Blown Pebble Dash

[Littlebigman]

Hi,

I bought my first house last year, which is a 2 storey end-of-terrace property.

The outside wall is pebble dashed, which I have been told is blown. Some pebble dash is already fallen off, and I have had rendering/external coating companies hammer test the render to confirm its blown.

My idea is to have all the pebble dash taken off, as it is unsightly and believe water is getting behind it, and have the whole wall rendered. Ihave been quoted £7000 to do this.

Is this a good idea? Or is likely to do more harm than good? I dont want to do any decorating inside the house (plastering/painting etc) until I know the outer walls are protected against damp etc.

There was initially a damp smell in the house when we moved in, but a combination of ventilating the house and having the heating on seems to have got rid of it. We have recently had the guttering replaced also.

Do I have the pebble dash taken off and re-rendered? If not, then what are the alternatives?

At the end of the day the blown pebbledash looks ugly and I want it sorted!

Untitled

• Littlebigman
• 29 Apr 2013
• 1

 

[dann09]

1. The outside corner of the return at the front elev. is exposing the raw edge of the covering and allowing moisture to enter. Note the long vertical crack where the corner bead is (possibly rusting) and pulling away. Use plastic bead next time.

2. The final render coat was not prepared properly, or the covering was applied too late. If the whole gable is similar then it has to come off.
How you approach remedial repairs will depend on what you and the plasterer decide on next, and what the final cover coating will be.

3. Knock for hollowness and springing by testing it yourself - test from up some steps. Is the covering failing, or is the the render coats below the covering failing?

4. Steps obviously will have to be taken - note also that you have sulpherisation issues streaking down the chimney breasts from both stacks.

5. The possible unswept, unventilated flue issues, and stack delapidations you can research on recent posts in the building forum.