Cost of Render and Different Types of Cement Rendering

Cement Rendering | Acrylic Texture Coating | Render Cost | Renovation 

Hume's render product range offers protective and decorative coatings for all walls and high-build long life coatings. We supply polished concrete-effect super fine finishes, fine textures, scratch-effect and marble finishes, to course heavy texture from leading brands like Unitex and Mac. In this article by Render Specialist Allen Cetinic, we get a simple rundown, without getting too technical, on how you can transform your home with cement render and perhaps choose the best finish for your home:

So you have decided to cement render your home - this being either a house, terrace, townhouse, duplex or apartment.

Firstly, have a sneak peek what your neighbours have done in your area and take notes. You want something to fit in the style of the area, but also differentiate itself, if you are planning to sell in the later years - always think about street appeal and maximising your selling price. Next, do your research on the different exterior finishes available to you. Have you Googled? We love Google - i.e. see what options are available in texture coatings and the best products on the market that would suit your home.

We have listed the most common render finishes - but at the end of the day, it's your personal preference and budget which will make your decision. 

Traditional and Polymer Modified Cement Rendering

A cement render finish gives a more elegant, cleaner and sophisticated look to your external home façade. Many homes are being cement rendered to give their home a modernised look and feel.

Traditional Cement Render: of which materials are purchased from bulk supplier i.e. sand, cement and clay and mixed on site.

Polymer Modified Cement Render: which is a proprietary product and usually purchased in 15kg to 20kg bags from major suppliers such as Unitex and MACrender etc.

The cement rendering system is the application of a mixture of sand, cement, lime, clay and bonding agents to brick and concrete surfaces, which is then screeded, floated and sponged for a desired finish. It can then be textured with an acrylic coating or painted flat after the application. You need to remember that traditional cement render is cementitious, therefore it dries solid, grey and brittle and is more susceptible to cracking. To avoid this we recommend you apply a skim coat of acrylic texture coating to allow the cement to expand with the acrylic and minimise any potential cracking.

With cement rendering, depending on the look and feel that you are after, it can be fine or coarse, textured or smooth, natural or coloured, pigmented or painted.

Acrylic Texture Coatings

One of the most popular and durable render coating systems on the market, that provides you with many options from texture finishes to colour, water resistance and more importantly flexibility that reduces cracking on your exterior façade.

Firstly your home still needs to be cement rendered, no matter what substrate it is. Then the acrylic render is trowled onto the cement render which provides a coating. This makes the cement render much stronger and flexible, allowing the render underneath to breath.

The advantage of using this system is that it is very attractive and has various texture coating finishes, from a  smooth finish to semi-textured to coarse. The smoother the finish the more premium the finish appears and modern the house looks. Also a tint can be applied to the acrylic to give it a colour, but it is also advised to paint over this to highlight the colour and minimise future fading due to general wear and tear.

Cost of Cement Rendering

An important factor you need to consider is your budget. We would recommend you source three different quotes, but also keep in mind what you are receiving through that quote i.e. service, qualified tradesmen, workmanship, project management, insurance etc. Compare apples with apples and be realistic.

As a guide in regards to cement rendering costs, you should expect $80 + GST per square meter for a Polymer Modified render system. If you are after traditional render, rates start from $60 + GST per square meter. But not everything can be calculated on square meter rates. It depends how much detail there is or you want there to be on your home, which would be an added cost, usually a per hourly cost - keep this is mind.