Sand and cement render is the traditional external coat: a graded sand, cement and lime mix trowelled onto brick or block, built up in coats and floated flat. It is hard-wearing, fire-resistant, cheap in materials and completely unforgiving of bad preparation — which is why so much of our repair work is fixing someone else's cement render.
Done properly, the substrate is cleaned and keyed, the mix is batched consistently across the whole facade so the colour does not band, and each coat is allowed to take up before the next goes on. Rushing the cure is the single most common cause of the map cracking you see on cheap render jobs.
Cement render can be left as the finished surface, painted, or used as the base for an acrylic or texture top coat. On a full facade we will usually recommend a cement base with an acrylic finish so you get the strength of one and the flexibility of the other.
Best suited to
- Brick and blockwork that needs a solid, straight base
- Walls that will be painted or top-coated later
- Repair and patch work matched into existing cement render
- Fences, retaining walls, garages and outbuildings
When we'd steer you elsewhere
- Solid-brick heritage walls that need to stay breathable
- Substrates with active rising damp or salt attack
How we do it
The cement render process
Key and clean
Smooth or painted brick is keyed or bonded so the mix has something to grip.
Scratch coat
First coat applied and scratch-keyed, then allowed to take up rather than being rushed.
Float coat
Second coat ruled off against screeds and floated flat — this is where a wall is made straight.
Finish
Sponge, wood float or steel finish as specified, or left ready for a texture or acrylic top coat.
Cure
Kept damp in hot weather so the mix cures rather than dries out and crazes.
Common questions
Cement render questions
How long before I can paint new cement render?
Give it a minimum of 28 days to cure. Painting early traps moisture and alkalinity in the coat, which is what causes bubbling and patchy colour a year later.
Why is my cement render drummy?
Drummy render means the bond to the brick has let go — usually poor keying, a dirty substrate, or render applied over old paint. It has to be cut out and re-rendered; patching over it just moves the problem.
Is cement render cheaper than acrylic?
The materials are cheaper, but it is more labour-intensive and usually needs painting afterwards. On a whole facade the finished cost is often close.
Other systems we apply
Acrylic Rendering
Pre-coloured, polymer-modified render that flexes with the building instead of fighting it.
Texture Coating & Stucco
Rollcoat, sponge, fine sand and rough cast — matched off an existing wall so the join disappears.
Render Repairs & Recoating
Drummy sections cut out, cracks raked and bridged, patches colour-matched — often a fraction of a full re-render.
Heritage & Lime Render
Breathable lime coats for solid-brick period homes, where modern sealed render traps moisture and blows the masonry apart from inside.
Hebel, Foam & Lightweight Cladding Render
Render systems specified for Hebel, polystyrene and lightweight cladding substrates — where the coating is part of the wall system, not a finish on top of it.
Working out a budget? See our Melbourne rendering cost guide, or find your suburb.
Get a quote for cement render
Send through the details and a couple of photos and we will book a site visit and come back with a written itemised quote.