Pebbledash

Pebbledash is a form of render used for the external walls of a building in which the top coat is textured by pebbles and stone fragments to create a rough finish. The wall surface is plastered with render and the pebbledash material thrown and pressed in while still wet.

This is similar to roughcast rendering in which larger stones are applied mixed into the mortar before being applied to walls. This produces a softer finished texture which is often painted. This technique is commonly used for coastal buildings to provide weather protection, and can also be found on medieval buildings and stately homes.

Pebbledash became a popular rendering technique between the 1890’s and the 1930s as part of the Arts and crafts movement which sought to revive traditional building processes as forms of vernacular architecture. It was cost-effective but also very durable. These characteristics lead to pebbledash being used widely in the post-war years of housing development, often as means of covering up poor workmanship.

Pebbledash has since come to be a divisive material, often being criticised for being ugly and impervious, as well as for failing to take account of the individual historic fabric of buildings. It is even thought to have a negative impact on the value of a property.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki:

• Arts and craft movement.
• Ashlar.
• Brick.
• Brick veneer.
• Blockwork.
• Cement.
• Ceramics.
• Cladding for buildings.
• Kinetic facade.
• Mortar.
• Natural stone cladding.
• Nineteenth century architecture.
• Parge coat.
• Quoin.
• Rendering.
• Rubble masonry.
• Rustication.
• Screed.
• Stucco.
• Vernacular architecture.

[edit] External resources

• Building Conservation - Pebbledash