Why it suits a seaside village
A painted render near the sea rarely looks fresh for long. Salt, wind-driven rain and strong sun all wear paint, and an exposed elevation can need redecorating long before the render underneath has anything wrong with it. Silicone render answers that in two ways. The colour is mixed into the material, so there is no paint film to fade, flake or need redoing; and the silicone makes the surface water repellent, so rain runs off rather than soaking in, while vapour from inside the wall can still escape. In a parish that adjoins the English Channel, and where the 2013 State of the Parish report notes lower density homes nearer the sea and blocks of flats facing it, those two qualities are the main reason people ask for it.
Re-facing post-war houses and bungalows
Rustington grew quickly after the Second World War. The parish's village design work describes neighbourhoods of semi-detached and detached bungalows and houses from the 1950s and 1960s, and other areas of mainly pre-war bungalows, semis and terraces. Plenty of homes of those ages wear a painted sand and cement render or pebble dash that is now cracked, stained or simply dated. Where the existing coat is well bonded, it can be cleaned, repaired and overcoated with a silicone system rather than stripped back to brick. Where it rings hollow when tapped or is coming away, it has to come off first, and we check that before quoting. A single silicone coat can also tie an extension and the original house together under one even colour, which helps where a bungalow was extended in a brick or render that never quite matched.
Building up the system
A silicone finish is only the last of several layers. After any repairs, beads are fixed to corners, reveals and the base of the wall so the edges stay straight and protected. A basecoat goes on with a reinforcing mesh pressed into it to resist cracking, followed by a primer tinted to the chosen colour, and then the thin, through-coloured top coat is applied and worked to an even grain. Each layer needs suitable weather to cure, so exposed seafront walls are scheduled for calm, dry spells between spring and autumn.
Colour, neighbours and shared buildings
Silicone render comes in a wide range of shades, from soft whites and creams to stronger colours. Some manufacturers limit very dark colours on walls that catch full sun, so we check your chosen shade against the system before ordering. If your house is in the conservation area around The Street, or is listed, talk to Arun District Council before changing the colour or finish of the walls. On a block of flats, re-facing is usually a decision for the freeholder or management company rather than one owner. If you are weighing it against other finishes, our page on rendering in Rustington compares the options, and if the walls need warming too, see external wall insulation in Rustington. The silicone rendering service explains the system in more depth, and the Rustington page lists everything else we cover here. Call 07824 165672 for free, no-obligation advice.
