Botched new pebbledash, decided to render instead

visaria

Hi all, first post here, so go gently!!!

I hired a builder to replace the pebbledash and the render underneath on my house since it was cracking and falling off. They managed to take off all the old render apart from underneath my top bay window where they said the wall was too thin and may be damaged if they tried there.

They then applied a cement render all around the house (and put lots of wavy lines in as well). Don\\\'t think they wetted the bricks before doing so. However, they started yesterday to pebbledash the back wall by applying some mix of white cement and sand (after wetting the walls). They totally botched the job up with different coloured patches and \\\'cracks\\\' in the pebbledash. They told me too bad, they can\\\'t do anything about it!

I then told them I no longer wanted pebbledash since it was obvious they couldn\\\'t handle it. Instead, I wanted the place rendered and painted instead. So they\\\'ve now started another wall and have been applying a mix of cement and sand together with some sort of waterproofing agent on to the render they had already done. They\\\'re wetting the walls before they do this and then sponging this new layer to make it smooth (I guess).

Does all this sound correct? Comments?

gilesstevenson · Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:14 pm Post Subject:

Sorry, I can't offer any help, but I was interested what sort of figure they quoted you to remove the pebbledash and render, and re-render the walls? I am looking to get exactly that done to my house. It was built in the 60s and is pebbledashed, but it is pretty ugly!

visaria · Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:25 pm Post Subject:

I paid the builder £3k excluding cost of paint (about another £150). I thought the rendering would be cheaper than pebbledashing but the builder insisted that it was actually more expensive due to the extra time spent on painting the house (2 coats). However he didn't charge more than his original quote to do the pebbledash.

I'm glad I didn't persist with the pebbledashing, the house (at the moment anyway!) looks absolutely gorgeous!