DIY & Building Basics 10 Home Improvement Nightmares

• Next >

1. Pebbledash and Stone Cladding (Image 1 of 9)

Pebbledash

What is it?
Pebbledash is basically render with small stones added to give a gritty vertical shingle beach effect to external walls. Of course today we know that walls should not be treated as vertical shingle beaches, but back in the rush to build houses in the 1920s it was widely used to cover cheap or inexpert brickwork. Sadly it still crops up and there are pockets around the country where it has almost become the local vernacular.

Is it a Deal Breaker?
To the smart, young, cash-rich, time-poor metrocentric buyer this is a complete turn off. Outside of the city centre, and especially to the older buyer, it's more of an unwelcome irritation.

What can you do about it?
Pebbledash will either be attached directly to brickwork or, if you are lucky, to a backing material - usually sheets of chicken-wire like sheets called stretched metal lath. If the pebbledash is attached to a backing material it should peel off relatively easily with less damage to the bricks beneath. If the pebbledash is attached directly to the brick where adhesion is still good you will be forced to chip it away and could therefore be looking at a lot of damage to the brickwork.

To decide how to proceed with removal it is worth finding an area of the pebbledash that is not in full view and testing its adhesion by tapping and listening for hollow areas. Some companies offer new resin or plastic based coatings to cover unwanted pebbledash, but there are fears that the walls of the house may not be able to breathe sufficiently under these impermeable coatings.

OR: You can learn to live with it. In leafier suburbs, pebbledash can be softened by imaginative garden planting, using wood and attractive pebbles to fool the eye and training attractive ivy, wisteria or other climbing plants up the walls.

Average estimated cost for removal = £3,000.


Stone Cladding

What is it?
Stone cladding is a lightweight mainly concrete-based artificial stone, which became popular during the 1980s and was a misguided attempt to bring a more rural aesthetic into towns and cities. At the time of the big council house sell-off it became popular as a way of differentiating homes from those that remained as council stock. Occasionally real stone cladding is used to make an interesting external feature and can look fab. Stone cladding has been associated with damp problems in homes.

Is it a Deal Breaker?
Widely disliked and considered quite naff in smart circles, it will make anyone who cares about the kerb appeal of their home think twice. Like pebbledash, removal will be expensive and damaging to the home.

What can you do about it?
Removing stone cladding will almost certainly cause damage to the brickwork underneath, and your home may need to be sandblasted and rendered afterward. You could look to get some quotes from specialists in this field but the whole process will be noisy, damaging and expensive.

OR: The bizarre colours involved in stone cladding are the feature that makes this material so naff. Painting over the cladding will reduce the immediate impact, while clever deployment of features like window boxes, climbing plants, and shrouding bushes can prove attractive enough to almost make you forget that it is there.

Average estimated cost for removal = £3,000