Coloured /tinted render

[villageidiot]

Our 1960s block of units is looking a bit dated with its dark red bricks typical of the era. It has been suggested that we render the outside of the building to modernise it, along with new garage doors and glass balastrades etc.

Our body corporate has obtained a quote for normal cement rendering which seems quite reasonable. However we are concerned about the ongoing maintenance and painting costs of having render instead of bricks. It has been suggested we can use a coloured/tinted render instead of the normal cement render so we wont ever have to paint the building. I believe it is called acrylic render?

I am wondering if the extra cost of this coloured render is worth it given that we will supposedly never have to paint the building again as we would have to do every 10 years or so if we used normal render.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Also how much more per sq metre would this coloured render cost over standard render, and would never having to paint it negate the extra outlay in the beginning? Thanks in advance.

[nww1969]

Cant answer your questions but,
A two story house up the road was built with blue board and just been rendered.
Is a light beige with vertical grooves and was troweled on in the beige colour.
Looks like it has just been painted, was finished in one day with four workers.

Sounds more like some kind of acrylic render rather than a cement render.

[cherub65]

You can color cement render with oxide which has very limited color options.
Or use products like Granosite which can have any color suitable for outdoors added.

[myla]

Hi,

Common issues for a lot of people.

Most renderers do one of the following:

Technique a.
1. First basecoat (cement and sand out of a bag)
2. Second basecoat (cement and sand out of bag)
3. Texture coat/tinted render as its called (out of bucket, tinted to color)

Technique b.
1. Sand and cement render (sometimes a third finishing coat)
2. Paint with solaguard/weathershield

The texture coat is what makes render look good whether you standing a metre from it or 10m from it. Sand and cement render will look a little rougher at a metre, fine at 10m, but still most people like it.

The tinted render is actually a more high maintenance finish, paint is the better way to go and you can get 15yrs+ if use good quality paint and put on 3 coats.

Tinted render looks great once put on but after 1-2yrs you see the dirt on it unless a "dark" colour. Patch-up is also very difficult on tinted render as opposed to cement render and paint.

Most manufacturers will not give any warranty on "tinted render" that is not painted.
Thanks

[villageidiot]

Some interesting thoughts so far everyone. Thanks.

Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing, here is a link to one brand....

ALFRESCO Fine Sand acrylic render - Renders :: Acrylic Render (http://www.solutionindustries.com.au/Renders/Acrylic-Render/ALFRESCO-Fine-Sand-acrylic-render-658.htm)

You can see the various colour options by clicking on the colour chart.

Other brand names include Granosite, AcraTex etc. I assume they are all similar or is one brand greatly superior?

I am very surprised to hear though that the tinted render is more high maintenance than painting, as we were led to believe otherwise.

Myla, what do you mean when you say 'Most manufacturers will not give any warranty on "tinted render" that is not painted', as surely the tinted render does not need painting?

And how does the Toscano Roman render you recommend on another post compare cost wise and quality wise with the acrylic stuff that comes in a bucket?

Can anyone recommend a good, reliable and honest rendering company servicing Sydney's lower north shore? Thanks in advance again!

[myla]

Hi,
Yes thats it.

Toscano roman render is a natural oxide render and ages and develops a patina which suits particular styles of houses/complexes, it is often used as a top coat over sand and cement render to give that top class finish and then painted (does not have to be painted).

Tinted render because of its granular surface allows dirt to"sit" in it, the paint component is the binder which keeps it on the wall.

Painted walls are "self-cleaning", a closed surface as such so dirt cannot sit in it. Please understand tinted render can be painted no worries and provide an exceptional product.

Granosite, Acratex, Rockcote, Unitex all fine products but tinted render on its own is not true paint, behaves differently to paint and they dont guarantee true color and cleanliness.
thanks

[intertd6]

tinted render will not give you a long term consistant finish, it will look wet in some places, fade in others & black mould will grow in its surfaces in some places. I like the look of it.
regards inter

[r3nov8or]

About 6 years ago when we had our extension rendered it was acrylic. The tradesman gave us the complete Dulux colour palette (like, 10s of thousands of colours) and said "choose from this". If the colour you choose requires a dark base colour the cost will go up. He used AcraTex, and I recall 'Hadrian' on the tubs. The Dulux spec sheets state that fungicides are included in the product. We have it on all aspects and no mould. One guy that quoted also offered a clear sealer coat that doubled the cost. We opted out of that as it adds a smoother gloss look and we wanted matt..All good.

[Haveago1]

My concern with tinted render is that it would be very difficult to colour match later on if it had to be patched or repaired

[r3nov8or]

My concern with tinted render is that it would be very difficult to colour match later on if it had to be patched or repaired
Well at least you may get away with many years without having to paint, and if you want to change colour, just paint it as you would have done first up with non tinted render. And multi colour houses are all the rage, so you may choose not to change all the colour.

[myla]

Hi,

A lot of people run with that option of painting in the future to "modernize". Save the cost today and spend it later.

I believe brick is a much underrated product and if i was villageidiot i would be looking at getting windows painted, eaves painted, ballustrading painted, gardens tidied up, trees planted etc
Thanks

[zacnelson]

Myla, I have done a lot of rendering using Unitex acrylic render base coats (2 or 3 coats as required) followed by the tinted texture coat. I have had no problems with it. One thing I have always noticed is that the base coats are nowhere near as hard as the top coat. The top coat is almost impossible to chip or damage, whereas the base coats can be crumbly. Like brick mortar, if you rub it with your finger you see the dust come away. If you have some dry on a ladder or on your tools, it will come off easily. If you accidentally have some texture coat dry on your tools, scaffold etc, it is impossible to remove it.

Why is this? Is it the paint in the texture coat that causes this hardness?

My main question is, if people choose to just use `technique b' as you described it, where you only use a sand and cement render and paint it (ie no texture coat), how do they prevent it from being softer and less impact resistant? Is it the paint applied on top that gives it an extra hardness and cohesion so that it is as tough as acrylic texture coat?

the Unitex texture coat is actually granulated marble, not sand - is that why it holds together better?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have often thought I would prefer to jsut use sand and cement and no bother with texture coat to save money (and also texture coat is hard to work with when you're going solo as it goes off so quickly!). But the extra hardness of the texture coat is something I have been too afraid to go without

[myla]

Hi,
Yes thats right Zac. Impact resistance of texture is excellent and paint on option b will give a more sturdy result.

My main issue for people is using texture and not painting. If you look at all the specs from Unitex or Macrender or Rockcote they only give warranty if painted.

I have seen massive apartment complexes be told by Acratex, no top coat no backup, doesnt stop them selling it.
Thanks

[zacnelson]

Yeah, I always paint on top of texture coat, because it gives more water proofing and also it is a more even colour consistency