Most homes in the UK have some kind of render on the outside to both protect the bricks and improve the appearance of the home itself. One of the most popular choices for rendering is monocouche render, but what is it?
What is monocouche render?
The name ‘monocouche’ means one coat, and monocouche is named as such because whilst it involves 2 passes, they come together to form 1 monolithic coat. The render is applied to the outside of a home or a building to improve its design, on top of some primer, in order to protect the home from damp and to give the property a facelift. It helps to give homes some more curb appeal, and it also acts as an insulator. This is especially important during the winter, and as gas and electric and heating bills rise all over the UK.
How is monocouche render applied?
Monocouche render comes in bags that are designed to be mixed with water in order to form the render itself. The ratio of water to the mixture is crucial in making enough render and making a monocouche render that is the right consistency to set and dry on the walls. This is why it is often advised that people hire professionals to help them with their render applications.
In terms of application methods, there are 2 main ways of applying the render to the walls. Homeowners can choose to render by hand trowel, or the mixture can be sprayed onto the walls. Once applied, the monocouche takes between 5 and 36 hours to dry, depending on the temperature and weather conditions as well as the thickness of the mixture used.
What is monocouche render made of?
Monocouche render is part cement and part sand. The mixture is made following a ratio of approximately 1 part cement to 4 parts sand. This makes it durable, which is incredibly important for something that has to withstand all sorts of weather.
Is monocouche render crack-resistant?
Monocouche render is made with cement and sand, and so whilst it is durable and often lasts up to 25 years without cracking, it will still eventually begin to falter and potentially crack in places. The majority of the time, these small cracks are fillable, however, larger cracks are harder to deal with. More modern renders have cement and other additional materials in them like silicone in order to make them more flexible.
Ultimately, all render cracks eventually, and whilst monocouche render is relatively crack resistant in comparison to other construction materials, it is more likely to crack than silicone render which is quickly overtaking monocouche render as the most popular material.
Is monocouche render waterproof?
Monocouche renders, just like any render, must be waterproof. The render has to withstand all temperatures, weather and moisture levels, and so is designed in a way that will ensure that it is completely waterproof.
What are the advantages of monocouche renders?
There are a few advantages of monocouche render over its alternative like cement render and thin coat render. All of these renders are used frequently in the construction industry, but why is or was monocouche a particularly popular choice?
Monocouche render is durable
Due to its nature as containing cement, monocouche render is extremely durable. It can withstand temperature changes and tends to last for at least a quarter of a century before it needs redoing or before it begins to crack.
Cost-efficient
One of the reasons it is so popular is the fact that because monocouche render only needs one coat, it is cost-efficient. It doesn’t take as long as other traditional renders, and therefore costs less per section than other materials.
No paint needed
Monocouche render doesn’t need to be painted in order to provide a colourful and attractive finish. The ability to run coloured pigment through the material means that monocouche render can be coloured without having to use any masonry paint on it, making it very low maintenance render compared to others.
Different finish options
With monocouche render there is a range of different finish options available for homeowners to choose from to rejuvenate their home and also acts as a great renovation to increase a home’s value. You can opt for scraped or roughcast allowing you to get fully creative with your external wall insulation and giving your home a proper decorative finish that fits your style and your vision.
Scraped monocouche is arguably the most common, with it appearing rather flat and simple, but upon closer inspection there is undeniable texture within the material. Roughcast monocouche is much less flat, and almost looks like popcorn, with a bumpy texture. Either texture will look great, especially when pigmented successfully with the colour of your choosing!
Provides energy efficiency
Most renders provide a property with some kind of energy efficiency, but monocouche render does this particularly well due to its thickness. Applying external wall insulation helps to keep the warmth within your home, ultimately making your home more sustainable and reducing those all-important heating and electricity bills.
How much does monocouche render cost?
Monocouche render is slightly more pricey than some other traditional render options, but it is much more cost-effective generally since you need less of it in order to cover a house! Typically speaking, you can find 25-kilogram bags of dry powdered render for between £10 and £25, depending on the brand and the quality. Cement renders are cheaper than this, but will not have as much flexibility as monocouche render does.
What other render options are there?
There are other options for rendering your home if monocouche rendering doesn’t suit your needs or your style. Instead you could choose:
- Silicone render
- cement render
- lime render
- acrylic render
- cork render
Each of these has its own benefits and downsides, and which one you choose depends entirely on you and your home, and what you want to use your render for.
