Tyrolean - Mixing my own

[Tony McQuillan]

I have just finished rendering about half the side of my house - Scratch Coat / Top Coat.
I now need to apply a tyrolean finish using a flicker machine (the green one) to match up - could be difficult.
Don't want to use Cullamix or Krend - instead I want to mix my own.

Local plasterer tells me 'use builders (soft) sand - 5 / 1 ratio - with no additives
Just damp down the wall - probably three passes at different angles.

Advice -
1. Is soft / builders sand OK - or should it be sharp sand ?
2. Is the ratio (5 / 1) correct.

I have spent four weeks on this project - I don't want to 'mess it up' at the last stage.
Rendering external walls is hard work - my respect to you guys who do it every day.

Any feedback appreciated.

 

[roy c]

I have only ever done one tyrolean job and it was a long time ago and a big block of 2 storey flats. We made our own muck up, you can make it (1 cement, 1 lime, 6 parts sharp sand )or (1 cement, 6 parts sharp sand,with plasticiser) It must be put on a plain faced rendered finish. Leave render till it has dried out so it has got good suction to apply tyrolean to. Have a practice first to get used to the machine dont have it too wet start by flicking on wall at 90 degrees (straight at wall) second coat at 45 degrees from the left, then a third coat at 45 degrees from the right, you should not see any background when you have finished. Dont stay in one place for too long, dont come back over the surface too soon and dont have your mix too sloppy. It was a long time ago and it took some practicing to get it right so have a few goes till you get the hang of it, Good luck mucker and take some photos so we can see the results..

 

[roughcaster]

Good advice as usual Roy.
Tony, "don't" dampen down the wall. As Roy said, you need the suction from the finished render. Another thing, this is a messy job, especially around windows, so make sure you cover up the glass. Sand will scratch glass very easily and ruin windows. Like Roy, I haven't done tyrolean for a long time either, but every time we did, we covered up the "whole window pane" with polythene, just to keep the glass from being damaged. So there you go, a nice dry day, nice dry render, start at the top each time, and work your way down the wall. Don't overload each coat or else it will "slump". There is no room for error with Tyrolean. Good luck anyway, and as Roy said, show us some pics.

 

[StephenStephen]

Just to add...
I used roughly 1 cement, 1 hydraulic lime (because it was what I had), and 6 sharp sand, onto dry flat render.
The scaffold's not down yet, but it seems to have worked really well.
I guess I'd describe the wetness of the mix as slop, but not runny.