I've seen lots of threads on pebble dashing but no one so far has actually said how its done. What is the technique for applying the stones evenly, or is there a device that will distribute them quickly and evenly.
how thick should the render be.
I'm doing an area at the front of my house that measures about 15 by
10 feet ( its not even that big because most of the area is window ) which at present has some nasty cladding on it that I want to get rid of, left by the previous occupants... it's vile!!
Could anyone recommend any good websites if they can't explain ?
Sheet of polythene on the ground under the wall to catch the stones which don't stick (which is most of them). Bucket of stones under left arm, small hand spade in right hand (ideally about 4" square, flat bottomed with lip round 3 sides). Stand, back to the wall, as close as you can without touching it. Spade goes in bucket and comes out with stones on it, and you bring your right arm with spade up quickly to your right shoulder and stop abruptly with the spade facing the wall. The stones continue to fly just above your shoulder into the wall, leaving a pattern of stones stuck to the render which is same size and shape as the spade. Most of the stones fall away, because they hammered the stone in front into the render and there was no more exposed render to stick to. You repeat this over and over, moving along by the width of the spade each time, and you will then have a line of stones across the render. You will need to recover the stones from the sheet and refill your bucket every so often.
I've only done this in a class, not for real. When I looked back at what I'd done, my line wasn't very straight and there were some patches missing which needed another spadefull aimed at them. The teacher who demonstrated was doing about 4 spadefulls a second, had a perfectly straight line, and of course, no patches missing (and didn't even need to turn round to check there were none missing;-).
You don't apply 'evenly', you apply completely, so as little render as possible shows. The stones are supposed to the the exposed surface to fend off the elements.
Hum -- I don't remember. We did two coats -- scratch coat was about
10mm, and the top coat probably depends on the size of the stones, I would guess about 1/2 their diameter. I'm not 100% sure if pebbledash really needs a scratch coat (we used the scratch coat for other finishes too, which certainly did need it).
I'll bet there's no glass in it by the end... ;-)
I would suggest you do not bring pebbledash down to a level where people (particularly children) will brush or fall against it. It can cause injuries.
It might be a good idea to practice somewhere first. If you mix the render up as a 1:5 lime:sand mix (training mix) with no cement, you can hack it all off afterwards providing you don't leave it too long, although it will stain the wall.
Interesting, I've not seen it done that way before. The way I've seen is to mix the stones in with the mortar before its applied, and apply it to the wall trowel by trowel, by just throwing it at the wall, ie flicking it off the trowel, with no smoothing over at all. Then before its all dry, get yourself the hose going, with a _very_ gentle spray, and simply wash over the surface, starting at top and working down. This washes the cement off the stones and the end result is pebbledash.
You do mean genuine pebbledashing, I take it, as explained by others... or Tyrolean? That is a different ballgame altogether, you normally get a hand-cranked device (eg item 61310 at
Use a dust pan and throw under arm upwards. Any patches you miss, go over again. They will only stick to bare render.
You have to wash the fall-out before re-use and you will be too slow for that.
Put a little waterproofer on the scratch to stop the topcoat drying out too fast. Go like hell with the render or do small bits at a time (not recommended.) You would be alright treating the sides and the bottom of the windows as three seperate walls though.
Talking about mixing the render and stones:
I used some brick sand in plaster on an internal wall once and got a very nice looking finish. I had to rub it though and the small grit in the sand was not sharp but polished.
Not sure that they do; but there are still a great many around (like mine) which have it, and if it's been painted in the past (like mine), it will need maintaining. :-(
I can't believe people followup 3-year old threads. Its bloody awful! Well, looks like we were both wrong...
My first encounter with it was at primary school, where it was used to face the 1900 school buildings which formed the playground perimeter -- not a smart idea. (I wonder if its still like that now?)
My house has some decorative panels of pebbledash, and I quite like those set, as they are, slightly back from surrounding frames of eiter brick or render in different places. They are all well above
6' from the ground so don't represent an injury hazard (unless they were to fall off, which they've shown no signs of yet).
Yep, makes house look like council estate bungalows! Our 1821 cottage has been insulted by the stuff inthe 1980s. This year its being removed and re-rendered smooth.
Ditto here. My house was afflicted when it was built in the late 50's but and considering replacing it all with a system similar t Protectacoat for a guaranteed, no-maintence finish which lets the hous breath and looks decidedly bette
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