Concrete Render Finish- A Quick And Easy Guide

To understand the concept of concrete render finishing, it is important to understand what concrete rendering means. Concrete rendering refers to the application of a layer of sand and cement that is mixed beforehand and is applied on brick, concrete, mud brick or stone. This layer is further layered by paint, textures or coloured. There are several textures of rendering. The desired look is the primary factor when deciding the texture of the wall. The options of textures that rendering offers are fine or coarse, textured or smooth, natural or coloured painted or pigmented. 

Concrete rendering has been around for thousands of years. Houses have been getting rendered over centuries and evidences of rendering are clearly visible on historic structures. Concrete render finish has been used over the centuries primarily to improve the appearance of the exterior of the house. Rendering also helps to provide resistance against weather. This article will give a quick guidance to do your job easily.

Different Kinds Of Rendering Techniques

Concrete render finish has always been an important part of houses since ages. There are several different kinds of concrete rendering. They can be chronologically separated into two distinct phases namely, traditional and modern. Here are a few techniques:

Concrete Render Finish

Traditional Technique

Cement and Sand Render: Perhaps the oldest form of concrete rendering, this technique has been around for several years. It is the cheapest and therefore the most widely used traditional technique of rendering concrete. It is a mortar mixture of sand and concrete. It is applied and towelled up flat against the wall. The dried form of this kind of rendering exhibits a grey colour. Coloured pigments are often added to the mortar to give the mixture a tint of the desired colour. 

Cons Of Sand And Cement Render:

1. Needs Maintenance: Regular maintenance is required to keep the render working properly.

2. Primitive: This concrete render finish technique is highly inefficient as compared to the modern techniques that have been developed in recent years. Neither the weather resistance nor the insulating properties are great.

3. Needs colouring: Colouring is yet another cost that needs to be incurred for this particular rendering technique.

Pros Of Sand And Cement Render:

1. Cost effective: The cost of cement and sand rendering is extremely low as both the elements needed are easily available.

2. Hides poor brick work: The poor brick work can be effectively hidden using this kind of rendering.

3. Easily repairable: Repairing of any damage to this rendering or re-rendering is easy and can easily be undertaken. 

Modern Render Technique

Monocouche Render: Monocouche is a one coat cement-based concrete render finish. This particular render exhibits excellent weather resisting properties along with being breathable. Its scraped look has a crisp and clean finish to it. The price however is higher as compared to traditional render mixtures. The durability and the finish that this render produces surpass traditional sand and cement rendering techniques. There are measures that are taken to prevent cracks on application but this particular render is not crack resistant and hence unsuitable for buildings expecting a lot of movements.

Pros Of Monocouche Rendering Technique:

1. Water Resistant: This concrete render finish exhibits great water resistance.

2. No Colouring: This render do not need to be coloured separately. Hence the cost of colouring is saved.

3. Finish: The rendering technique provides a high-class finish.

Cons Of Monocouche Rendering Technique:

1. It is not crack resistant: The rendering technique is prone to crack and is unsuitable for building due to experience movement.

So, that is all about the different types of concrete render finish you need to know. Besides these, many more techniques have evolved with the passage of time. You must choose the best one as per your requirements.