# Forum Home Renovation Rendering  Cement Vs Acrylic Render

## markharrison

This is kind of a continuation of an earlier thread of mine... 
I'm still trying to get to grips with this topic so here are my questions. 
1. For a given job, which is cheaper and by approximately how much in percentage terms? I would think that the acrylic would be cheaper but that's a guess. 
2. How long has acrylic render been around and has there been any other data on the longevity of these finishes? 
3. Any recomenndations as to brands? There seem to be a few out there in the market place. Any to steer clear of? 
This will not be applied by me. It will be done by a contractor. I just don't have the time and probably a lack of skill, though I would pick that up as I went, I'm sure. 
I have a quote for $25,000 for cement render which is why I am casting about for alternatives.

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## markharrison

Does nobody really have no opinion? That must be a first...  :Biggrin:

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## johnc

Cement render is done to hide imperfections, its put on as a base coat and is a fairly weak mix, it is then given a top coat of very thin render. These days that is usually an acrylic type product and applied with a trowell or you can use any of the other applications if you wish.  
To use just acrylic you need I gather a decent base to start with. If on to brick its a neater job if the bricks are not raked but have the morter cut flush with the brick face. There are a number of sub bases that can be applied and Wattyl are one of the suppliers. I'm sorry Mark but I am of little assistance in this area my experience is limited to sand and granite dust finishes and revolves around monumental work. You could try one of the archi centres or suppliers, but the colour fast finishes do seem to hold well, I've never used them and there does seem to be a few types out there. Good luck, at least this gives you one reply shame it's of bugger all use to you.  
John

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## savage

G'Day Mark, 
I don't know if it is the same thing, but I have just had a bit of brick work done (4000 bricks), and as I wanted to paint the area the brickie "bagged off" the wall. When he mixed the mud for this he included a (what seemed to me) liberal dose of Bondcrete, he said it helps it adhere to the existing and new bricks and also acts as a sealer to a degree for the paint. So far the painting is slow and the bricks are sucking it up but they will not need a second coat (but I'll give it another one anyway), I will post some pics when finished, before and after. I know it will more than likely be too late too help, sorry but it's the best I can do for info!. :Shock:  
savage(Eric).

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## boban

Mark its in incomplete question. 
The acrylic finishes are applied to smooth bases whether they be blue board, hebel, foam or cement render. 
Cement render is generally applied to brick type bases.   
I've always found the cost of cement render to be cheaper than the acrylic types such as granosite (wattyl) or armawall(Taubmans).  The difference in the cost of the materials is huge.  Sand and cement (basically) vs a proprietory  product that comes in 15L tubs. 
Last comparison I could use was $16/m2 for the render and about $24 for the acrylic that went over the top.  That was my parents house.  I can assure you that both prices will have gone up since then.   
FWIW my brother in law is a renderer and I use what he calls a scratch finish render.  He puts the pebblecrete sized pebbles in a strong but sloppy render mix.  Its then applied the same as you would apply granosite.  Best of all, its so easy to patch unlike sponge finished render.

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## ian

Mark
Just a reality check ...
If the quotes $25,000 I'd expect the bulk of the cost relates to labour, scafolding, etc, with materials making up a very small proportion. 
Why are you rendering?  
Is it to hide a defect or to achieve a particular effect  like stone blocks?
your answer may dictate your choice of materials  
ian 
as an aside, rendering is what they do with carcasses at the abattoir

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## markharrison

Thank you all. 
The problem with this house is that the previous owner was a head case and there are so many finishes (painted cement block, plain cement block, smooth cement brick, chocolate brown brick and weatherbord!!!) that the house looks a complete mess. Given that the median house price in my street is in the $900k's so there is some merit in tidying this up before selling next year. 
I'm going to leave the weatherboard and just paint it as it is at the back of the house anyway. I was given a $5000 quote to remove that and put up blue board and render that so I decided that I could live with it. 
One option was to colour the render with an oxide to obviate the immediate need for further finishing to keep the cost down. It sounds I should take that option and that would at least save $10000 on painting in the short term. I'm only interested in the short term as I intend to sell in the new year anyway.

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## Gaza

If you colour std render you may have trouble matching differnt batches unless you weigh or meaure the qtys going in the mixer. 
I think that these "new renders" are good in some applications but a waste in others like the side's of the house etc. 
Good idea to fix up the finishes, if you are going to the effort of rendering why not chnage the gutters and add mouldings to windows (on outside), will give house a whole new look not just a new texture.

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## markharrison

> If you colour std render you may have trouble matching differnt batches unless you weigh or meaure the qtys going in the mixer.

  The plan is to dry mix all the material (sand, cement and oxide) in batches for each side of the house. That should give a reasonably close enough result. 
[/QUOTE]Good idea to fix up the finishes, if you are going to the effort of rendering why not chnage the gutters and add mouldings to windows (on outside), will give house a whole new look not just a new texture.[/QUOTE] 
Windows are all done (they were a major effort all on their own) and the gutters etc don't need anything except paint. We will be having the the brick sills cut flush with the house but anything else would probably not be worth the effort. As I said, we are selling in the new year.

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