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I am looking at a facelift for our old house and want to render, however we have quite a bit of limestone brick which we want to cover too..... front wall, between stairs, side of stairs, up side of drive, one block retainer below window area - as shown with arrows.
The company who is going to render has said they can render this area along with house - can you give your thoughts on this as I have read this may not be a great idea....
If I don't render how could I change this area???
Any input, ideas greatly appreciated
Hi @mando78
Its your place and please do anything you want to it render will look great too for 10 years or so as it gets a bit tired.
Your house looks as neat as a pin I wouldnt render it or the wall . Just my 2 cents worth of opinion here i am a bit biased towards nateral materials at times so be aware of this as you read on.
No render option. If you wanted a house personality change try painting the front door and garage door with the house facias etc for starters, maybe place a photo of your house in a color simulator and test the rendered colors etc. if you havent already done this you would be surprised the effects this will have.
If your new house rendering color scheme can retain your lovely limestone walls as is I think it will preserve your property value the most.
If you feel they are a bit run down they can be slightly ground back restoring the nateral appeal once a high quility stone sealer applied they will last a hundred years plus.
People place higher value on nateral stone than rendered places. I see rendered places and wonder what it is covering underneath. Rendering is great for ugly walls and houses it really brings them to life and raise there value now consider the same houses added value if they are granite or marble clad?
How ever
1 Bonus Rendering your wall is one solution and will them match your house 100%
2 There are also 1 million stone like or timber like or any thing else in the tile world Imagine the endless possibilities of tiling them. It should be said not all tiles are outdoor suitable as they can absorb water. I still used indoor tiles out door I am prepared to replace them if they fail later also a good excuse for a color change
3 or you can add stone cladding to change your house looks.
4 You might like timber cladding as an extra option.
Try to give you some new thoughts reject the ones you dont like. 
Hello @mando78
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your limestone retaining walls.
It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Jewelleryrescue. I totally agree that a stone finish gives the impression that the retaining wall is made of quality materials. An excellent option offered by Jewelleryrescue is to use timber cladding. This has the effect of softening the appearance of your retaining walls as it is made of wood. It's only on closer inspection will they notice that it's made of limestone.
I propose looking at the SpecRite 1800 x 902mm Pre-Oiled Merbau Alternating Slat Fence Panel. If cut and arranged properly you can easily disguise your retaining wall and give it the impression that it is made of timber. Another option is to use SpecRite 90 x 19mm Merbau Pre-Oiled Decking, you can have the panels as close as 3mm from each other to change the appearance of the wall.
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
