What condition is this pebbledash render in?

snowqueen555

Can someone tell me the condition of the pebbledash and life expectancy? Its cracked and come off near the door, and has probably been on for around 20 years old now.

Would patch work work, or worth doing the whole building?

There are exposed holes as well from where wires were previously nailed in it.

stuart45

Without being on site, it's difficult to tell it's condition. Check for any hollow sounding areas, which mean it's blown from the scratch coat.
Pebble dash is quite difficult to patch without the patches standing out.

twopenny

I'd agree with Stuart about tapping the render gently to see if there are hollows especially around where it's come away.
It only looks like a couple of patches then there is the crack in it where the window has been installed. Have a tap along the length of that. 
If it's firm around the edges you could make that good easily enough.
The lump that's out could be done. You will know there is a repair but it would be secure and once painted almost invisible.

If you're handy I would suggest doing the repair yourself. Take time and care to match the pebble size and type. Fiddle with the edges to get firm.
I found trades don't want the small jobs or not interested in more than repair rather than making it invisible.

I did mine with no experience but patience and care.

stuart45

If you want the patch to be reasonably invisible you need to take a lot of care as twopenny suggested.
You need to get the render the right colour to start with. Using the same sand as the original helps. To get a sample of this, put a piece in brick acid, and you will be left with a sample of the sand. You can allow add a bit of black dye to the mix, as I've found with patches, as with patch pointing, if you can't get an exact match a slightly darker colour shows up much less in the wall than a lighter colour.
Kill the suction on the scratch coat by using SBR. You don't want it sucking all the moisture out of the butter coat, or the dash won't go in properly.
When you apply the butter coat, don't allow it to go over the edges of the existing. 
Knowing the right time to hurl the dash onto the wall is important. Too early when it's too soft and it will sag. Too late and it won't stick in. 
Stand back when you hurl it in, and build it up, rather than trying to get it all done in one go. 
Use a wood or plastic float to push the dash firmly in.
With small patches, if it goes wrong you can rake it out and try again. 

Confusedman123

Would it be easier to render and paint? If a render colour match cannot be done.

A lot of work but would look fresh

stuart45

Painting would get over the problem of matching in. 
The downside to painting pebble dash is that it takes quite a few coats with the roller from different angles to get it fully covered, and from then on you have got the job of repainting every so often. As the dash drops away over time, it leaves unpainted spots.