We have a 19th century house which needs its end wall repairing, rendering and painting
We can send a pic to those interested
Simon
Many thanks Vincent
If your house is 19Th c, then it will be "pre cement" and has to be approached properly. If the wall is exposed to weather, i.e. Southwest / West, you will have to render it with NHL 3.5. (no cement or gypsum products must be used on non cement fabrics) If the wall isn't in the above mentioned face, then NHL 2 will be required. As to painting old pre cement buildings, you have to use a lime based product. You can in fact obtain "eco mortar", an NHL product made in France, which can have a specified colour: this eliminates painting. Far too many buildings from the pre cement era, are damaged by incorrect use of materials. This is largely due to ignorance on the part of supposed "builders" who in fact, are "building workers", i.e. tradesmen, and not fully qualified in the complete picture. This ignorance isn't just confined to expats, some French are just as bad. If you need to know more, google "natural hydraulic lime". For the last six years, I have broadcast a weekly eng lang program for educating expats who are in France, and a quarter of an hour is reserved for advice on the older type buildings.
regards
vincent flannery, editor producer "culture gap-radioliberte"