How Much Does Rendering Cost?

Last Updated Nov 5, 2015 · Written by Rob Schneider

Rendering|Renovation Costs

Are you looking for a cost-effective way to give your home's exterior a new lease on life? Thousands of Australians are modernising their homes with render.

What is Render?

Traditionally, render has been a concrete mixture spread over the surface of a wall to "render" it smooth or textured. Today, acrylic renders are also available. Rendering is a technique that has been used for hundreds of years in Europe, but has more recently become popular in Australia. Read What is Rendering? for more details about how it is done.

How Much Does Rendering Cost?

Renderers charge by square metres. Depending on your location and the rendering service you choose , their rates, including materials, can vary from around $30m2 to $50m2 for a single storey home and will be slightly higher for a two storey home. Some estimates are as low as $15m2, but that is based on a single renderer working at a discount rate.

The average residential home has about 400 square metres of exterior wall area. At $30m2, a home of that size would cost about $12,000 to fully render. On the high end of the scale, rendering would cost $20,000 at $50m2. The cost is significant, but the results can be stunning.

Top professional renovators put rendering high on their lists of ways to add value to a brick home. Most agree that rendering brick can add up to 10 times the cost of rendering to the sale value of a home.

Choosing a Rendering Service

As rendering becomes more popular, the number of rendering services is increasing and prices are coming down. However, the quality of render is going to make the difference between spending your money wisely and wasting it. When comparing rendering quotes, cost is only one consideration. Other things to consider include:

• How experienced a service is
• The styles and finishes offered
• The reputation of the rendering service

Experienced rendering services will have a large portfolio of previous work to share with you. They will be able to make recommendations about styles, colours and finishes that will flatter your home and explain the rendering process in detail. A cheap quote may be for a skim coat only, while a complete quote will include surface preparation, the number of coats of render needed for a professional finish, detail work and clean-up.

Any rendering service you choose should be licensed and insured. In some states, a trade licence or registration is not needed for jobs under $10,000, but their licence is evidence that they are experienced enough to do larger jobs and take a professional approach to their work. Trade licensing regulations vary from state to state. Use licensedtrades.com.au to find out what type of rendering licence is needed in your state.

*Cost and prices in this article are indicative and should only be used as a guide. They also vary locally and are subject to market forces.