Roughcasting is the wet dash render you see on hundreds of thousands of Scottish homes, and sooner or later most of it needs patching, recoating or stripping back. Prices vary a lot between jobs and between tradespeople, so this guide sets out realistic ranges, what pushes the cost up or down, and how to judge a quote sensibly.
Across Central Scotland, a full strip and re-roughcast of a house wall usually falls somewhere between £45 and £80 per square metre, including scaffold, removal of the old render, new base coats and the dashed finish. Patch repairs to a damaged area are priced differently, often as a day rate or a fixed sum, and a small patch of a few square metres commonly comes in between £300 and £700 depending on access and how much matching work is needed.
For whole houses, a typical semi-detached with around 120 to 150 square metres of wall might land between £6,000 and £11,000 once everything is included. A detached villa with more elevations and gables can go well past £15,000. Treat all of these as ballpark figures rather than promises. The only number that matters is the one written on a quote after someone has actually looked at your walls.
The biggest factor is what is underneath. Sound old render that just needs a fresh dash is cheap to work with. Blown, hollow or cracked render has to come off, which means labour, skips and a base coat that may need to be built up in more than one pass. Old Stirling and Falkirk stone cottages often need a lime based or breathable system, which costs more in materials and takes longer to cure than a modern sand and cement mix.
Access matters too. A bungalow can sometimes be done from towers, but a two storey house or a tenement gable needs full scaffold, and that alone can add £800 to £2,500 depending on height and how long it stays up. Tight side passages, conservatories against the wall and overhead cables all slow the job. Finally, finish choice affects cost. A standard grey or white dry dash chip is the cheapest. Coloured chip, pebble dash with larger aggregate or a matched blend to tie in with neighbours costs more and can involve sourcing from specific quarries.
Roughcast is unforgiving. If the base coat is too thin, the wall is not properly prepared or the job is rushed in wet or freezing weather, you will see hairline cracks and hollow patches within a couple of winters. Scottish weather gives render a hard time, especially on exposed west and south west facing walls, so preparation and curing time are where a good job earns its money.
When you compare quotes, look at what each one actually includes. Ask whether the price covers scaffold, skips, removing and reinstating downpipes and satellite dishes, and any making good to paths and gardens. Ask how many coats are going on and what the mix is. A quote that looks £2,000 cheaper but leaves out scaffold and skips is not really cheaper. It is also worth asking how the tradesperson plans to deal with bad weather, because dashing in heavy rain or frost is a common cause of failure.
Not every tired wall needs to be fully stripped. If the render is firmly bonded and the problems are cosmetic, a good clean, a coat of masonry paint or a rubbed coat over the top can give another decade of life for a fraction of the cost. Isolated cracks or a patch damaged by a leaking gutter can usually be cut out and patched, although a patch will never be a perfect colour match on a weathered wall.
The honest test is to tap the wall. A dull, hollow sound over large areas means the render has separated from the substrate and patching is throwing money away. In that case stripping back and starting again, while dearer up front, is the cheaper option over ten years. A reputable plasterer should be willing to tell you which situation you are in rather than pushing the biggest job.
A properly applied sand and cement roughcast should give 25 to 40 years on most homes, and lime based render on older stone properties can last longer if the building is kept dry. Exposed walls and poor gutters will shorten that considerably.
Usually not for a like for like finish on a standard house. Listed buildings and properties in conservation areas are different, and changing the colour or finish of a flat in a shared tenement may need agreement from the other owners, so check with your local council first.
Late spring to early autumn is ideal, as the render needs to cure without frost or persistent heavy rain. Work can be done in cooler months with protection, but a good tradesperson will not dash a wall in freezing conditions.
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