs Give Plastering Bradford a ring, and let's discuss the right render options for you. If you want perfect rendering, you need Plastering Bradford For Beautiful Homes |
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Plastering Services for bradford
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Five Star Reviews
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
Our house render had been breaking off for years. Plastering Bradford re-did the whole house and the difference is breathtaking. I'm so glad I chose them. Gerald Rogers Bradford |
simply wow
We had a trendy modern extension put on the house and Plastering Bradford rendered it for us. It looks like something from a posh magazine now, we are absolutely thrilled. Ben and Amanda Bradford |
really worthwhile
I renovated a property I bought for my rental portfolio and made the decision to get it fully rendered. I wasn't disappointed in the result, it looks spot on. Plasting Bradford did a great job. Mr R T Harding Bradford |
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