Silicone render

also ask for properties they have done before as you would no doubt wish to visit them to find out what the job looks like now and how the householder felt they had performed.

With some walls doing that could cause damp problems. Particularly old non-cavity non-DPC ones.

NT

The house down the road from us had a metal mesh fixed, and then a couple of coats of render. Expensive stuff, whoever applies it. IIRC 3-4 times the price of ordinary mortar. Still looks good after a couple of years

Its all in the preparation how long it lasts.

I think the first thing is to check ofor anything that moves. If parts of it are already rendered remove the blown render then replace. Seal all joins etc and then apply a bonding coat of some kind, then spray the top coat on top. all this has to be done when its not damp or you get an effect like dandruff after a year or so.

There are all sorts of products around these days, but most are supposed to resist cracking as they tend to be silicone based, and again supposed to allow brickwork to breath without letting water in. My house was done some 10 years ago and is fine, but be careful around windows if the sills are wood as they tend to rot faster. Brian

Thanks to everyone for the new replies. The wall in question is brick-and-block, and cavity insulation was fitted some years back. The only window is uPVC with a sill of the same material.

So far, two of the quotees have visited the site. Both mentioned a backing coat followed by a single top coat, with beading applied around the edges. One (actually the cheapest) mentioned the need for an expansion strip. No one talked about mesh.