Transforming your house. A choice between rendering or cladding

June 1, 2010 - PRLog -- Transforming an interior wall

It’s never too late for even the most miserable interior wall in your home to be resurrected to either its former glory or given a stunning new persona – and the good news is that it’s possible to transform it yourself without too much effort.  

Let’s imagine you have a wall (or walls) in your home that need a makeover, either because it’s been badly damaged or you want to make it an eye-catching, attractive feature. You’ve decided to try and tackle the job yourself. What do you need to know?
To clad or to render? That is the question…
‘Rendering’ means applying a thin, pre-mixed preparation to an existing wall surface, thereby correcting any faults in the wall and making it look like new again.  Cladding means using a non load bearing, new covering that attaches (either by an adhesive or nails) to the wall.
The first question that has to be considered is: why do you want the wall to be changed? Is it to upgrade the standard of the room or transform its style? (i.e. formal to beach house).  Rendering will renew the existing wall and cladding will create an entirely different wall.  

Cladding choices
Almost any material you can think of can be used for cladding an interior wall.  Bamboo/reed, plastic (PVC), stone, vinyl, steel, stone, brick, aluminium, wood and fabric are some of the choices and all create a different effect and with advantages and disadvantages.   For instance, timber gives an organic, rustic result but is susceptible to moisture and may need to be regularly treated.  Stone creates timeless grandeur but can blow the budget because the material is so costly and labour intensive. PVC is economical, cleans easily and doesn’t need to be painted but doesn’t make much visual impact. Fibre cement boards that imitate wood are lighter and easier to cut than timber but can never replace the real thing.
When considering whether to DIY, remember to take into account practicalities.  Does the wall need to be water tight? Does the room require added sound or warmth insulation? Does the room need more light or shade? What style and material would suit your lifestyle and tastes? Any budget restrictions? If you make a mistake, can you afford to have the wall fixed?
Seek more information on cladding by using a search engine on your computer to check out current choices on wall systems and where to find the material you’ll need –  contact a building centre for advice or seek counsel from a builder or experienced handyman.

Rendering choices:
* Cement render is a thin, pre-mixed surface of sand (six parts), cement (one part) and lime (one part) that is applied to brick or cement, stone or mud brick.  It can be textured, pigmented, coloured or painted, creating different effects and decorative impact. Throughout the centuries, professional renderers, using trowels, sponges and brushes, have been competing to develop their own unique style and make rendering an art form so it would be quite a challenge to attempt to render your entire house.  But one wall?  Could quite possibly be a lot of creative fun.
* Acrylic render means a polymer compound is added to traditional cement render, making it more water-resistant, flexible and adhesive. It has the advantage of taking only two days to dry and cure compared to having to wait 28 days for cement render.
* The latest trend is a ‘designer’ finish that can be rolled, trowelled or sponged over acrylic render, creating natural effects such as sand, sandstone, marble, lime wash or clay-like finishes.

Cladding tips:
* Ready made tongue and grooved wood panels are available at major hardware stores – they only need to be screwed into place and painted or matt varnished. Molding strips are also available to complete the task.
* Dark wood (or dark- coloured material) produces a sense of warm enclosure and light wood (or light colours) gives an open and airy feel.
* For easy installment, buy a pre-finished cladding with factory applied finish and fixing clips.
* If using plywood, consider birch for its strong, light and stable qualities. You can pre-finish it with paint, stain or varnish before fitting.
* Always seal bottom edges of cladding sheets before applying to the wall.
* If you’re using mortar, wet the wall and the back of the cladding material first.
* For a unique visual impact, use fabric - either stretched onto a frame or applied directly to the wall. Fabric can blend with the colours and textures of soft furnishings, furniture and floor covering so that the room is tied together.  Use imagination to decide on fabric – include among your choices silk, hessian, suede, linen, coconut husks and leather.

Cladding tools:
Each cladding job will vary but generally you’ll need spirit level, diamond or carbide saw for cutting, fixative (e.g. epoxy, polyester-based glue or cement-based adhesive), screws and hammer.

Rendering tips:
* Use only enough well mixed render that you can use in half an hour.
* Because fast drying render is prone to cracking, keep the surface damp (but not wet) to slow the process down.
* At least two coats are needed. The thickness of the first coat should be around 10mm.  
* The surface needs to be slightly damp in between coats.  Use water in a spray bottle or cover with plastic sheeting.
* It may take up to thee days for the damp top coat to cure and develop its strength.
* When surface is hard, roughen it up before applying the next coat.  
* Use coarser sand for base layer and slightly finer sand for top layer.

Rendering tools:
* Cement mixer
* Renderer’s steel trowel (for applying mix)
* Hawk (used like a palette)
* Steel straight edge (to straighten corners and windows)
* Shovel
* Wood float (smoothes hollows or bumps)
* Sponge float (gives flat line finish)
* Soft and hard brushes
* Gloves
* Buckets for water
* String line, spirit level.  

Rules to remember:
The golden rule of rendering is to make sure the wall is thoroughly cleansed so it’s free of any dirt, mould, loose particles and paint – without this preparation, your work won’t stick to the wall.  
Use the steel trowel and hawk to apply render to the wall, aiming for a 10mm thick coverage. Within a couple of hours, the mixture should begin to dry – any hollows are now filled.  The wood and sponge float is used to give a flat line finish with no bumps or hollows.  The area needs to be kept moist until render is hard, then roughen the surface before applying a second coat.
Wait for second coat of render to dry, making sure the surface is kept damp.
For large areas, fix 10mm wide vertical battens to the wall every one to 1.5 metres to keep render flat and even.  
Cladding or rendering a wall sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?  But builders and renderers are professionally trained to complete the task without error.  A do-it-yourself handyman isn’t.  So to avoid having the embarrassment and expense of hiring a professional to correct your mistake, be thoroughly informed and prepared - or leave the wall alone.

For more home renovation ideas and tips visit www.peninsulaliving.com.au/home-walls-and-floors/

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