Silicone Render in Birkdale
Birkdale. A detached house taken from bare red brick to an insulated white silicone render, photographed at all three stages.
What the customer wanted
A detached house in Birkdale, red brick throughout, with an attached garage and a plain gable end. Solid enough, but it had reached the age where the brick had gone blotchy and the whole thing read as dated from the pavement. They wanted it in white, and they wanted it warmer than it was.
What was there
Brick, and a lot of it, on a house with wide flat elevations and very little relief in them. That matters more than it sounds. A big plain elevation shows every ripple once it is one colour, so the flatness of the coat underneath is the whole job, and there is nothing on the front to hide behind.
The garage and the front door sit in the middle of that elevation, which means beads, stop ends and cut-ins around openings that are all in plain sight.
What we did
Scaffold up first, then the elevations checked over and anything unsound taken off. Insulation boards were fixed back to the brick, which is where the warmth comes from, then the basecoat with alkali-resistant mesh bedded into it wet, then primer, then a through-colour silicone top coat in white.
Beads on every angle, stop beads at every edge, and the openings cut in by hand. The order matters: mesh into wet basecoat, primer once that has gone off, top coat only when the forecast gives a dry window. A top coat rained on before it has cured crazes, and no amount of goodwill afterwards fixes it.
A scaffolded detached house is measured in weeks rather than days, and some of those days are spent waiting on weather rather than working.
The finish
One clean white plane across the front, the garage and the gable, with the brick plinth kept at the bottom. Through-colour, so the white is in the render rather than painted on it and there is nothing to repaint in five years.
It is a different house from the road, and the insulation behind it means it holds heat in a way the brick never did.
The full system and what drives the price are on the silicone renderingPlastering page, and stripping a failed finish first is on external renderingPebbledash RemovalRender Repairs. This job was in Birkdale.
The stage in the middle that nobody photographs
This is what a house looks like halfway through, and it is the stage that decides everything. Insulation boards fixed back to the brick, then the basecoat with the alkali-resistant mesh bedded into it while it is still wet, not laid on top of it afterwards. The mesh is what stops the finish cracking along the board joints.
Rendering looks alarming in the middle, when the wall is neither brick nor render. Knowing that is coming is the difference between a stressful fortnight and a straightforward one.
Want one like it?
Send a couple of photographs and a postcode and you will get a written price back, with no obligation and nobody turning up uninvited.
- Prefer to talk? 07923 545449
- Or send the photos on WhatsApp
Get a fast price
Four boxes and a photograph.
Questions people ask about this
Does insulation have to go on before the render?
No. It is a choice. Render can go straight onto sound brick, and often does. Boards go on when the point of the job is warmth as well as looks, and they add cost and thickness, so it is worth deciding before anything is priced.
What is the mesh for?
It is bedded into the basecoat while the basecoat is still wet, and it holds the coat together across the board joints. Without it, the joints telegraph through as cracks within a few winters.
How long is the scaffold up?
On a detached house, usually a few weeks. It goes up a day or two before we start and comes down once the finish has cured, and some of the days in between are spent waiting for weather rather than working.
What customers said
4.7 out of 5 on Google and 5.0 from 35 reviews on MyBuilder, plus 100% recommended from 6 recommendations on Facebook. Every review below is verbatim from those profiles, and each one says which.
Thin coat redering.
Anthony arrived at my property on time as arranged. My project was to thin coat render the front of my house onto render board. Anthony was well capable of doing the job and completed the task over 2 days as agreed. I am very happy with the finished job and would not hesitate to hire Anthony for any future work or recommend his service to others.
Rendering to pathway boundary wall
I received a first class service from Birkdale Plastering. Anthony always attended as arranged. He was invariably polite and hard-working and cleared any mess before leaving. I am very pleased with the finished job.
Rendering
Antony did a great job would highly recommend him
Rendering exterior wall
Render of an outside wall. Excellent job and finish Turned up when he said, cleaned up and took the time to protect the areas around the job. Would highly recommend to family and friends.
Pebbledash rendering to 3 bed semi-detached house and adjoining garage
Anthony did an outstanding job pebble-dashing our entire house. It was a challenging project but he handled every aspect with professionalism and care—nothing was ever too much trouble. He worked incredibly hard and maintained a clean and tidy worksite throughout. We couldn’t be happier with the result.
Kitchen ceiling repair after a leak
Anthony has done an excellent plastering job today for us in Formby. Repaired a hole on our kitchen ceiling after a leak whilst on holiday. Very good finish and so tidy too! Would Definitely recommend him!
Areas we cover
Based on Liverpool Road in Southport. We work right along the Sefton coast, down into Liverpool, and inland across West Lancashire as far as Preston. Every town below has a page of its own.
Related services
Internal Plastering
Skimming, float and set, ceilings and repairs. Flat walls that take paint evenly and stay that way.
Read moreDry Lining & Plasterboarding
Stud walls, ceilings and insulated linings, set out square, taped and beaded before skimming.
Read moreDecorative Plasterwork
Cornice, ceiling roses and panelled ceilings restored, matched and run in where sections are missing.
Read moreGet a free written estimate
Tell us what the walls are doing and we will come and look. You will get an honest assessment and a written price, with no obligation and no pressure.
Southport, the Sefton coast, Liverpool and West Lancashire
Get in touch
Tell us what the walls are doing and we will come and look. Free written estimate, no obligation.
- Phone 07923 545449
- Email anthony9thompson@yahoo.co.uk
- Address
Birkdale Plastering and Rendering
546 Liverpool Road, Southport PR8 3BG - Opening hours Every day, 7am to 9pm