Easily Fix Loose or Drummy Render

Rendering external walls of buildings and homes is a very common construction method that looks great and allows for any colour paint to be applied to the wall.

Rendering or solid plastering masonry walls usually provides a very durable substrate, however if moisture can make its way behind the render finish, it can often cause the render to begin to delaminate and come away from the brickwork. This can happen either as a result of cracks in the render, or moisture seeping through the wall.

Render is traditionally a mix of sand and cement and sometimes lime or plasticiser, with a slightly higher ratio of cement to sand than a normal mortar mix used to lay bricks. The adhesion to the wall relies only on the cement and it’s ability to absorb into the brickwork, which draws cement fines from the wet coat of render into the porous brickwork. This creates a strong bond as the render dries and cures.

Render can become drummy for a number of reasons but the most common are rapid drying, dust or loose material on the masonry, or overworking the render by the tradesman which draws excess water to the surface of the render and inhibits the absorption of cement fines into the brickwork.

Some early signs of render starting to delaminate are fine cracks in the surface of the render, or more serious problems like structural movement can result in large raised sections or stepped cracks in the render finish.

If you see signs like these, it is best to check early if the render is coming loose. You can identify loose or ‘drummy’ sections of render by gently tapping the surface using a metal object like a coin. You should hear a hollow or drummy sound when tapping the section that is loose or had delaminated.

Traditionally, when sections of render or plaster have become drummy or delaminated, the only option to rectify was to remove the loose render from the wall then re-applying new render and re-paint the whole wall.

This can be a messy and costly exercise and take many days to complete. Fortunately, there is another much more cost-effective and less disruptive way to repair drummy render and it can be done by any DIY’er or trades person.

Shalex StickIt is a great solution for the quick and easy repair of drummy render in situ – no need to remove the render.

StickIt can be easily applied to any section of loose render by simply drilling a series of small holes in the drummy area using the 2mm carbide drill bit that is supplied as part of the kit.

Then, through these holes you inject the render adhesive through a fine needle using the pressurised pump pack. The adhesive will fill the hollow area behind the delaminated render, and once cured it will re-bond the render to the wall.

With this process, you can quickly and easily repair sections of loose and drummy render that need attention, before they become a bigger problem.

By acting quickly at the first sign of loose render, and using Shalex StickIt, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in expensive re-rending and re-painting work.