Guide
Render repair cost: patching cracks and blown render
Updated
A crack or hollow patch does not always mean re-rendering the house. Here is what goes into a render repair quote, and when a repair stops making sense.
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How this calculator works
- Rates are typical 2026 UK supply-and-fit quotes: sand and cement £40–60 per m2, monocouche £45–70, silicone thin-coat £50–80. Market rates, not regulated prices: region, substrate condition and finish move them.
- House-type areas are typical net render areas (mid-terrace about 60 m2 because side walls are shared, bungalow 90, semi 110, detached 160). Measure yours for a tighter figure: wall length times height, minus large openings.
- Scaffold adds £600–£1,000, the typical 2026 cost for a two-storey house rendering job.
- Excluded: removing old or failed render (typically £20–40 per m2 on 2026 quotes), substrate repairs, and external wall insulation. Insulated render (EWI) is a different job entirely, typically £90–150 per m2 in 2026, see the render types guide.
- Re-rendering more than 50% of an individual wall's surface area counts as renovating a thermal element. Regulation 23 of the Building Regulations 2010 then requires the whole element to meet the Part L standard.
- That applies in so far as it is technically, functionally and economically feasible (guidance in Approved Document L). Budget for that conversation before stripping a solid wall.
- These are typical quote ranges, not a quotation. Renderers price on a look at the walls, always.
Why there is no rate per m2 for repairs
None of the 35 installer price pages in our UK render price index publishes a rate for patch repairs, and we do not make one up.
Repairs are priced as a job on inspection, because the patch size is a small part of the cost. Getting to it, cutting back to sound render and matching the finish are most of it.
What sets a render repair cost
- Access: a patch above ground-floor reach needs a tower or scaffold, and scaffold for a house typically runs £600 to £1,000 on 2026 quotes. On a small repair that can be most of the bill.
- Cause: a crack from a leaking gutter, a failed sill or movement in the wall will come back unless the cause is fixed first, and that work is priced separately.
- Cutting back: blown (hollow) render is cut back to where it is sound, so a patch is often bigger than the visible damage.
- Colour match: through-coloured monocouche and silicone weather over time, and a new patch rarely matches an old wall exactly. Many renderers recoat the whole elevation for an even finish.
When to re-render instead
When hollow or cracked render covers a large share of a wall, a series of patches costs nearly as much as starting again, and leaves a patchwork finish.
Re-rendering more than half of an individual wall also brings it under regulation 23 of the Building Regulations 2010 and the Part L standard. For a full re-render, removal typically adds £20 to £40 per m2 to the new render rate: see what re-rendering costs.
Getting quotes? Ask each renderer to say what caused the damage and how they will match the finish, then compare the repair against a re-render range from the calculator.