Exterior Render Repaint, Didsbury

A semi-detached property in East Didsbury, render front and side elevations, due a full exterior repaint after a decade of uneven weathering. The render had hairline cracking in two corners (the result of normal expansion and contraction over the years, not structural movement), and the north-facing elevation had some organic growth that needed treating before any paint went near it. The whole façade was pressure-washed back to a sound surface and any loose render was raked back to firm material. The corners and a few hairline cracks elsewhere were bridged with flexible filler and feathered in so they wouldn’t telegraph through the topcoat. A fungicidal wash was applied to the north elevation to kill off the growth at the root rather than just paint over it. Once the substrate was prepared and dry, the whole façade was primed and finished in two full coats of a breathable masonry paint — chosen so any trapped moisture in the wall could still move out through the coating rather than blowing the paint off the wall the next time the weather turned. Soffits and fascias were prepared and finished in a UV-stable trim paint at the same time, and the front door was burnt off, repaired, primed and finished in a satinwood that matched the new render colour. The job took five working days including drying time between coats, and was scheduled into an early-autumn weather window so the coatings had the conditions they needed to cure properly before the wet weather returned.