Applying Modern Silicone Render System
There are many different types of renders in the UK market, designed to give a durable weatherproof coating and a natural finish.
There are many advantages to using Silicone Render:
- It’s water repellent
- A tough and durable
- Flexible
- Self-coloured
- Silicone is easy to apply
Textured silicone finish is a highly weather-resistant decorative coating. Available in a wide range of over 3000 colours.
Different types of Silicone Render
We’ve selected EWI Pro as the render manufacturer. EWI Pro offers several types of Silicone:
- EWI-040 Silicone Silicate
- EWI-075 Silicone
- EWI-076 Premium Bio
- EWI-077 Nano Drex Silicone
Each of the silicone renders has a different price point, but it is worth mentioning that all renders are going to cost more than acrylic render because you are getting a vastly better product.
What makes Silicone Render different?
Traditional renders comprise a mixture of sand, cement, lime, and chemicals. When these renders are used, they can take weeks to dry. They then have to be painted over with your chosen colour. By using silicone render you can get your job done quicker by killing two birds with one stone, as silicone render acts as a 2-in-1 because it can be coloured with pigments.
Having the job finished in one coat means no hanging around for the render to dry before painting, so the job will be done sooner. It will also be cheaper to use one material, instead of separate render and paint.
Another benefit of the silicone finish is that it is more robust. A layer of paint will show underneath if it gets scratched or cracked. The silicone finish is highly pigmented, and as a result, damage to the top layer will be much less obvious. This means you won’t have to re-render again in a few years’ time. Doing the job right will save you money in the long run.
Choose Silicone Render for your External Wall Insulation
Finishing your external wall insulation with a high-quality render is really important. It’s relied upon to protect your external wall insulation, so it needs to do its job. We always recommend choosing silicone render rather than paint because it’s adaptable, strong, and weather-resistant. The EWI Pro renders are breathable, meaning they prevent damp, and flexible, making cracking very unlikely.
Best of all, the render looks great! Whatever Silicone render you want your home to be, it can be mixed without fuss. The price of colour silicone renders varies depending on the cost of the pigments. To find out more about how much the materials typically cost when it comes to silicone render, EWI Store has written a really useful blog post ‘coloured render cost per m2’.
Which Silicone Render brand should I pick?
There are several brands available on the market, but we recommend the Silicone Finishes from EWI Pro .
As mentioned they specialise in Silicone Renders and also they are well priced and offer all of the advantages we have mentioned above. Plus they offer colour tinting and next day delivery on their products. Most importantly, EWI Pro provides a 25 years warranty.
Again, much like the Acrylic render we don’t advise installing this render during the harsh winter months or when it is raining as the system does take a few days to cure – but once installed it should be maintenance free for over 20 years although it may require the odd pressure wash from time to time to keep it nice and clean. The EWI Pro Silicone Silicate render is completely breathable so is the ideal partner for mineral wool insulation products.
Can frost damage my silicone render?
We are having some very cold days and even colder nights at the moment, so we are being asked whether frost has any effect on the render and what temperatures cause a problem.
If your render is dry, the frost will not be a problem, but if it is still setting, then frost and extreme cold can be a big problem, causing cracking. This is why we are very sensitive about the days on which to apply your topcoat and will sometimes have to be off-site for several days in the winter waiting for the right day to top coat. It is unfortunate but we want to make sure that your job is done properly and there are no problems further down the line.
How can you render it in the cold?
If you really need to get the job done in the cold weather there are a few options:
- You can use an accelerator in the mixture to help the silicone render set quickly. This is an option for silicon-based that only dry at 10 degrees or so normally. Unfortunately, they tend not to work as well with darker coloured renders, so we don’t tend to use accelerator on these jobs.
- You can use mineral render, a more traditional style of render, which is better at drying in low temperatures. This is fine, but you will need to paint the render once dry, so it extends the job and adds extra maintenance.
The best option of all is to delay the top coating until a milder day. In the UK, a mild day is usually not far around the corner, and it is worth waiting for if you want a lasting and durable render.
Questions
How to apply silicone render
Apply the render using a steel trowel to a thickness of about aggregate size.
How to apply and finish silicon render 1.5mm
For a 1.5mm render this will be put on at between 1.0 and 2.0mm thick. Flatten the render with your plastic trowel until the first set is achieved.
