Andura Coatings? Need to do something about pebbledash... (2023 Update)

[Fitz]

Has anyone had any experience of Andura Coatings. They appear to be a company who provide a range of products for coating the exterior of buildings. They have a website :

but work through agents, who are assigned sole control of geographical regions.

The reason I ask is because we need to do something about the pebbledash on our house (30's semi) at some point this year. It covers the top half (maybe a little less) of the house and appears to be basically sound with some small cracks and the sort of wear you'd expect from the weather over a number of years.

A rep from the local agency for Andura turned up on the door the other day offering a free survey with no-obligation. As this is something we were planning on doing later in the year we accepted (sceptically) the free survey. A chap turned up and after confirming that there was no obligation and making it very clear that we wouldn't be signing ANYTHING that night he was allowed to continue.

The basic spiel is that these products they offer are very thick, long-life coatings applied via spray to a repaired and patched wall creating a permanent barrier to the weather. They claim a life span of tens of years and they also claim that the products stop rain getting in but are also breathable, thus letting moisture trapped in the substrate to escape.

Does this sound feasible or is it just snake oil?

Other options I've considered are:

1) Total DIY. Hire scaffold, buy masonary paint, fill cracks with cement, paint.

2) Handyman. Source materials but pay someone to do the actual climbing and painting.

3) Long term coatings as mentioned above. Completely non-DIY and pricey, but potentially means never having to paint again before we move.

The idea of having something done once and not having to get up a ladder every three years is appealing but it is pricey.

If choosing options 1 or 2 which type of paint should I go for? Are all exterior masonry paints pretty similar or are there things to watch out for?

thanks for any advice or opinions.

[Grunff]

Anything which looks like a quick and easy fix is almost always snake oil. This definitely includes spray on coatings.

I must say - I've often wondered who on earth would entertain the idea of buying from a door to door salesman...

I've go for a fine textured manory paint - this will cover up any imperfections once you've patched up. I've used both Dulux and Sandtex products with very good results.

[Andrew Mawson]

Steve,

Has the same problem with the rear of my Edwardian house. it was all pebbledashed and in places had been patched where doors & windows had been altered - looked a mess and was threadbare in places - other parts were away from key (tap test).

I had an Andura agent hack off all the loose pebbledash last summer, match in with new then spray with the high build coating. There were a few issues with the company over the 'matching in of new to old' which resulted in me reducing their payment but the actual coating seems very good. I was most impressed with a sample sprayed onto a thin bit of plastic - I bent it double but the coating stayed intact.

In summary I think the breathable coating is very good if on a sound under surface, but will be useless if the base is compromised.

My alternative (which would have been much cheaper) was to have it re-pebbledashed, but I don't like the look of dashing and this coat shouldn't need re-painting for 15 years or so.

I suggest that you ask for reference houses in your area and speak to the owners - I did with three and they were all happy with the results after several years. Fortunately the neighbour of one of my friends had had it done so I could also get an 'un-refered' comment as well.

Andrew Mawson

[Anna Kettle]

The alternative which would look 1000's of times better and be very breatheable is pargeted lime plaster with a limewash paint finish, but then I expect pargeting is more pricey again than Andura cos it takes a long time to do

Anna

-- ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plasterwork, plaster conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling and pargeting |____|

07976 649862

[Andrew Mawson]

Anna,

You would have been very welcome to quote!

How often though does the limewash need re-doing? This is a three storey building - some of which needs scaffolding to access over low level obstructions, and the last lot of scaffolding cost £550 for a couple of week hire ! The Andura seems to last by all reports at least 15 years but expected to be more like 25. If the limewash needs re-doing every few years it becomes a heck of a price.

Andrew

[Anna Kettle]

It depends on how exposed to the weather the building is but maybe after five years the first time and then every ten years after that, so no, its not a maintenance free option. The limewash is a sacrificial coat which protects the plaster from acid rain and a new coat every so often fills in any hairline cracks too.

Anna

-- ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plasterwork, plaster conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling and pargeting |____|

07976 649862

[Darren]

HI Andrew, on the off chance this post is stilll 'active'/you get notification of a comment. Could you let me know how well the andura has lasted. We're considering having it applied on 3 walls of our semi detached, and just had a quote that was half the cost of doing the job with Dulux Trade (the company say they can get the job done in 2 days - compared to a week for regular painter). Thanks

[Ann]

Hope you didn’t use Andura they are awful 4 years down the line and we are still trying to get bad job rectified would never recommend andura to anyone

[farter]

You are 18 years late, stupid.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes and these companies come and go like busses as well. I can only say that Wallcoat and its subsidiaries did very professional jobs, with the possible exception of getting the stuff on a couple of window sills, but they were rotting in the first place. Its been on for 20 years and seemingly no cracks. Brian

[Vir Campestris]

I'd have thought that getting feedback on the coating 18 years down the line (which is what Darren asked for) isn't stupid at all.

But it's HoH. <fx shrugs>

Andy

[alan_m]

The problem with such a long time scale is that it may not actually be the same product with so many ingredients of old now banned.

[farter]

Problem is that even if you decide that you don't like that service because it didn't last well, you can't get that particular service anymore.