Pebbledash Removal
Discussion
Anyone ever had Pebbledash removed from the outside of their house. We have it all round but I would just like to get rid of it from the front as that is the only bit you see. It's a Victorian end of terrace (1870). Is it expensive? Is it a lottery as to what is underneath? Any advice gratefully received.
It’s not that hard to do; however achieving the final look can be; whatever that may be.
A lot of houses where pebble dashed to cover less then 1st class build quality. Sometimes the pointing is not as clean, or neat as you would expect from a brick finish, and also the bricks can vary in colour, quality etc etc. If you’re having it re rendered, no worries.
My advice would be start on a side of the house not obviously visible everyday. (Like the round the back in the garden, or if you have a ground floor extension pick the smallest wall) To take the pebble dash off, get yourself a BIG manly drill with SDS function, and get yourself a 1-1.5" chisel head and just take it off in layers. Try not to follow the pointing lines as you don’t want to dig it out any more than needed. The reason in doing this is that if the brick work is in poor order, you can be pretty confident that the whole house will be like it. Thus more cash achieving the look you desire in the end.
If you want to get a man to do it, pay a builder, NOT an odd job man. They will more than likely have had experience with your type of property in your area so will be able to give you a better idea of what to expect. If the pointing is in s
t order then the house will be cooler once it’s off....
I have done a fair bit of this in the past, including taking a large section of *dash off a house then just re-dashing the whole thing again due to it being in a terrible state.....
Any more help, ask me I will probably know the answer on this topic.....
edit for spellingzz
A lot of houses where pebble dashed to cover less then 1st class build quality. Sometimes the pointing is not as clean, or neat as you would expect from a brick finish, and also the bricks can vary in colour, quality etc etc. If you’re having it re rendered, no worries.
My advice would be start on a side of the house not obviously visible everyday. (Like the round the back in the garden, or if you have a ground floor extension pick the smallest wall) To take the pebble dash off, get yourself a BIG manly drill with SDS function, and get yourself a 1-1.5" chisel head and just take it off in layers. Try not to follow the pointing lines as you don’t want to dig it out any more than needed. The reason in doing this is that if the brick work is in poor order, you can be pretty confident that the whole house will be like it. Thus more cash achieving the look you desire in the end.
If you want to get a man to do it, pay a builder, NOT an odd job man. They will more than likely have had experience with your type of property in your area so will be able to give you a better idea of what to expect. If the pointing is in s
t order then the house will be cooler once it’s off....I have done a fair bit of this in the past, including taking a large section of *dash off a house then just re-dashing the whole thing again due to it being in a terrible state.....
Any more help, ask me I will probably know the answer on this topic.....
edit for spellingzz
Edited by GingerWizard on Tuesday 19th January 08:28
Agree with GW, but I'd remove by hand rather than with SDS, more likely to damage the bricks with power tools.
Are all the houses in the terrace rendered ? You'll be able to see what the bricks are like looking at the other properties.
Have any doors or windows been replaced and the new ones not the same size as the originals? Do you know how long the pebbledash has been on?
If it is a hard concrete mix on soft brick then you may well find that trying to get it off will take off the face of the bricks leaving a right mess. The problem is that you may find that 90% comes off fine but just some areas end up removing the brick face. Its also worth bearing in mind that the bricks at the front may be better quality than those at the side and back, so wander around and look at other houses around you and see how they look.
Have a contingency plan for recovering the situation if you get it off and it looks...not quite what you wanted. I'd be thinking that if it was rubbish then external insulation and render, but that might require some roof extension work.
You aren't in a conservation area or anything?
Are all the houses in the terrace rendered ? You'll be able to see what the bricks are like looking at the other properties.
Have any doors or windows been replaced and the new ones not the same size as the originals? Do you know how long the pebbledash has been on?
If it is a hard concrete mix on soft brick then you may well find that trying to get it off will take off the face of the bricks leaving a right mess. The problem is that you may find that 90% comes off fine but just some areas end up removing the brick face. Its also worth bearing in mind that the bricks at the front may be better quality than those at the side and back, so wander around and look at other houses around you and see how they look.
Have a contingency plan for recovering the situation if you get it off and it looks...not quite what you wanted. I'd be thinking that if it was rubbish then external insulation and render, but that might require some roof extension work.
You aren't in a conservation area or anything?
Edited by TooLateForAName on Tuesday 19th January 09:44
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