In short
For a house that will face Norfolk and Suffolk weather for decades, silicone render. It is through-coloured so it never needs painting, it repels rain while letting the wall breathe, and it flexes instead of cracking. Sand and cement is cheaper to put on but needs painting and is more prone to cracking, which is why we mostly use it for repairs and for matching existing work.
This is a job for our Rendering service.
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What the two systems are
Sand and cement is mixed on site and applied in two or three coats, then painted. It is what most houses built before the 1990s have on them. Silicone render is a factory-made thin finish coat, coloured all the way through, applied over a reinforced base coat. The silicone in the mix is what makes it shed water and stay flexible. We are K Rend approved applicators, so silicone is the system we fit most.
Side by side
| Silicone render | Sand and cement | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of the render itself | Around £72.50 per m² in Checkatrade's June 2026 guide | £30 to £50 per m² in the same guide |
| Painting | None; the colour is in the material | Needs painting, then repainting through its life |
| Cracking | K Rend say it should not crack if correctly applied; the base coat is meshed | Checkatrade describe it as more prone to cracking if applied incorrectly, and slower drying |
| Water | Repels rain at the surface, lets vapour out of the wall | Absorbs water and holds it; traps moisture on an old solid wall |
| Algae and staining | Dries fast after rain, so less growth; an annual gentle wash | Greens up on shaded elevations and needs repainting to hide it |
| Warranty | K Rend's BBA-certified systems carry a 30-year warranty when applied to specification, which we offer as an approved applicator | Depends on the applicator |
| Finishes | Fine textured, wide colour range | Smooth, textured, or a base for pebbledash |
Why the lifetime cost favours silicone
The gap in the per-metre price narrows fast once you add painting to sand and cement. Homebuilding's guide makes the point that cement render needs regular repainting to keep looking right, whereas through-coloured systems do away with painting altogether. Add scaffolding for each repaint and the cheaper render is not the cheaper wall. When cement does crack, water gets behind it and it blows off in sheets, which is the kind of re-render we are asked to price along the coast around Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.
When sand and cement is still the right answer
- Repairs to an existing sand and cement wall where you want the patch to match and are not ready to re-render the whole elevation.
- Garden walls and outbuildings where a painted finish is fine and budget is the priority.
- Where planning asks for a traditional finish. Planning Portal notes that in a conservation area you need permission to render at all, and the officer may specify the finish.
On an old solid wall we would not use either straight onto the masonry. A lime render is the breathable option there, and we will say so.
What we recommend for most houses
A K Rend silicone system over a meshed base coat, in a colour you choose from the sample board, with the 30-year warranty registered on completion. It goes on in a wider range of weather than cement (K Rend's limit is 5°C and rising), it is finished in one visit with no painter to follow, and the next thing you do to the wall is wash it.