Jason Nicholson of K Rend explores the way that modern render systems are helping developers reduce build times and project costs whilst ensuring consistently high standards.
With more land released through planning reforms, particularly on brownfield and lower quality green belt sites, the focus turns to delivery. Echoing Housing Secretary Steve Reed’s recent ‘call to arms’ to developers and housebuilders to ‘build baby build,’ the pressure is on to accelerate housing output. For the sector, speed becomes vital but homes must still be attractive and durable to stand out in the market. The question is how to build faster yet maintain the quality that buyers expect.
Challenges of traditional methods
For decades, traditional brick and block construction has set the benchmark, but this has become increasingly difficult to sustain. An ageing, shrinking workforce of skilled bricklayers, combined with a shortage of new entrants, has led to escalating costs and project delays – an issue highlighted by CITB’s annual surveys on construction workforces. It also has a much slower build process than modern methods of construction, which continue to face scalability issues.
Developers operating on thin margins and fixed deadlines accelerate these challenges and have driven the shift toward alternative construction options. Modern render systems have emerged as an adaptable solution designed to address these critical issues.
Modern methods
Advances in render technology are redefining what’s possible on large scale housing schemes. Today’s render products are designed to be more user friendly and less reliant on highly skilled labour than ever before – and some manufacturers continue to invest in product development and training for the future of the industry. Machine applied, fast-drying renders are particularly suited to large-scale developments, allowing for same-day application and scraping, dramatically reducing on-site time. On a typical house project, render can be completed two hours faster in summer, enabling applicator teams to finish earlier.
CASE STUDY: West Craigs Village
In Scotland, the West Craigs Village scheme near Edinburgh is one of the largest new build housing developments in Scotland, and an excellent example of how render technology can transform the build process. For housebuilder Barratt Homes, quality, aesthetics and efficiency were paramount in terms of delivering homes at scale and this is why it turned to modern render solutions to meet its objectives.
K Rend recommended applicator Gavin Cairns Roughcasting has experienced the transformative impact of render solutions at West Craigs Village. “We use a range of K Rend products, including K Mono, which has been a game changer for large volume sites,” said Gavin Cairns. “The ‘same day scrape’ capability allows us to finish within site hours, keeping projects on track. The technical support and ongoing updates from K Rend’s R&D team have also been invaluable.”
Supporting developers
Render manufacturers are now going beyond product development to provide complete support to housebuilders throughout the construction process. From early design input to on-site advice and installer training, the manufacturer’s expertise ensures optimal application and performance. This collaborative approach is a significant advantage for developers tackling the complexities of modern housing projects.
As the housebuilding sector steps into gear to meet government housing targets, innovation and flexibility will be essential. Render systems are uniquely positioned to help deliver projects as quickly as possible. These products address the immediate challenges of labour shortages and rising costs, setting new benchmarks for quality, sustainability and efficiency. For developers, they represent not only a faster route to completion, but also a smarter way of building.