Poll: Should you render bricks?

[Jason]

When looking to modernise a brick home, many people choose to render.

Rendering can certainly provide a dramatic facelift. But it isn't the only way to modernise a brick home, can be a significant expensive, and introduce ongoing maintenance costs.  

Would you recommend rendering a brick home?

Please let us know by voting in our poll on the Workshop front page. Feel free to explain your rationale by replying below.

Thanks again for joining in the discussion and sharing your knowledge and experience.

Jason

[RenoQueen]

I think the tide has turned and the rendering fad is over. It can look good but you do see a lot of houses around where the render has cracked and it looks terrible. I think you should consider everything else first, such as painting trims, perhaps even replacing the guttering, and updating the roof. Painting the bricks instead of rendering can also be a good alternative - you get to keep the texture. And landscaping can also make a big difference to help modernise a home.   

[Andy_Mann]

Totally agree @RenoQueen, I've seen plenty where the test of time has taken it's toll, even when professionally done at the build process. Then there're the monstrosities, where again, even if professionally done to perfection, it simply doesn't suit the style of the house. YUCK!!!

There are cost savings to be made, where DIYers can 'ava go themselves, & it's not that hard. I attended a Bunnings demo where they were showing a Dulux render finish that could be applied with a roller. It could be great, even if you only want a textured finish to the face of your exterior brickwork. For deeply raked mortar in your brickwork, I'd recommend bag wiping the walls first to fill them, & let it completely dry, for a day per 2mm thickness, before applying the finishing roll on render.

Here's a handy Dulux video:

Dulux DIY Rendering

There's no mention if a colouring oxide can be added to the mix to give a full depth of coat finish, so it might be worth asking Dulux if it's possible. Bear in mind that they'll probably want you to paint the render (they make their money selling paint), but regardless, press them for an answer. The reason I'm pushing the idea comes from where I mentioned earlier about professionally applied render at the build stage, the ones that had a painted finish, now look blotchy/ugly/neglected & shabby.

[Henno]

Guys, we had our house bagged and painted 16 years ago and it's still going strong. We live here on the coast at Cronulla and the weather hasn't really affected the render in the time since. We only had to paint the house once in 16 years and to us it still looks as good as new. It's not that smooth render you get, but a very rough one and we like it a lot. Sort of coastal looking, but with a suburban twist.
We are also getting our newly renovated house down the coast bagged and painted in the same style so that the upkeep will be minimal. We're only doing it this way as the brick style is like a thousand years old. I don't envision having to paint this place in my lifetime. Let the kids handle that...
So long as the finish is in keeping with the style and it is done to a high standard, I reckon you'll be OK. Going the DIY route is a big NO-NO here as I've seen this come away with a whole big bag of wrong. People thinking they can handle this and then not quite making it work.
BTW my composite decking had to be shelved as it had no BAL rating (bloody certifier!). So now I've chosen grey ironbark, will allow it to grey out even further and then maybe – just maybe – put a sealer on it. It's actually cheaper, so perhaps I can spend the cash elsewhere. (hmmm, is that a new four-burner I see on the horizon?)

[Jason]

@Henno

Do you have any photos you could share? It would be great to see both houses - particularly the 16-year-old example. 

Thanks,

Jason

[Henno]

Jason,

Here's a photo of the front of our house. Not bad for 16 years old...

Hopefully our new place at Culburra comes out looking the same.

[Andy_Mann]

WOW!!! @Henno that finish after 16 years, looks like its just been done.

You wouldn't happen to remember the brand name of that product, would you?

[Henno]

Andy, you've gotta be joking! I can barely remember 16 days ago! After a few frothy ones, that may pare back to 16 hours...
All I can remember is two little Korean guys working their slots out for about a week. They too loved a cool beverage after a hard day's yakka.
One thing I can remember though is that they mixed the paint in with the product they were using.

[Andy_Mann]

Hahahaha @Henno, you think you've got it bad.

First thing in the morning when I wake, I fit my teeth, feed the barking/screaming/acrobatic 4 legged boys, let them outside to foul our immaculate yard, then I dash to the toilet, put on glasses, have brekkie, & then as soon as possible, check the computer to see what month it is.

[Jason]

The majority of Workshop members recommend rendering bricks when looking to modernise a brick home.

The full results of our recent poll were:

Many thanks for joining in the conversation. Feel free to keep the discussion going by replying below. 

Jason