Roughcasting
Roughcasting and Harling Repairs in Alloa and Clackmannanshire
Get Your Free Quote
Tell us what you need. We call back the same day.
Fully insured. Written guarantee. No obligation.
Most Forth Valley homes wear a roughcast coat, and when it cracks, hollows or falls away the wall behind starts taking in water. We repair and patch roughcast and traditional harling, match the dash to what is there, and tell you honestly when a repair will do and when a bigger job is worth discussing.
- 30+ Years Experience
- Free No-Obligation Quotes
- 100% Fully Insured
- 24/7 Emergency Callouts
Cracked, Blown or Missing Roughcast
Roughcast fails slowly, then suddenly. Hairline cracks let a little water behind the coat; frost gets into that water and pushes; and one winter a section sounds hollow when tapped, or a slab of it is lying in the garden. Chimney stacks, gable tops and the strip below the gutters usually go first, because they take the most weather.
The damage is rarely just cosmetic. Once the coat is blown or cracked, rain tracks down the wall behind it, and that is when homeowners in Alloa and Tillicoultry start seeing damp patches on inside walls and paint that will not stay on. Fixing the roughcast is much cheaper than fixing the damp problems it causes.
Around here the traditional finish is wet dash, or harling, with plenty of older homes carrying a dry dash chip finish. We work with both. If a wall keeps soaking through because of a failed gutter above it, we can sort that at the same time; it is usually the gutter that started the rot.
Repairs That Match What Is There
A roughcast patch that stands out like a plaster is a job half done. We cut back to sound material, build the repair up in proper coats and match the dash size, texture and finish to the existing wall as closely as the materials allow. On a wall due for painting anyway, a patch can be blended in until it effectively disappears.
We handle the repairs that suit a property care firm: patches and cracked sections, chimney stacks, gable aprons, window surrounds and the areas opened up by other work such as replacement windows or rot repairs. If a whole elevation is failing or you are after a modern coloured render system, we will say so plainly and point you toward the right kind of specialist rather than stretch beyond what we do well.
Every job gets a written quote, and where scaffold or towers are needed we include the access in the price. No surprises.
- Cracks cut out and filled properly
- Blown sections removed and rebuilt in coats
- Wet dash and dry dash matched
- Chimney stacks and gable tops
- Repairs blended ready for painting
- Access included in the written quote
Fully insured. Written guarantee. No obligation.
Roughcast and Your Roofline Fail Together
A surprising amount of roughcast damage starts at the top of the wall. An overflowing gutter or a leaking downpipe pours water over the same strip of wall every time it rains, and that constant soaking is what blows the coat. If we see that pattern we will tell you, because patching the wall without fixing the gutter above it means doing the same repair again in a few years.
It is why roughcasting sits naturally alongside our roofing work. On one visit we can repair the coat, sort the gutters and roofline feeding the problem, and leave the wall ready for painting if you want the whole elevation freshened up.
Roughcasting Questions
Can you patch roughcast or does the whole wall need done?
Most of the time a patch is the right job. If the surrounding coat is sound and well keyed to the wall, a properly cut out and matched patch will last for years. If large areas sound hollow when tapped, patching becomes a false economy and we will tell you so before you spend anything.
Will a roughcast repair match the rest of the wall?
We match the dash size, texture and finish as closely as the materials allow, and on weathered walls a new patch always starts slightly cleaner than the old coat around it. Time softens the difference, and painting the elevation afterwards makes the repair disappear completely.
How much do roughcasting repairs cost?
It depends on the area to repair, the height and access, the finish being matched and whether the cause of the damage needs fixing too. A small patch at ground level is a very different job from a chimney stack. We look, then quote in writing, free and without obligation.
How long does a roughcast repair last?
A proper repair on a sound wall should last as long as the original coat, often decades. What shortens the life of roughcast is water: leaking gutters, failed flashings and cracks left open. Deal with those and the coat lasts. Every repair we do comes with our written guarantee.
Can you paint the wall after the repair?
Yes. Painting after patching is the neatest way to finish the job, because a painted elevation hides the joint between old and new completely. We carry out exterior painting ourselves, so the repair and the repaint can be quoted and done together. See our exterior painting page for more.
Other Services
Roughcast Past Its Best?
Send a photo of the wall or ask for a free assessment. We will tell you what has failed, why, and what a lasting repair looks like, in a written quote with no obligation.
Request a Callback
Leave your details and we will call you back the same day.