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Rendering over pebbledash in Manchester
Thousands of Manchester semis and estate houses are still in pebbledash or spar dash. Most of it can be covered with smooth render without stripping the wall.
Covered or stripped
What decides it is whether the old dash is still holding on. We tap it across the whole wall. A solid sound means it stays. A hollow, drummy sound means that part has let go.
If it is mostly solid, we clean it, cut out any loose patches, fill the texture with a levelling base coat, bed mesh into it and finish with a smooth coloured top coat.
If it is mostly hollow, it comes off. The wall underneath is repaired and rendered from scratch.
We do the tap test at the first visit, so you know which you are getting before you see a price.
Covering pebbledash step by step
Tap test
Every part we can reach is sounded, and hollow areas are marked on the wall.
Clean and remove
Moss, flaking paint and loose stones come off. Failed patches are cut back to a firm edge.
Beads and base coat
Beads set the corners and edges. A base coat fills the texture and makes the wall flat.
Mesh
Bedded across the whole wall, doubled at the corners of windows and doors.
Top coat
A water-shedding coloured finish, applied a full wall at a time.
Worth thinking about first
Features to keep
Brick bays, tile sills, timber gables and porches. Tell us what you want to keep on show and we will finish the render neatly around them.
Next door
On a semi, the line between your half and theirs is right in the middle of the front. Doing both together gives one continuous finish.
The colour
A cream or soft white often sits better on an older semi than brilliant white. We bring samples so you can see them against your roof and windows.
Pebbledash questions
Can new render go straight over pebbledash?
Yes, if the pebbledash is still stuck firmly to the wall. We tap all of it to check. Sound areas are cleaned and covered with a meshed base coat, then the finish goes on. Loose areas are taken off first.
What is the difference between pebbledash and spar dash?
Both are a coat of render with small stones thrown into it. Spar dash uses crushed white or light stone and was common on post-war council housing. Pebbledash uses small rounded pebbles. Both can be covered in the same way.
Do I need to remove the pebbledash?
Only if a large part of it has come loose. Stripping sound pebbledash is slow, messy and can damage the brick underneath. Covering it is usually quicker and costs less.
My neighbour is keeping their pebbledash. Will mine look odd?
Not if the join is done properly. A neat stop bead on the line between the houses gives a clean edge, and you see it on streets all over Manchester. If your neighbour fancies doing theirs too, sharing the scaffold saves you both money.
Will covering pebbledash make the walls thicker?
A little. We check sills, pipes, vents and the edge of the roof at the visit, and allow for extending anything that needs to sit further out.
Price up your pebbledash
Just the front, or all the way round?
Had enough of the pebbledash?
We will test it and tell you whether it can be covered.