Rendered planters

[matty brock]

Can anyone advise me on a render finish for some contemporay planters (white) Im currently building. In short....K rend or sand and cement ? Do I need to tank the inside of the planters ?
They are about 900 high and the finish will go directly to the ground and cap the wall as well. Im using plastic beading and will use free draining material in the base.
Any tips greatly appreciated, thanks !

[Pablo]

lining the planters with heavy gauge plastic will be fine as long as the excess water can get away. K rend is lovely but pricey standard stuff looks good when painted depending on the area to be done chances are the cost won't be too different so I'd go for the krend. Beads can ruin the look of garden walling and planters a decent plasterer should be able to do a better job without them. I like your web site.

[lutonlagerlout]

i take it k rend is like snow crete?
bleedin expensive
looking at your brickwork on your site matty i would try and talk them into brickwork
I always find the maintenance aspect of render to be a drag long term
i'm luvin that video on your site
brick by brick indeed
and that screeding tool looks well handy

LLL

[matty brock]

Thanks Pablo & LLL,
Yeah Pablo I built strip footings so the water can drain directly into the undisturbed earth underneath.
LLL I've already got the block on site and the first course laid so I'm commited and for the look I'm going for it needs to be a crisp white smooth finish, thats why I thought K Rend (Not sure what snowcrete is? same thing maybe? Think K Rend is a name, not the actual product)
Thanks for the comments on the website, yeah the screeding tool is great, one man....standing up ! well worth the dollar, its from Probust.

[higgness]

k-rend is a brand name.
they do lots of different types of coloured render.
look up k-rend.co.uk
you should be able to find a number for your local rep there.

[r896neo]

I would beware of k-rend, because the surface is rougher than a standard float/sponge finish it is more prone to greening up with algae etc.

As pablo mentioned though painting it with a quality masonary paint would help but if your going to do that then why pay for the pre added colour of k-rend.

I agree that beads are a bit naff and a good plasterer should be able to do the external corners if he has a mate to hold a rule for a while. Personally i think a course of engineering brick and stopping the render a few inches short of ground level will last better than rendering through to the ground.

[matty brock]

Spoke to K-Rend rep today and he only last week heard of a case where the render has discoloured and shrunk around the edges, not on a house wall but a retaining wall so that made up my mind.......sand and cement it is. I want to use the beads as its more durable to knocks and it gives a crisper corner for the contemporay look we are going for, plus these beds are 25m long so its 100 lineal metres plus of corners, a lot to strike by hand. I'll post some photies when done.
Still unsure of what to line tank the inside of the planters with, thinking a heavy DPM or bituminous paint, any thoughts ?
Thanks, Matty

[r896neo]

I use synthapruf or to be honest a cheaper version for the back of all retaining masonary, mainly to stop staining but especially important for render.

[matty brock]

Cheers mate, i'll check it out. what is it ? a bituminous paint ?

[lutonlagerlout]

3 coats of synthaprufe waterproofs most things
some kind of drainage and weep holes is very important here
cheers LLL

[Pablo]

Spoke to K-Rend rep today and he only last week heard of a case where the render has discoloured and shrunk around the edges, not on a house wall but a retaining wall so that made up my mind......

That's some sales technique he's got. The K rend needs to have a special sealant applied to stop it discolouring which is probably whats happened here. K stands for Kilwaughter their main base is only a few miles from my house they specialise in white lime based products and do a post crete type product that's just as good but a pound cheaper than blue circle stuff.

[r896neo]

I think the k post is much better as well as being cheaper! The Lafarge stuff has almost zero stone in it.