Hello screwfix forum users. my house is coated in a smooth type of pebble dash and has been painted in an off-white. From what I can see this was done more than 10 years ago. It needs redoing and I wanted to know: 1). Could I actually do it myself as I have painted interiors before And have a basic working knowledge of painting? 2). Do I need to wash/prep the house first? 3). typical cost per m/2 of someone else to do it? Just looking to take advantage of this forthcoming great weather they keep talking about Many thanks in advance.
Yes you could do it no problem, remember if a house as safe access to heights will be required, and would seriously suggest getting one stage scaffold quote as it may not be as painful as you think as this allows you to work quicker and have far better access to awkward areas, fascia, soffit, gutters etc can be painted or if already upvc washed over an gutters cleaned out. No need to wash the walls unless contaminated with green algae or other mold, in that case use an Anti-fungicidal wash and rinse off after instructed soaking time. A good brush down with a course bristle hand brush is great for removing cobwebs and other general muck, do not use a wire brush as this can leave metal scratch marks on the wall which can be prone to rust and show through the masonry paint. Make any repairs as are required prior to any painting. Use rollers and brushes to apply the masonry paint. Are you sure it's Pebble Dash as it may be a Tyrolean finish. To offer a guide price could be misleading as the property really needs to be seen to put forward a serious and fair price.
Astramax’s advice above is spot on, but thought I’d add an extra detail.. you’ll get the quickest and best results using a roller for the majority of the wall and need a brush just to cut in the edges or for awkward areas. Buy a ‘long pile’ roller as the normal rollers you’d use for interiors won’t get the paint into the rough pebbledash surface.
Thanks Astramax. I fear the gutters and downpipes would all need replacing but I think I can get that for less than 1k. The berk who put the pebble dash on covered all the pipes too!!!!! I will look into a scaffolding set up and get some costs. About the pebble dash - I just googled it and it might not be pebble dash... its a textured coating on cement render. See image.
Yeah, that’s known as Tyrolean render. You may be able to scrape it off the gutters, testing with a small scraper blade will help you find that out for sure.
Thanks for the confirmation. I tried scraping it off the cutters but it was tough going... i know its not the sustainable option but I may just replace them.
Sounds like that might be only option, but could be worth looking at the possibility of using you existing gutters by turning them round so the damaged side is at the back and hidden, with the clean side facing forward?
Fair point. But who ever did it got round the back of the pipes, as much as he could, too. He obviously wanted to do a proper job