Professional external rendering for homes across Writtle, Roxwell, Highwood and the surrounding CM postcodes — delivered by a contractor with 30 years of experience.
Writtle is arranged around its green and duck pond, with Writtle University College on the edge of the village and CM1 lanes running west into farmland towards Roxwell and Highwood. For rendering that makes the wall’s construction the deciding factor rather than its size: much of the property around the green is old and solid-walled, while the farm property out in the lanes takes weather straight off open ground.
Houses fronting onto the green, or onto the roads that ring it, leave very little between the wall and the pavement, and that is the first thing worth settling. Scaffold has to stand somewhere. Materials have to be dropped somewhere. On a tight village frontage both of those get agreed before the job is booked instead of on the morning it starts, which is also why a Writtle property is better walked round than quoted from a photograph — access does not show up in a picture of the front elevation.
Round the 20th-century roads built out from the old centre the proposition changes: generally cavity-built, uniform elevations, and a lot of pebble dash from the period. Dash that is still firmly attached is not a problem to be removed, it is a surface to be worked with. Mesh is pinned mechanically back into the masonry and the render built up over the existing face, so only the hollow or lifting areas need taking off — and you are told which those are before anything begins.
Painted render tends to have a short honeymoon. Two or three seasons on, the sunniest wall has flattened off while the shaded gable has gone green, and the whole house wants doing again. A self-coloured silicone sidesteps that: the pigment is in the material rather than sitting on it as a film, and the surface repels rain and dirt instead of absorbing them. That is why it is put forward as the default finish here and not as an upgrade.
Cottages and period houses near the green were generally built solid, with no cavity and no modern barrier, and they shed moisture by letting it pass out through the wall. Put a sealed modern coating over that and the water takes another route, usually into the room behind or under the render, lifting it away in sheets. So on older property here the system is chosen for vapour permeability first and appearance second. That is not a preference, it is what keeps the wall dry, and it makes a full house render from start to finish a specification job before it is a trowel job.
West of the village the property thins out into farmhouses, converted outbuildings and houses standing alone in open fields. Nothing breaks the wind out there, so the elevation facing the fields takes rain head-on and stays wet longer. A render that can move slightly without opening a crack, and that sheds water rather than drinking it, is worth more on those walls than any amount of texture.
Writtle is in CM1 immediately west of Chelmsford, and the same ground either side of it is all covered — Roxwell, Highwood, Margaretting and up towards Broomfield. Over on the far edge of the city, rendering in Great Baddow is the page for houses on that side.
Silk Render Ltd has been rendering for thirty years and is fully insured. The quote is itemised and fixed, so the number on the page at the start is the number at the end, and the scaffolding is arranged by us rather than chased by you. The systems installed are manufacturer approved, from SPS, Enviraul, Balmet and Atlas. Full house rendering is the bulk of the work here, with silicone render as the finish, rendering over pebble dash where the dash is staying put, and external wall insulation where a wall needs warming as well as covering. Calls go to 07534 738068.
We regularly carry out rendering work throughout Writtle, Roxwell and Highwood. The village green conservation area contains numerous listed period cottages, which often need sympathetic, breathable lime-based finishes rather than standard modern render — something we’re happy to advise on. Whether your home currently has bare brick, tired pebble dash or ageing render, we assess it honestly, recommend the right system, and deliver a finish that transforms the property and stands up to the local weather. We also regularly work in the following areas close to Writtle:
Most of the time the wall will take render, but only a breathable one. A cottage built without a cavity has to keep drying outwards, so the system has to let vapour through. If the building is listed or otherwise protected, check the position with the local planning authority first — that is not an answer we can give you.
It still goes up, it just needs planning. On a tight village frontage that can mean a different scaffold layout, a different order of elevations, or an agreed spot for the material drop. Arranging the scaffold is part of the job, so it is our problem to solve rather than yours.
Yes — the lanes west of Writtle are part of the same area. Exposed elevations out there are the ones that most reward a self-coloured breathable finish, because there is nothing sheltering them and little appetite for repainting a large farmhouse gable every few years.
That elevation will always weather hardest. With a self-coloured silicone the colour runs through the render instead of sitting on it as a paint film, so there is no film to fade unevenly or flake off. It will want washing down occasionally, but not recoating.
If you’re planning a rendering project in Essex and want a contractor you can trust to do it properly — get in touch today. We’ll be happy to discuss your requirements, visit your property, and provide a clear, honest, no-obligation quote.
