Repairing render (badly)

When I had aimed my attention to the ivy on my wall, I had noticed it had already started to damage the render. A slab had been almost cleanly pulled off! That’s bad. It was good I had removed the ivy, but this damage needed to be repaired before I would do anything else.

 

I was wondering how to do it. First I googled it, and found out there is such a thing as the render repair kit. That sounded just what I needed! And when I found myself in the B&Q anyway I had a look. They seemed to not have it in stock. They did have brick wall repair kits, but my wall is not made of bricks. And if I use improvised materials I might as well have a rummage in my garage.

The garage didn't yield anything useful; there was plaster there, and grout. That didn't seem to be the right stuff. And then a friend suggested I go to the independent shop in Menai Bridge. I did, and they recommended some cement-coloured kit. I went for it! It would be less conspicuous to just kit the fallen-off slab back into position as well as I could, than to have a batch that was just render. The house, after all, has been pebble-dashed in the past. I am not a fan of pebble dash, but given that it has been painted over in white I don't mind it anymore.

One weekend they I started the chore. I first pried off the slab; it broke into pieces. Then I removed all the ivy that had caused it to come off in the first place. And then I could have an attempt at putting it back! 

I probably should have primed the render with PVA, but I was too impatient. I first used up some other kit I still had and that was probably coming close to its expiry date. I couldn't do all of it at the same time! So I started at the top. In between kitting sessions I tried to keep their slabs in place with an old cupboard shelf and a piece of the stairs of Neuadd Ogwen. 

When all the bits had been stuck back I used the rest of the kit to try to fill in the gaps. And the end result? Not pretty! But better than it was. And I think it will stay put for years to come. It does mean, though, that I should get ready for the big job. Painting the entire front of the house! Although I suppose I should have done this over summer. Autumn is pretty much here, and that is not a particularly good painting season!