Render and Cladding Decision Preparation Checklist

Note what each elevation appears to be built of, describing what you can see at openings and edges rather than concluding what lies behind.

Reveals and edges are the only places the construction shows itself, and describing them honestly is far more use than a confident guess.

Record whether any elevation already carries render, paint, pebbledash, tile hanging or boarding, and whether the treatment differs between faces.

Different faces of the same building are often finished differently, and mixed substrates change what is possible.

Tap the existing render lightly across the wall where you can reach it and note where it sounds hollow, without disturbing anything further.

Do not pull at loose render; hollow or detached areas should be examined by a qualified professional before anything is removed.

Photograph any cracking, bulging or loose areas and mark their positions on a rough sketch of each elevation.

Cracking in an existing finish may reflect movement in the wall behind; ask a qualified professional to consider it before recovering it.

Ask a qualified professional whether the existing finish would be removed or covered over, and what that decision actually depends on.

Whether an old coating can stay is a professional judgement about this wall, not a general rule that can be read anywhere.

Note where previous work left different materials within one elevation, such as an infilled opening, a patched area or a newer section of wall.

Areas of different material behave differently under a new finish and are usually where cracks reappear.

Ask how much the proposed finish would add to the face of the wall, then walk the building noting everything that added thickness would meet.

Almost every awkward detail on a render or cladding job traces back to the thickness nobody allowed for.

Note how far the existing window and door frames are set back from the wall face, since a thicker finish changes how deep the reveals read.

Deeper reveals change the appearance of the whole elevation and can affect how much daylight reaches the room.

Record how far the roof overhangs at the eaves and at the gable, and ask whether the finish would come out beyond the protection it offers.

How a finish meets or passes an eaves overhang is a detailing question for a qualified professional, not something to settle on site.

Note whether the wall stands on or close to a boundary, and raise the added thickness as a question before anything is agreed.

Building out towards or over a boundary may involve your neighbour and local requirements; confirm what applies before work is planned.

Note in rough terms the gap between the wall and any path, fence, gate or neighbouring structure, and photograph the tightest point you find.

A gate that only just clears the wall today is the sort of detail that decides whether a thicker finish is workable along that side at all.

Note where sills, bands or copings project from the wall today, and ask what happens where a thicker finish meets each of them.

Projections that used to throw water clear can stop doing so once the wall face moves outwards.

Note where the ground meets the wall on each elevation and whether soil, paving, decking or planting sits against it.

Ground sitting against a wall raises questions a qualified professional must consider before a finish is taken down towards it.

Ask where the finish is intended to stop near the ground and why at that point, recording the answer rather than assuming a general rule.

Where a finish stops above ground is a professional judgement for this wall; nothing general should be relied on in its place.

Record where the finish would end at the eaves, at a verge, and where it meets a neighbouring building or a shared boundary wall.

Each of those edges is detailed differently, and listing them individually stops the wall being treated as one uninterrupted surface.

Ask how the finish would be stopped and detailed around every opening, and what would remain visible at those edges once complete.

Edge trims and stop beads around openings are the parts owners notice most and are usually shown only after the decision is made.

Note where a porch, canopy, bay or single-storey roof abuts the wall, since each of those junctions needs naming individually.

Abutments are where a finish meets another trade, and unnamed junctions become nobody's responsibility.

Write down whether any elevation would be left in its existing finish, and ask how the change of material would be handled at the corner.

A change of material at an external corner rarely looks accidental, so it should be a decision rather than a consequence.

Watch the wall during heavy rain if you can and note where water runs, collects or splashes back up from the ground below.

Splash-back at low level and concentrated runs down the face are both visible in the rain and invisible on a dry day when someone comes to look.

Record where the existing wall is stained, greened or streaked, and note what sits directly above each mark.

Staining almost always has something above it, and identifying that thing is the most useful part of the observation.

Ask what drips, throats or edges the proposed finish relies on to throw water clear of the face, and where those would be visible.

Water shedding details are for a qualified professional to design for this building rather than something to be agreed informally.

Note where gutters, downpipes and overflows discharge, and whether any of them currently wet the wall rather than the drain.

An overflowing gutter will mark a new finish just as reliably as it marked the old one.

Record which elevation takes the worst weather at this property, and ask whether the finish is intended to be identical on every face.

Owners often assume one finish for the whole building, while exposure may justify treating one elevation differently.

Ask what happens where a downpipe is refixed over the new finish, and how water getting behind it would be dealt with.

A pipe held tight against a finish is difficult to inspect and difficult to repaint, which is why the fixing arrangement deserves raising.

List everything currently fixed to the wall — lights, a camera, an aerial, a hose reel, hanging baskets, house numbers, a meter box, an alarm bell.

This list is the single most useful document an owner can bring to an external finish conversation.

Ask how each of those items would be taken off and refixed, and whether fixing into the new finish later is straightforward or not.

Some finishes accept fixings easily and others do not, and this determines what you can hang on the wall for years afterwards.

Record where cables, pipes, vents and flues pass through the wall, and ask how each penetration would be dealt with at the new face.

Penetrations serving an appliance or a flue must be dealt with by the relevant qualified trade, not adjusted by the finishing contractor alone.

Note anything you may want to fix to the wall in future, such as lighting, a canopy or a gate, and raise it now so provision can be discussed.

Provision made before the finish goes on is straightforward, while cutting into a finished wall afterwards rarely is.

Ask what happens if something is fixed into the finish incorrectly later, and what you should tell a tradesperson who comes to the property.

Owners are rarely told what a finish needs from future trades, which is how warranties quietly lapse.

Record whether any climbing plant, trellis, shading structure or bracket is attached to the wall, and decide what you intend to do with each.

Ask how the finish behaves as the building moves and where any movement joints would be placed on each elevation.

The need for and position of movement joints is a matter for a qualified professional who has considered this particular building.

Ask what a repair to a damaged area would involve and whether a patch would remain visible against the surrounding weathered finish.

Some finishes patch almost invisibly while others rarely do, which matters a great deal on an elevation seen from the street.

Note whether the finish is coloured throughout or coated on the surface, and ask what that means for chips, scuffs and impact damage.

A surface coating shows damage differently from a material coloured all the way through.

Record whether a spare quantity of the material is to be kept for later repairs, and agree where it would be stored at the property.

Material kept from the original work is often the only realistic route to a close match later.

Ask what cleaning the finish is expected to need over time and what should never be used on it, and write the answer down.

Cleaning methods that suit one finish can permanently damage another; ask the supplier and record what they say rather than improvising.

Write down honestly whether anyone in the household would be willing to redecorate or recoat the wall periodically, or whether that is unrealistic.

This single honest answer removes whole categories of finish and is far more useful than a colour preference.

Ask to see a sample area applied to the actual wall rather than a small board, and note the light conditions when you look at it.

A finish on a handheld board rarely resembles the same finish across an elevation in daylight.

Record which elevation the sample is on, and look at it in different weather and at different times of day before agreeing anything.

A sample seen once in flat light is the reason many owners are surprised by the finished elevation.

Ask how scaffolding would be tied to the building and who makes good the finish at each tie position once the scaffold has been taken down.

Tie positions are holes through a brand new finish, and who closes them and how well is rarely discussed until the scaffold is already going.

How a scaffold is tied and what it may be fixed to is a matter for the scaffolding contractor and a qualified professional, not an owner decision.

Agree in writing what happens to the existing finish, including how it is taken off, contained and removed from the property.

Record what warranty is offered on the finish, what it depends on you doing, and who stands behind it if the contractor is no longer trading.

A warranty backed only by the contractor behaves very differently from one backed by the material supplier.

Note who is responsible for reinstating gutters, downpipes, vents, lights and fittings once the finish is complete, and by when.

Reinstatement sits between the finishing trade and everyone else, which is why fittings are left off for so long.