terraced house - front wall - render

FreeBear

Section62 said:

aoleks said:

there are restrictive covenants, but only for structural work. nothing relating to appearance.

Is that the exact wording?  It would be unusual (in my experience) for there not to be restrictions on external changes - there was a period where people were so excited with their new opportunity to RTB that one of the first things they did was make 'their' home distinctive from all the others on the estate.  The consequence was some very poor choices.

Ah yes. Stone cladding was all the rage after RTB came in. Now that many owners recognise that it was a poor choice, it is being removed and doing quite a bit of damage to the brickwork underneath.

Rosa_Damascena

OP, why don't you ask your neighbours if they might be interested. There may be an economy of scale if you all get it done together, you could also pick different colours and make a feature of it. The ones below are just painted an not rendered.

canaldumidi

Be careful. I don't know what your neighbours are like, but if I lived next door, I'd be talking to the planners as soon as I got wind of your plans....

knightstyle

Potential future buyers will be put off as they will wonder what nasties the render is hiding.

Rosa_Damascena

knightstyle said:

Potential future buyers will be put off as they will wonder what nasties the render is hiding.

Not if the OP makes it clear at the point of sale there has been insulation installed. A professional wouldn't do that on a dodgy surface. 

aoleks

canaldumidi said:

Be careful. I don't know what your neighbours are like, but if I lived next door, I'd be talking to the planners as soon as I got wind of your plans....

Luckily we’re not neighbours…

anyway, I spoke to my council’s legal department and it’s good news.

1. rendering, painting or anything else aesthetic only is not considered structural, hence is not affected by restrictive covenants. Planning permission is another story, but if I decide to paint the house white, no one can stop me or complain because it doesn’t require permission.

2. the only problem could be a neighbour complaining if I painted my house pink with green spots, but anything sensible (e.g. neutral colours) will be allowed, it’s been confirmed that many neighbours in the area did the same.

3. work to front fence (made of brick), driveway, new windows is also permitted and is not in scope.

4. The only time I have to request permission (and it IS normally granted, if the planning department is happy) is when carrying out structural work (removing load bearing walls, building an extension, building a porch).

5. not only that, I got their work email addresses to get this in writing

[Deleted User]

Hi. I have a similar problem. I have a 1960's mid-terraced house with horrible green tiled front.  We have considered rendering (it's actually been suggested) but the other houses on the cul-de-sac haven't changed them. Many of the residents have lived there since they were built and very much set in their own ways as well.  Only one has only had a porch added but kept the tiles - they did want to change to cladding too but had objections to the porch initially so didn't want to upset them anymore.  Ideally, I would like to add insulation and cover with UPVC cladding in a grey or subtle green, just like my front door.  We're having renovations done to the house internally but would like to make the front of the house more presentable but also insulation would be ideal.  We cannot get replacement tiles and repairing them is becoming more difficult as they are only 'tacked on' and layered. If I can find a picture I'll upload it...

stuart45

Is it one of the Cross wall construction houses that were common in the 60's?

aoleks

[Deleted User] said:

Hi. I have a similar problem. I have a 1960's mid-terraced house with horrible green tiled front.  We have considered rendering (it's actually been suggested) but the other houses on the cul-de-sac haven't changed them. Many of the residents have lived there since they were built and very much set in their own ways as well.  Only one has only had a porch added but kept the tiles - they did want to change to cladding too but had objections to the porch initially so didn't want to upset them anymore.  Ideally, I would like to add insulation and cover with UPVC cladding in a grey or subtle green, just like my front door.  We're having renovations done to the house internally but would like to make the front of the house more presentable but also insulation would be ideal.  We cannot get replacement tiles and repairing them is becoming more difficult as they are only 'tacked on' and layered. If I can find a picture I'll upload it...

More details needed. Do you own the house? Is it freehold? From a developer or ex-council? Designated land? Any restrictive covenants?

FreeBear

real_name_hidden said: Ideally, I would like to add insulation and cover with UPVC cladding

Please, not uPVC cladding. It starts to look tired fairly quickly. Cement board would be more durable and also have the advantage of being fire resistant.