7x1m external render... £2k..?

[fiskrond]

Latest quote (from a non-local).... £1300, will knock off £200 if I give him the job for the boundary wall whilst on site
This is the kinda figure I expected to be looking at in the first place...

Will update on proceedings in due course

*EDIT : access to the work area is ladder onto 4m of new EPDM sloped roofing

 

[fiskrond]

Things proceeding only ok'ish.. but this is primarily due to local branch of Tragic Burkins being an utter shambles for a few weeks now.
Big difference between Tues AM and Thurs PM and then they only got half the load.

 

[Mr Chibs]

Thought it was just my TP that were clowns... seems not.

Hope all has gone well.

 

[fiskrond]

Thought it was just my TP that were clowns... seems not.

Hope all has gone well.

Matters are ongoing all be it very slowly and somewhat bizarrely... I'll relate the whole building experience at the end of this project.. fortunately I'm seeing the funny side of it (at least at the moment)...

 

[fiskrond]

Hoping for 3/3 render coat to be done 2mrw (14/06), fascia and guttering done next day in preparation for 3 days of Yellow weather warning starting the day after...


14/06... half of render blown so gotta come off... great... but in_real_life sometimes 'stuff' happens. Builder looked pale when he told me.. I appreciate his integrity.

Also my local Tragic Burkins have a special offer on at the moment... circa 15kg of 10>15mm chippings in every jumbo bag of plastering sand... ready-mixed for your inconvenience.

Just how difficult it is to put sand (labelled as sand) in a hopper (with a sand hopper sign).. and put it into a bag labelled SAND!!!

 

[fiskrond]

1m^2/hr?

 

[Mr Chibs]

It’s been while since I’ve read your saga, made me chuckle and commiserate In the same read... are you getting any closer to finishing?

1m2 per 2 hours is slow Is he using a palette knife

 

[fiskrond]

Entire 2nd layer and most of 1st layer had to come off.. grrr
Would seem that at some point the labourer came up with his own mix... which was mostly scraped off by myself with a bolster without using a hammer.... just grey coloured sand. Builder now very sheepish. I am now labouring for the builder. This is bizarre.
Back to the stonework again for about 60% of the work area... this time I am on the mixer... and the ingredients are going in in a very exact way.. if I'm told 4:1 then that is what it will be (I used to work on costings in food manufacturing)... pail levelled off with a piece of wood. Feb measured, water measured... it is chemistry after all!

 

[Mr Chibs]

So silly question, are you back to sq one, Or has some render actually stayed on?

It comes to something when you are now the labourer, make sure you give the builder your invoice.

Good luck.

 

[fiskrond]

(2.5m>[small window]<4.5m)

the 2.5m done on day_1 was solid, the 4.5m done on day_2 was shameful (different lad).. scraped off and up the tip

60% re-work done per original mix (4:1 with feb).. methodically knuckle tested after 72hrs.. all good apart from my knuckles which were rather sore!

Top coat gone on 5:1:1 (sand/cement/lime) at my insistence... after some intensive research I figured that having lime in the mix would be more forgiving to the stone/mortar walls of a very hastily built miners cottage from c.1860. I hope I'm right on this... it seems ok at the moment but I want to give it few days yet

After discussion and observation, the following has been noted:
i) Stone walls with mud/mortar need a lot more watering than you think
ii) The heat that comes off a black EPDM roof in direct sunlight is pretty intense and heats up quickly - further increasing the amount of watering required (both to stone and people!)

On the plus side... I'm learning loads of 'hands-on' stuff which is far more interesting than spreadsheets.. (masochist?)

 

[Mr Chibs]

Sound like progress now.

From what I’ve seen on my travels, those mixes seem good.

When’s ribbon cutting day going to be?
We we be privy to a photo or two on said day or is that not the done thing ‘in the valleys’



Funny you mention heat, I’ve an aluminium patio door in anthracite, in direct sunlight it’s scorchingly hot you could cook on it.

 

[sxturbo]

You've read wrong regarding the mortar.

If you wanted to help the old stone the render should have been made with zero cement and hydraulic lime use in its place.

 

[Mr Chibs]

What will be the outcome of the mix the OP has used?

every time you read you see a different mix

 

[sxturbo]

Lime in cement mortar just makes the mortar more pliable, easier to work with, and maybe a nicer finish, does nothing for the breathing.

Hydraulic lime is used in place of cement for old buildings, and buildings that require the walls to breath, hydraulic lime mortars are traditionally weaker than cement, and act as the sacrificial anode in soft stone/brickwork.

So if your building is made of stone you want hydraulic lime mortar.

 

[lostinthelight]

What will be the outcome of the mix the OP has used?

every time you read you see a different mix

Old stone walls with clay/lime mortar move with the seasons, 4:1 portland render has no give at all so will crack ,tear the stone or both.