Hebel panel, EPS foam cladding and lightweight sheet substrates all move and behave differently to brick, and each has a manufacturer-specified render system that has to be followed if the warranty is going to mean anything. Base coat thickness, mesh embedment and joint treatment are not optional details on these walls — they are the wall.
We render over Hebel PowerPanel and PowerBlock, EPS and polystyrene cladding, fibre cement sheet and blueboard, using polymer-modified base coats with alkali-resistant mesh fully embedded, then a pre-coloured acrylic or texture finish. Panel joints, corners and penetrations are detailed to the system spec rather than filled and hoped for.
This is common on townhouse and unit developments, second-storey additions and any project where weight or thermal performance ruled out masonry. Builders get a compliant, warranted system; owners get a facade that does not craze along every panel line in the first summer.
Best suited to
- Hebel PowerPanel and PowerBlock facades
- EPS / polystyrene foam cladding systems
- Blueboard and fibre cement sheet substrates
- Townhouse, unit and second-storey addition builds
When we'd steer you elsewhere
- Substrates outside manufacturer specification for a render system
- Projects where the cladding install itself is unsound — that gets fixed first
How we do it
The cladding render process
Check the substrate
Fixings, panel alignment and joint gaps verified against the cladding manufacturer's spec before anything is coated.
Joint treatment
Panel joints and corners taped, meshed and detailed to system requirements.
Base coat with mesh
Polymer-modified base applied at specified thickness with alkali-resistant mesh fully embedded — not surface-laid.
Finish coat
Pre-coloured acrylic or texture finish worked continuously across each elevation.
Membrane
Membrane coating where the system or exposure calls for it, keeping the warranty chain intact.
Common questions
Cladding render questions
Can you render over Hebel?
Yes — Hebel panel and block both take a render system, but it has to be the specified base coat with mesh embedded correctly, or the joints will telegraph through within a season.
Do you render foam / polystyrene cladding?
Yes. EPS cladding relies on a meshed polymer base coat for its impact resistance, so base coat thickness and mesh embedment matter more here than on any other substrate.
Will the panel joints show through?
Not if they are detailed properly. Taped, meshed and correctly bedded joints stay invisible; skipped joint treatment is the reason you see grid lines on cheap Hebel jobs.
Other systems we apply
Acrylic Rendering
Pre-coloured, polymer-modified render that flexes with the building instead of fighting it.
Sand & Cement Rendering
The traditional mix, built up in stages, keyed properly and floated dead flat.
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.
Working out a budget? See our Melbourne rendering cost guide, or find your suburb.
Get a quote for cladding 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.