Rendering in Crossways, a free hand on the finish

Silicone thin coat is the usual choice on a modern Crossways wall and a good default. Primer, a mesh and scrim reinforced basecoat, then a thin through-coloured silicone topcoat, scraped or floated to the texture you choose. It sheds water, it stays cleaner than an older acrylic or polymer rich finish, and because the colour goes through the coat a chip does not show a white scar.

Monocouche. A through-coloured coat applied in one pass and scraped back to an even texture. It is tougher than a thin coat, it suits a long plain Crossways elevation or a big gable, and it wants a very sound background because it goes on thick. Colours are a fixed range rather than anything you like, which is the main trade off against silicone.

Sand and cement, and dash. Traditional render still earns its keep on garages, stores and plinths, and pebbledash or Tyrolean can be thrown back over a fresh backing where that is what you want. Both hide cracking, which is why a dashed wall gets tapped rather than looked at. The exception to all of this is a period cottage built pre-1919 on the edge of Crossways: those walls are solid and breathable, a plastic rich coat leaves moisture trapped in them, and lime is the only sensible answer.

Colour and texture, decided properly. Every system comes with a sample board and we would rather you saw one on the wall in daylight than picked from a brochure. Texture changes how a colour reads: the same grey looks lighter scraped and heavier floated. A pale colour on a big south facing elevation will show every shadow. This is the part of the job people regret rushing, and it costs nothing to take a week over.

Insulated render. On a cold cavity wall EWI is worth pricing alongside a plain re-render: external wall insulation board fixed and dowelled on, a render carrier and mesh, then the same topcoat, with Part L setting the thermal standard and building control usually involved. It thickens the wall, so sills, reveals, eaves, gutters and pipework all move out with it.

Preparation, beads and the base. Whatever goes on top, the wall under it decides how long it lasts. Blown areas are hacked off to a firm background, then we clean down, prepare, stabilise anything dusty with a primer and cut a key where the block face is too smooth. A bellcast bead at the base throws water clear of the plinth, stop beads finish the render at reveals and verges, and stainless goes anywhere the wall gets wet. Cracks that take a coin get cut out rather than filled, because a coat that has begun to delaminate keeps going. Brick that has spalled at the arris is made good first, and green algae or staining on a shaded gable is a cleaning job unless the wall behind is wet.

Rendering in Crossways has no rate per square metre. The area is simple to measure, and what is already on the wall is what sets the price.

Getting to it. A detached Crossways bungalow comes off a tower on level ground. A two storey house with an attached garage needs a bridged lift, and a rear wall behind a conservatory needs the scaffold built around the glass. The scaffold stays up until the last coat has cured, and the work at height rules mean it is costed as an item.

The existing coat. A sound Crossways wall can be rendered straight over after preparation. Blown sand and cement, or pebbledash lifting away from the blockwork, has to be hacked off first, and none of that shows from the street. We tap every elevation before quoting.

The system. Silicone thin coat over insulation, through coloured monocouche and sand and cement with paint each cost and perform differently. On these modern cavity walls, a silicone or monocouche system usually works well. On an older solid wall in Crossways, a breathable lime render is safer.

Trims and fittings. Beads at every corner, the bellcast over the damp course, stop ends at the edges, and any sills or pipework that must come off and go back add hours.

Ask any rival quote to state the system and number of coats, whether the old coat is being hacked off or covered, and whether scaffold is included.

Rendering in Crossways means a 21.8 mile drive from our Boscombe base, and we also render in Warmwell, Owermoigne and Moreton. The planning and building control authority for all of them is Dorset Council. Contracts are with Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, which is registered in England and Wales as company 15471719. Before you book a visit in Crossways, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

The man who taps your walls and writes the quote is the owner, Thomas Hannen. One verified customer on Checkatrade scored our work 10 out of 10. Neither the visit nor the itemised written quote will cost you anything.

Most repairs in Crossways need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.