Case study – 165 Whitmore Road, Harrow
External wall treatment after builder did not return
Our clients approached us, following extensive building works done to their house by another company. The building was meant to be pebble dashed, to finish off the work.
When we carried out our survey, we discovered that the roof tiles had not been brought out far enough, to cover any render. Also, we found that some of the window reveals were not straight and generally items, such as the pipe work penetrations had not been thoughtfully positioned. Further inspection revealed an unconnected drain gully. To compound the problem a base coat of cement had been applied to the walls.
When applying either a rendered or a pebble dashed finish, the first coat must be applied stronger that the top coat. As we had no idea what mix had been applied to the whole house, we proposed covering the entire building with a metal mesh, which would solve any problems with the base coat.
The client was also keen that the house did not look dull, but was unsure how to achieve this. We proposed using a different stone in the dash mix and also a light cement, with hydrated lime applied at the mixing stage. As the whole house should look as one when we finished, the render was carefully gauged on site, to ensure an exact mix each time. We also left 10 days between the base coat and the top coat. When the base coat had been finished, we applied plastic sheeting directly to this, so that the base coat does not dry out to quickly. After the right amount of time we carefully applied the pebble dash.
At the same time as these works were carried out, we tidied some of the detailing including:- creasing tiles to waist height around the garage; re-tiling the porch and the two front bays; new fascia and soffit boards and new guttering to the entire building. We think that everyone would agree, that the use of a different tone in the stones, the careful application and finishing details really makes the house good to look at. Contact us now for a superior quality finish to your home; we will take care of all the tiny details, which so many building companies ignore.