Wall rendering is a wall covering method applied to external walls to protect the brickwork from the elements. There are different styles of render, and plasterers will be able to advise on the options available, and the best solution for your property.
Although similar, the biggest difference between plaster and render is the simple fact that plaster is applied to internal walls, and render to external surfaces. The main differences are:
- Rendering uses more cement in the mixture, as well as coarse sand, to increase the strength of the walls and offer protection against the weather including rain and snow
- Less cement is used in a plaster mixture, together with fine sand, to attain a finer, smoother finish that’s easier to paint and decorate
This article will discuss the different types of render, and the prices for rendering different types of UK homes. We’ll be looking at how much exterior rendering costs, what affects the cost of exterior rendering, how to save money when rendering your home, what the best render for your home is, what’s involved in rendering your home and how to find and hire a contractor to render your home.
If you think the outside walls of your home have seen better days, then keep reading to find out everything you need to know about having your home rendered.
Topics
How Much Does Exterior Rendering Cost?
The price for exterior rendering can vary greatly depending on the finish you want and the size of your property – as well as if it’s detached, semi-detached or terraced.
See below for the cost of cement render, which doesn’t include the cost of painting and making good afterwards:
| House Size | Estimated Costs Including Labour | Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| Rendering a 2-bedroom bungalow | £1,900 to £3,500 | 4 to 6 days |
| Rendering a 3-bedroom semi-detached house | £3,800 to £5,500 | 5 to 8 days |
| Rendering a 4-bedroom detached house | £4,500 to £10,000 | 7 to 10 days |
External Rendering Prices for a Standard Two-Bed Bungalow
For a standard bungalow, scaffolding is not always necessary and for this price guide, we have made that assumption and excluded scaffolding costs.
Masonry paint is always applied to render to prevent moisture penetration, which often leads to premature failure of the render, but this price does not include the painting.
The estimated costs for this property size, including labour, are between £1,900 and £3,500 and come with a four to six-day lead time for completion.
Price to Render a Three-Bedroom Semi-detached House
Moving up the size scale, a three-bedroom semi-detached home can command costs of between £3,800 and £5,500, taking around five to eight days to complete.
Applying render to a two-storey house will require the use of scaffolding for safe access at height. The plasterers will remove all the existing render, if any, key and repoint the brickwork and apply two layers of flat render and a sponge finish.
Render the Exterior Walls of a Four-Bedroom Detached House
Finally, for a four-bedroom detached home, the costs can come in anywhere between £4,500 to £10,000, with a seven to 10 day lead time.
A detached house on two floors will require scaffolding. The surface area to render is also bigger and so you should expect the price to be more than for a semi-detached property.
As in the jobs above, the plasterer will remove the existing render, apply two layers of flat render and a sponge finish.
The prices quotes above were for cement render only, so below we’ve collected costs per square metre for other render finishes to compare:
| Render Material | Estimated Cost per Square Metre |
|---|---|
| Cement | From £10 |
| Lime | From £20 |
| Acrylic | From £30 |
| Polymer | From £30 |
| Monocouche | From £35 |
| Pebbledash | From £30 |
| Masonry paint | From £20 to £30 |
Cement is the most cost-effective finish, coming in at £10 per square metre. Just up from that price is lime, at around £20.
In the mid-range is acrylic, polymer and pebbledash, all commanding a price of £30 per square metre. At the higher end, you can choose monocouche which will cost from £35 per square metre.
Painting protects your external walls and ensures the render lasts for years to come. Masonry paint costs between £20 to £30, depending on the brand you choose.
Smooth render is rather basic and going for pebbledash adds that extra element of beauty to the exterior of your home.
It’s good to bear in mind that different finishes, like pebbledash, are much more labour-intensive, taking focused attention to ensure all the surface is covered. The complete job will take over two weeks to complete and will cost between £4,000 and £7,000 depending on the size of the business.
Click To Get QuotesWhat Affects the Cost of Rendering a House?
The price you can expect to pay for rendering your home will differ depending on the following factors:
- Where you live in the UK, as regional price variations come into play, with prices being higher in London
- The size of the company you contract. Large building companies have more overheads and generally price up their jobs to cover costs
- The demand for building services in your area, summer is ideal for building work because it is generally dry outside
- Accessibility to your house may also be an issue for plasterers. Always make sure all the quotes you receive for the work are itemised, which makes it easier for you to compare the quotes from different plastering companies.
There are a few other factors to consider when looking into the costs associated with external rendering:
Choice of Render
As discussed earlier, the simple choice of which render you choose will command higher or lower prices, and therefore impact the final cost of your home renovation job.
At the lower end of the scale is cement, which is available for as little as £10 per square metre. Pebbledash is considerably more time-consuming for the contractor, and will cost around £30 per square metre, but will also take longer to apply, meaning your labour hours will increase with this type too.
Whether or not you choose a pre-coloured or finished coating will impact your price, such as opting for acrylic, polymer or monocouche (which means single layer in French).
Painting
The cost of masonry paint will be added to the cost of rendering and the service that comes with that – and you’ll need to book your contractor for longer hours to paint the outside of your home if that’s the finish you want to achieve.
Painting ensures the external render keeps in good condition, and protects your walls even more. If you don’t paint over your render, you run the risk of suffering moisture penetration, which can cause premature decaying of your render.
Scaffolding
Depending on the size of your home, you may need the assistance of scaffolding to help your contractors reach the upper levels of your house
For most single-storey homes, such as bungalows, you won’t necessarily need the extra height to reach the walls. Whereas for larger detached multi-storey properties you’ll not only need the help of scaffolding, you’ll generally need it for much longer to cover all sides of your home – instead of a terraced home where you might only need to cover two sides.
Skip Hire
Especially if your contractors are due to remove the previous render from your property, you’ll need a skip hire to get rid of all the debris.
Skip hire can be costly depending on the time you need it at your property. Also, if you’re in a location where you don’t have a private driveway, you’ll need to pay for a permit to have the skip stored on the roadside, which can be expensive over long periods, and will need council approval before you book in the job.
How Can I Save Money With Rendering?
Cost-saving exercises when dealing with external rendering fall into preparation – carefully considering the pros and cons of different render finishes to work out what’s best for your home will help to positively impact your wallet.
You can start by determining how many coats of render you need. Cement is cheapest, but you usually need two coats of render, possibly one coat of stabiliser if the render is dusty, and then two coats of masonry paint.
Multiple coats require more time to apply, so incur higher labour costs. So, depending on the condition of your home and your personal preferences, a pre-coloured or finished render could be more affordable and may save you money down the line as you won’t need to repaint.
Click To Get QuotesWhat’s the Best Render for a House?
There isn’t one ‘best’ render option for any given home – lots of variables come into play to determine what’s best for your property, such as location and proximity to the elements (such as being on a seashore versus being deep within a village).
Advantages of Cement
- By far the most cost-effective choice of render finish at just £10 per square metre
- Improves the durability of outdoor walls, protecting against the elements
- Can help with energy efficiency by trapping in more heat from inside your home, and keeping out any external draughts
- Can make walls look brand new again especially if applied to ageing bricks
- Easy to customise with colours after being fitted
Disadvantages of Cement
- Can look quite plain and uninteresting when pitted against other rendering finishes
- Cement is inflexible, which can lead to cracks in the surface over time
- Can lead to condensation inside the home as warm air can’t escape the walls as easily
Advantages of Lime
- Unlike cement, lime allows walls to breathe and will help with air circulation within the home and the reduction of condensation
- Good ecological benefits
- When applied correctly, lime can last for years – 600 years, in fact
- Lime is autogenous, and can ‘self heal’ cracks over time with water from rainfall
Disadvantages of Lime
- More expensive than other rendering options
- Requires a seasoned professional to ensure good placement of render on your property
Advantages of Pre-coloured or Finished Renders
- Gives a pre-coloured finish, negating the need for additional masonry painting after the render has been applied
- Quicker than traditional render and masonry application
- Wide range of colours and finishes available to suit practically any style
Disadvantages of Pre-coloured or Finished Renders
- If potential home buyers don’t like the colour, it can be a deterrent more so than a traditionally coloured building which could impact resale value
- More expensive than traditional renders, but the cost of painting is removed, so it can end up working out as the same just with a higher initial cost
Advantages of Pebbledash
- Low-maintenance and hardwearing, making it a good option for those homeowners who don’t want to constantly think about their external render
- Mid-range price, making it generally quite affordable for most homeowners
- Very good for coastal properties as it adds a substantial layer of protection from the elements
Disadvantages of Pebbledash
- Can be hard to remove, taking a lot longer than other types of render which can deter potential home buyers as they know they’ll have to cover this cost
- Can look tired after a period, which again can act as a deterrent for home buyers
What’s Involved in Rendering a House?
External rendering will involve the following stages:
- Removing existing render
- Applying flat/smooth render
- Sponge finish
After this, your contractor can then paint over the external render to give it a coloured finish, but this will come at an extra cost and will add more time to your project’s length.
To save on this step, you can opt for a pre-coloured render so that once your contractor has applied the coats, your home is done, and you don’t need to bother with spending money on masonry paint and extra labour fees for the painting.
How Do I Find and Hire Someone to Render the Outside of My House?
As with all home renovation jobs, seeking out recommendations from your friends, family and neighbours is a great place to start.
External rendering is a job that will expose any flaws in the finish to everyone who passes or visits your home, so you must be picky when choosing your contractor to ensure you get the results you want for a fair price.
If you can see recent work completed on neighbour’s homes, it’ll give you a good indicator as to whether or not that particular contractor is worth your time pursuing – or if you need to avoid them like the plague.
However, if no one you know has had external rendering done recently, you can always turn to the internet to find a suitable contractor.
Using HouseholdQuotes can help to save you up to 40% on your quote, as well as saving you precious time flicking between websites and multiple form-fills to gather quotes from different contractors to compare with one another.
Click To Get QuotesEnsuring the Professional Is the Right Fit
The first element on the list of requirements is to obtain a written quote – this is an essential part of any home renovation job and will help to give you some stability when negotiating prices.
Asking for an itemised list of options with their associated prices will also help you to judge who is the best fit for your specific job, as you have like-for-like elements to compare with other contractors.
It’s a good idea to get around three to four different quotes and to let the contractors know that you are shopping around for quotes as this helps them to be more competitive for your custom, which can help to drive prices down.
Seeking out the contractor’s experience, much like you would with a potential employee, is a vital part of the hiring process.
If you’re opting for a pebbledash finish, you want to make sure your contractor can complete that finish to a high quality – it’s no good if they’re great at cement rendering, but haven’t ever tried pebbledash.
Similarly, finding their customer references and any associated photos or videos to back up their claims can help to give you a visual idea as to whether or not the contractor is a good fit for you. While they can say anything about themselves on their website or any promotional flyers, the proof is in their finished work – and if it’s no good, then you know they’re not right for you.
Finally, all contractors should carry insurance to cover both themselves and you while they work. If for any reason a contractor doesn’t have insurance, or they refuse to show you proof, then it’s best to strike them off your list of potential contractors as they could end up being unreliable and causing damage to your home which they won’t cover
Final Checklist
If you want to give the outside of your property some love and a makeover, then applying a fresh coat of external render can be the way to go.
With such a big job, it’s best to make sure you’ve thought about all eventualities before getting started. Here’s our final checklist to make sure you’ve considered everything before getting started:
- What’s right for you? Do you already have render applied to your home – and do you like how it used to look? Getting a like-for-like replacement can be a good idea to replicate what you already have and to keep your property in line with the look of the others around it
- Does your existing render need to be removed before a new layer is added? Consider where the skip would stay during the project, and whether or not you need council approval to have it sitting on the roadside if you don’t have a driveway
- Think about the location of your property. Do you need something ultra-hardwearing to help your property withstand the elements, such as in a coastal position? If so, pebbledash might be your best call, whereas more in-land properties can choose from a wider array of finishes
- Do you want a rough or smooth finish? Make sure to consider the different finish options to find one that suits your needs
- Will you want to paint over your render? Look into acrylic or polymer with an already pre-treated colour to save another job of painting
- Collect three to four quotes from contractors, and let them know you’re vying for other’s work as this will help to make their prices more competitive
- Have itemised quotes to easily compare between different traders
- Make sure to check their references, experience, and find out if they have insurance. If they don’t, do not agree to work with them
Click To Get QuotesFrequently Asked Questions
Do I Need Planning Permission to Render My House?
Where the lines blur is if you’re situated in a conservation area, national park or an area of outstanding beauty. In these locations, you will need to seek approval before having external render added to your home.
In these areas, you’ll likely be asked to clad your home in a similar, sympathetic style to those around you to ensure the style of the area is consistent.
How Soon Can I Paint the New Render on My House?
It increases to four to seven days for lime, and then up to five to ten days for cement, monocouche and pebbledash
As previously mentioned, you can skip this step if you opt for a pre-coloured render in the first instance, which will give you a coloured finish as soon as the render is applied with no waiting period.
How Long Does Render Last?
Is Render Difficult to Maintain?
It starts with proper application and applying a masonry coat to ensure moisture penetration is lessened as much as possible. Render without a paint coat is susceptible to getting damp over the years when subjected to the elements, so it’s an important step to not miss.
Then, depending on the finish you choose there are different aftercare routines. You can take a look at these in detail on this page.
Is It Possible to Remove Pebbledash?
A professional will be able to remove it from your exterior, but it’s good to note that it’ll take longer and therefore cost you more in labour hours than a smooth render surface.
What Are the Alternatives to Rendering?
These can range from stone cladding and timber cladding, both giving extra protection to the exterior of your home but with a distinctly different look to rendering.
There is also painting that can change the look of a home – and then you can always opt for rendering removal if you want to start again from scratch to re-jig the look of your home entirely.
As previously mentioned, it’s a good idea to bear in mind any local restrictions such as if your home is in a conservation area which will dictate for you the type of render you can opt for.
Click To Get Quotes