How to rendering a brick home exterior?

[Jacdoitmyself]

I’m thinking of rendering a red brick house. Maybe, a half render and painted brick. Not sure. 

Any suggestions/tips? Or should I get in a professional? 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Jacdoitmyself,

Thank you for your question about rendering a red brick house.

If I were to choose a part of the project where you can save some money by doing it yourself, I would suggest doing the painting and leaving the rendering to a professional.

This is not to say it's not possible for someone to D.I.Y. render their own home, but the cost of materials, tools and the potential for problems arising from inexperience make me suggest it's best left to the professionals. 

While rendering may look easy, it is one of the construction skills, alongside plastering and concreting, that I would call an artform more than a skill. Putting in the hours is the only way to learn and become good at it. 

If you wanted to render your own home, I'd suggest starting simple, maybe with a brick column, or concealed area that you are comfortable learning on before you commit to an entire house.

The basic tools you will need to get started are a Hawk Render Tool, a Rendering Trowel, a Poly Float, at least two buckets or flexi tubs and a mixing paddle. With these tools, you should be able to do some basic rendering to gauge how comfortable you are continuing on with the rest of the property.

You might like to have a look through How To Render, How To Render Corners and How To Apply a Top Coat To Render for the basic process.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[DIYGnome]

Hello @Jacdoitmyself 🖐

Instead of rendering the brick walls have you considered "Bagging" as an alternative?

Less skill required and inherently cheaper to complete, my Neighbour did this to his front of house creating a feature wall of sorts but it was primarily to camouflage the old, tired and cracked bricks, some don't mind the rough finish/appearance but opinions do vary 👍


https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/features/list/how-to-bag-a-house-best-bagged-brick-ideas

[Jacdoitmyself]

Awesome advice!! Thanks for the link too!! Wish me luck! 

[Jacdoitmyself]

Thank you Jacob!

[Jason]

Hi @Jacdoitmyself,

I would encourage you to check out the Make It Happen series from the Bunnings team last year. One of the team's early decisions was whether to render or clad over the brick. 

The episode one introduction and the episode two house facade and garden renovation can be watched here - House facade and garden renovation of dated home.

Hope that helps.

Jason