Exterior Renovation Guide

Our guide to renovating your homes exterior walls

Our guide to improving the look of your homes exterior

As a company, we specialise in renovating the exterior walls of both domestic and commercial properties across Scotland. There are many options when it comes to how you should improve the look of your property, each with different price points. In this guide, we outline the key differences between the different services to try and help our customers make an informed choice when it comes to what they should do. The different options range from simply painting your home with masonry paint, to using protective wall coating or you could even look at roughcasting or rendering your property.

Masonry Paint

Using masonry paint to renovate your property is a good option if you have a very limited budget or are taking on the project as a diy’er. Masonry paint is widely available in a range of colours and you will be able to find local decoarators that can paint your home for you. The problem with masonry paint is that it is a relatively short term solution, due to Scotlands harsh and wet climate you will find that if you use masonry paint it will start to flake of and deteriorate very quickly. This means if you choose this as a solution you will probably have annual maintenance in terms of touching areas up and your whole property will need completely repainted within 2-5 years. When you take into consideration the cost of maintenance and also needing to redo the job after a few years this can actually end up more expensive than just choosing a more expensive solution in the first place.

Roughcast Repairs

Roughcast repairs are also a good option if you are on a limited budget as they will prevent any issues from developing from dampness or water ingress. However, it is impossible to match the colour of the existing render which means your home will end up looking patchy and unpleasant so if you are looking for a long term solution that is both functional and will make your house amazing you need to look at wall coating or re-roughcasting

Wall Coating

Out of all the possible services you could consider, wall coating is the best when you look at cost VS benefits. In 9/10 cases houses don’t need to re-roughcasted which means you can renovate your property via wall coating and save money. Wall coating is a special paint like material that is sprayed on & provides a whole host of benefits.

Guaranteed for 10 years
Available in a wide range of colours
Fast installation 1-3 days
Superhydrophobic – water will bead and run off your walls
Thermal insualation
Self Cleaning
Lasts longer than masonry paint & is cheaper than roughcasting

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One of the reasons that make roughcast a poor option in Scotland is the wet weather turns roughcast grey and makes walls look tired-looking very quickly. With wall coating that isn’t a concern as our product comes with UV protection meaning, you can choose any colour and not worry about the colours getting jaded. This is backed by our extensive warranty to give you peace of mind that you have made the right choice. Wall coating is also considerably cheaper than roughcasting, typically between £10-20m², meaning you can have a beautiful renovated home that is guaranteed for longer, and save money in the process.

Roughcasting

Roughcast, like wall coating, is a more long term solution to renovating your exterior. In some cases the existing walls may be beyond repair and unable to benefit from wall coating and in these situations, we would recommend roughcasting. The chips used are available in many different colours which look fantastic when new however you only need to take a look at any town in Scotland to see what happens to roughcast over time, the colours fade away and the walls end up grey and tired looking. In terms of cost, roughcasting is by far the most expensive of all the services we have spoken about, it is more expensive per m², but also requires scaffold hire for the duration which adds an extra layer of expense. Costs can be anywhere from £1-3000 more expensive than wall coating for an average house.

Conclusion

When comparing the options head to head, there is only one clear winner, wall coating is by far the best option in the majority of cases, but as said before it would depend on the condition of the current walls. We can offer a free home survey and quote and let you know your options and even give you a comparative quote for roughcasting to let you make your own decision.