Maintaining EWI & Render can be a bit of a daunting task for people who make the investment, although a lot of the time can be keen to do so, owners of EWI and modern day renders don't know what they need or should do to keep everything top notch! All of our EWI projects come with an insurance backed guarantee for 25 years, our render only projects come with a 10 year warrantee.
Even though both come with the relevant backing, you should still give the exterior of your home some love and affection, this doesn't just apply to render and EWI either. Things like your rainwater goods, silicone work and fixings all come into play as well. The main areas we will be talking about however will be revolving around the render system that has been used.
A lot of people tend to get confused when a through coloured silicone render is used, as people think its maintenance free. This isn't true for the most part, you don't have to paint it as often as you would a normal sand and cement render system as the colour is incorporated in the render itself. The render will also need washing, we recommend once a year with a strong hose or mild soapy water with a brush.
Dependant on where you live and by what surrounds you (greenery & fields) the render system can get more dirty than a house that is in a small cul-de-sac for example. There are soft wash systems out there that clean and protect the render for up to a year if you live in an area with a substantial amount of greenery. There is also a fungicidal wash which is quite easy to do yourself as a DIY job.
On top of this even though the colour is incorporated in the render it still needs painting from time to time. Again this depends on the area you live, we recommend to paint once every 10 years. To paint over the silicone render system we advise to use a Silicone Paint, this means that you get a nice clean finish as well as keeping all of the beneficial properties that you gain from the silicone render finish. You should always clean the render before painting straight on top of it, even though the finish is textured, its as easy as painting a normal wall inside, a roller or brush will do the job!
The last thing to think about is ladders, seems silly right? Pretty much everyone who has had EWI or render installed will have to have ladders put on the exterior walls at some point. Whether its for general repairs, painting or window cleaning you will need to be cautious with all workmen at your home. Make sure the top of the ladder is used with a suitable spreading board, as well as not to 'scrape' the ladder on the wall when extending or lowering the ladder. It will leave some nasty marks that will make sure you do not do it again.
These are the most important aspects for maintenance, in our opinion. Next time we will be going over Loft Insulation & everything surrounding. See you then!