Render among the brick and tile
In a town best known for its bricks, render is usually there as a contrast. The district council's description of the Silverdale Road and Birchwood Grove Road conservation area, a group of substantial Victorian and Edwardian houses in large gardens, lists brick, clay tile hanging and render as its traditional materials, along with ornamental ridge tiles. Repairs on houses like these mean matching the texture and colour of what is already there rather than patching in whatever is to hand. Burgess Hill has three conservation areas, Silverdale Road and Birchwood Grove Road, St John's, and Fairfield, so if your house is in one of them, or is listed, check with Mid Sussex District Council before changing an outside finish.
Clay ground and cracks
Burgess Hill sits in a clay vale between two of the Adur streams, on the Weald Clay that forms this part of the Low Weald, according to the district's landscape character assessment. Clay soils swell when wet and shrink in a dry summer, and buildings on them can move slightly with the seasons. That matters for render. Before repairing a crack, we want to know whether it is old and stable or still moving, because a rigid render laid over a live crack will crack again along the same line. Where some movement is expected, the right basecoat, reinforcing mesh and a more flexible system make a difference. A crack that looks structural should be checked by a surveyor or engineer before anyone renders over it.
Choosing the system
Modern block and brick can take sand and cement, which is hard-wearing and usually painted, or a through-coloured render such as K Rend or monocouche that never needs painting. Thin silicone systems give the most even finish and the strongest water repellence; our silicone rendering in Burgess Hill page explains them. Older solid walls, including Victorian brick, often suit lime, which is softer and breathable, so moisture can escape rather than being trapped behind a hard coating. Pebble dash, still found on plenty of houses, can be patched or prepared and covered.
Getting the details right
Most render failures start at the edges. Beads on corners and around windows keep lines straight and protect the arrises, and a bell-cast bead above the damp proof course stops the render running down to the ground, where it would draw water into the wall. On clay ground that stays wet through the winter, that detail is especially worth getting right. Render goes on only when the weather allows it to cure steadily, so outside work avoids frost, heavy rain and strong sun. If you want insulation at the same time, see external wall insulation in Burgess Hill.
Before you call
It helps to note where the render is cracked or hollow, whether water has come through inside, how old the existing coat is if you know, and whether you would prefer a painted or a through-coloured finish. Photos of each elevation, with close-ups of any cracks, let us give initial advice before we visit. Offices and commercial buildings are welcome too, and through-coloured and silicone systems suit them well because they avoid a repainting cycle. The full range of systems is on our main rendering page, and our Burgess Hill area page lists everything else we do in the town.
