Reparing and repainting front of my house

[de_ja]

Hi,

I want to repair a pillar type decoration on the front of my house, the corner of which has been damaged as can be seen in the image at

would be grateful for advice on what would be the best material and method to implement.

Also, I wish to paint the front wall, however it appears to have been painted with a really thick paint, that is currently "bubbling" and in some cases has "cracked" as can be seen at

would be the best way for me to prepare these flaws before repainting; should I strip the wall completely of this thick paint? I have a feeling that this would take aeons.

Many thanks for reading and providing any advice.

Z

[stuart noble]

Car body filler, but you'd need to do it in stages, sculpting each bit before it fully cures. You should also put a couple of screws into the sound bits to act as posts.

Just scrape off the loose stuff and apply a coat or two of stabiliser. If it's difficult to get off, it probably doesn't need to come off.

[Dave Liquorice]

It's quite a big lump to do with car body filler. I think I'd use a stiff sand/cement mixture but again in several goes. Remove the paint on the inner faces, screws as support posts is a good idea. Easier to get the moulded shape by cutting the profile from a thin bit of wood, filling proud and scraping back before fully set.

Looks to me as if the surafce has failed because water has got behind it from the damage above. All loose stuff, paint, render, what ever needs to be removed. I'd be tempted to leave it open to the air for a week or three to dry out before repainting, preferably with a breathable paint.

[meow2222]

I'd ask where theres PP expertise

[The Natural Philosopher]

Epxy moerrta mayt or may not be slightly cheaper and have a slightly better texture.

There is actually no need to do car body filler in stages unless you use too much hardener, when the whole lot will go hot and start smoking!

Umm. A pressure washer should lift ALL the loose stuff.Its probably te better way of dong that. The main problem is you seem to have a crack there..why? ..needs investigating - and the wall, or part of it at least, appears to be stuccoed.

Stucco is quite hard to 'repair' : I have had limited success throwing gobs of sand and cement at it which sort of replicates the texture. Also use of a coarse sponge to give a textured effect.

Before you spend ages fixing the blown paint, investigate why its blown. In my experience there will be some sort of reason why rain is being pounded against a section of wall..leaking gutter, rain bouncing off a window lintel or porch - that drives it into the blockwork: it then freezes and splits the paint off. Areas like that should firstly be fixed from the point of view of driving rain, then make good they surface finish with mortar or whatever, then use a stabiliser that fills the render pores to prevent further water ingress.

[George]

Fit a plaster corbel over it and one opposite the same area of the doorway,much quicker. Go look in your DIY sheds or browse the internet.

[stuart noble]

Maybe, with a lot of pva or sbr in the mix. External filler (Polyfilla) might do it but difficult to protect it from the rain for 24 hours in that position. I like car body filler because it's quick

[George]

Get some wire coathangers and cut the straight parts off.Next get a drill bit the size of the coathanger wire then drill a series of holes down both sides of the damage and try to do the drilling with the front profile. Cut the coathanger wires to about 4" or measure how much each one should be? and bend them to an 'L' shape. Drill the holes about an 1" or 1"1/2 throw a little filler in the holes then push in one by one of the L wires into the holes. This will form a one off foundation ie fill it in one go, rather than a series of build ups. when you have built it up create the profile of the existing profile with a scraper blade.

You can use carbody filla as suggested but I find this an hard material to sand. I've filled stonewor with Dry Wall Adhesive as it sets hard and is easily sanded on the surface,a lic of paint gives it that protection.

[stuart noble]

But in stages you get the time to sculpt with a blade. I like to leave as little as possible to sand, especially with profiles like this. IME any amount of hardener works if it's evenly distributed. Easy if the hardener's a contrasting colour to the resin

[George]

This will be Sandstone? and S&C is not a good subtrate to use when repairing it.

[de_ja]

Thank you, lots of great ideas there, I will consider everything advised and get the job done nicely.

Funnily a multi skilled tradesperson friend this morning also suggested the screws idea.

Thanks again all. Z