Rendering and external wall insulation in East London

The houses we see in East London

Much of Redbridge and Waltham Forest was built in the decades either side of 1900, with long runs of terraces, bay windows and gables. Most are solid brick, and many have been rendered or pebbledashed at some point since. Further east, in Barking and Dagenham, the Becontree estate and the streets around it were built in the 1920s and 1930s, in a mix of brick and other construction methods.

That mix is the reason we check the wall build-up before recommending anything. The right system for an Edwardian solid-brick terrace is not automatically right for a house on an interwar estate.

Insulation and a new finish in one job

On a solid-wall East London terrace, the scaffolding for a re-render is also the scaffolding for external wall insulation. Doing both at once means one set of access, one set of preparation and one finish, rather than paying for scaffolding twice.

The finish is usually a through-coloured silicone render, which holds its colour and sheds rain, set against new window frames and a contrasting plinth.

Interwar terraces in Dagenham

Interwar terraces respond well to the same approach. Boards go on over the old finish once it has been checked and prepared, and the house next door shows what the street looked like before.

How a job runs

A surveyor visits, looks at the whole elevation and checks the wall build-up, damp risks, access and the planning position for your address. You get an itemised written quote that separates preparation, the system or repair proposed, detailing around windows and sills, and scaffolding. On site the preparation is done first and properly, each coat is given its curing time, and the job ends with inspection, sign-off and warranty paperwork.

East London questions