Rendering garden wall materials required

Question

Hi, Im looking to render part of my garden wall. It's not huge and I'm pretty sure I could do it myself. I'm just looking for some advice on which
materials I should use and what the ratios should be in the mix. Will any sand do the job? Do I need to add any additives in? I know i'll need plasterciser but should this be in the final coat too? How thick should the coats be?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Dan · Accepted Answer

Apply the render with a steel plastering trowel using a firm hand to press and ensure it sticks to the damp wall. The first coat of render should be a very thin coat of about 5mm thick. This coat is pushed well into the wall.

The thickness is important because we are asking the wall to start “sucking” the render in for it to adhere properly to the wall. It can only do this effectively if there is little weight being applied as, if we try and get too much on the wall in one go, gravity will start to pull it off.

5mm of render is about the thickness that the wall can start to absorb and which will “stick” almost immediately. Once the 5mm is on all over the wall, we can return to the second coat after “scratching” the first coat.

The float should be pushed fairly firmly (only practice will show you the pressure required) onto the surface then moved in a circular motion as you can see in the below video. Cover the whole wall and then go back and start again. You will end up with a lovely smooth, closed surface.

It sounds simple but you’ll find that the technique takes a bit of practice to get used to it and it may take you a while before you can manage a nice smooth finish.

The battens fixed to the wall will make your first couple of attempts a lot easier as the wall (providing it was fairly flat in the first place) should be flat. If you try to apply the render free-hand and you do not have the experience of getting a uniform thickness on the wall, then the difference in thickness will not only lead to a difference in surface level (leaving it almost impossible to trowel smooth) but could leave it prone to cracking where thick render meets render of a different depth.

Sponging Down the Rendered Wall

Many plasterers (Renderers) will use a large ordinary car sponge which is very slightly damp, to give a final pass to the wall. By rubbing very gently, as you can see from the video, the wall surface becomes completely closed, with no holes making it very smooth, very waterproof and easy to paint

Your equipment, including mixer, water, soft sand, sharp sand and cement should be as close to the work as possible to save on time running backwards and forwards. Also remember to clean your tools thoroughly after and between usage

William · Answer

Hi I'd recommend a 3 in 1 mix ratio using soft building sand. I'd do to coats with the plasterciser on both. Each coat 12 to 15 mm

Michael · Answer

K-Render is the best product to use. It's easy to use, but you'll need plastering towels and a metal feather edge.

Dave · Answer

Evening, yes you could probably do it yourself, just use the mix recommendations on the cement bags and add some plasticiser. You’ll need a trowel. Apply quite thickly and smooth off as well as you can. Leave it for an hour to start going off and then wipe with a damp sponge to get the flat surface. Keep risning your sponge as you go. Leave it for another hour or so and go over it again with a very soft brush. 
Hope this helps.

Glen · Answer

Hi Lauren - 

Scratch Coat = 6 plastering or rendering sand (not building sand) 1 cement, 1 part plasticiser

Top coat  = 5 parts rendering sand - 1 pt cement - 1 pt hydraulic lime - sbr for adhesion.

All the best
Glen

Chris · Answer

K render is a good mix, trowels needed and safety wise hire a tower of at height, not ladders make sure safety first

Paul · Answer

4 Shovels of sand x 1 shovel of cement or you can buy it already mixed called mortar render you can find it on line.

OR

Render 25kilo x 4 litres of water but best reading manufacturing instructions (you can get different colours) 

Plasterciser in final coat, don’t forget to comb the wall after you first coat so the second will stick.

Rendering garden wall materials required

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