Whilst a common mistake to be made by some, exterior coatings are not actually paint, although from a decorative point of view, they do the same thing but today’s exterior wall coatings take you much further than a paint job on the outside of a house.

Whilst we think nothing of walking into B&Q to buy a tin of paint, selecting either gloss or emulsion, and taking it to the girl at the till, some projects require purchasing of literally MILLIONS of litres of paint or coating, and everything that goes with it too…………

So if coatings are far more advanced and involved than paint, what other types of coatings are available?

A few other types of coatings explained.

There are not just exterior wall coatings but many other types of coating on the market today, some for use by everyone, some by the trade or industry and some highly specialised coatings, and not just for walls either! Coatings used on a specific project could have been in development over a length of time to meet, for example, demanding condition such as extreme heat or cold.

Some projects around the world have coatings specially formulated to meet the demands of a particular job, for example the coating that was used to paint the Sunshine skyway road bridge over Tampa bay in Florida, USA, was specially formulated by Tex Cote of America (®), to meet the demands of the client.

(And i have actually driven across that amazing bridge, in a battered 1977, metallic brown 5 litre Buick in the 1980’s!). …………Eat yer heart out Starsky and Hutch!

So with that in mind, here are just a very small selection of the different types of coatings available……….

Floor coatings

I am sure many of you have heard of floor paint, in fact you may have seen it for sale in the shops, and of course you can buy floor paint online from Paintcompare.co.uk, but what about floor coatings? Floors of course have to withstand a lot of “traffic”, people coming and going…………..

Floor coatings are used in many places, both internally and externally in the built environment.

If you drive a car, you may have seen pavements painted green running alongside the pedestrian walkways; well this is a non slip durable floor coating that is applied to cycle lanes.

There are floor coatings used in car parks, often painted blue areas to highlight disabled parking bays, or painted red, to denote a shared space where traffic and pedestrians tentatively mix.

If these areas were painted with normal floor paint, they would not last more than a few weeks at most due to the heavy duty use that they often get with people coming and going every day and walking or driving over the painted areas.

If you have ever travelled on a car ferry, the floors of the ferry or “decks” are coated with a special anti rust and anti slip coating, designed to withstand the harsh conditions every day, and also to ensure safety is paramount.

If normal paint was used in these conditions instead of coatings, safety would be compromised, as would the longevity of the coating, meaning that the ferry would have to be in dock frequently having the floor repainted, which as you can imagine, would not be cost effective or desirable. So once again, coatings beat paint!

Glow in the dark coatings

There are several coatings, and paints, that have glow in the dark, or at least light reflective properties. Good examples of glow in the dark paint and glowing coatings would be white road markings and also coatings used in buildings as part of fire safety, for example if the lights go out, you can still find your way out of a burning building and to safety.

For this very reason, many of the glow in the dark paints are also relatively heat proof. So which is better paint or coatings in this instance? Well again, it depends on what it is used for. A product like this would be used for a specific purpose, so often a company will approach a paint manufacturer direct to make specific coating for a specific job, for example white lines on a road, in the middle of a freezing country, so the coating is designed to glow, but also not to simply crack with the cold and fail.

So what about other types of coatings?

As discussed above, there are many different types of coatings for many different uses and here are just some of them, explained in brief detail.

Wall coatings

As most people know, “exterior wallcoatings” are our “thing”, you know, our “bag”, it’s what we’re really good at, really really good, and as such have successfully served the UK customer with top quality wall coatings at rock bottom prices, WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON QUALITY, ever since we first started way back in 1986, in a time when our editor didn’t have a single strand of grey hair!

Times have changed since then, and especially in the world of exterior wall coatings.

Back in the late 1990’s we were planning things online and coming up with ideas to start seriously getting into the internet, and providing information and ideas for our many customers. Since then, we have literally changed the whole way exterior wall specialists advertise and connect with customers, simply by taking the internet seriously, and more importantly, OUR  APPROACH IN TAKING OUR CUSTOMERS SERIOUSLY, a long time ago.

We were literally laughed at by some of the more major companies in the exterior wall coatings industry (some of whom have now gone bust!- we haven’t!), anyway, exterior wall coatings used to be sold to people in a very out dated “script lead parrot fashion” and aggressive, almost “American!” way, really “in your face”, but we helped to change that and now people can sit back and relax and decide if a coating process or just a cheap paint job is right for them, instead of being pressured and hassled by a company to have work done, in some cases, when they didn’t even need the work to be done in the 1st place. The most successful wall coating companies have many happy customers because their customers and clients BUY from them, they like to do so, they are not SOLD products. If anyone has ever been subject to a gruelling hard sell sales pitch, timeshare being a prime example, they will know that it is NOT nice to be SOLD something! It is however, nice to buy something, something you need, and something that will make you happy, or give you peace of mind. After all, its your money!

Ceiling coatings

The best known ceiling coating, at least in the UK, has to be ARTEX.™ which was at the height of its popularity in the 1980’s, in the UK at least. Much artex is now being removed as people refurnish and redecorate their homes, in favour of smooth ceilings, but nevertheless Artex as a product itself can be used to great effect on many ceilings, especially ones in poor condition or ones that are uneven.

It is important to note however, especially if you are doing any decorating on a property that was artexed from the mid 1980’s or before, than artex was made with ASBESTOS. It would be an understatement to not tell you how dangerous asbestos can be, so if in doubt contact your local council or local asbestos specialist, of whom can be found in your local yellow pages.

Acoustic (sound proof) coatings.

Imagine you are in an empty room and you speak loudly or shout, it echoes around the room. Now introduce carpets, curtains and furniture, and the sound is deadened, but is it acoustically good? Well no, and recording studios would be a prime example of where acoustic coatings are used. They have a special surface which either absorbs or reflects sound, especially good for home cinema rooms also.  These special coatings are designed to be quite thick, often up to 50mm, in order to absorb the sound. Other uses for this are in airports, theatres and cinemas, sports halls and concert rooms. There may possibly be some paints that have sound proofing qualities but they would not perform as well as a sound proof coating.

Industrial coatings

Coatings are used far more than paints in industry and there are a diverse range of coatings on offer, most of which the average person would not have heard of them…………….

The most significant difference between domestic and industrial coatings is that in most cases, industrial coatings are for a specific reason or purpose, decorative usually being of less importance, or not important at all.

There are coatings to protect from oil and gas, such as special coatings for tanks, vats and pipes, there is also rust proof coatings, often the most commonly used coating in an industrial environment, good for marine or shipping uses, and also special coatings for metal and concrete.

In many cases, coatings used in industry are often formulas and mixtures of various different coatings, a sort of “mix and match” for a specific use. A good example would be painting an iron bridge, which has to be functional and rust proof, but also has to at least be a colour that isn’t bad to look at because a lime green or luminous orange bridge wouldnt go down to well in the high street!

Metal coatings

Metal is a versatile material but often corrodes if not treated with a special coating. There are other types of metal coatings for specific uses, such as intumescent coatings, which are applied to steel fabricated buildings, on items such as girders etc, and provide a good level of fire resistance, because if a building made from metal catches fire, the metal will twist and flex, causing the building to collapse.

These fire proof coatings are sprayed directly onto the metal whilst the structure is being built. These coatings are often used when building large structures such as skyscrapers, blocks of flats, retail stores, garages and car showroom, and so on.There are several laws that require this to be done to new and existing buildings, such as BS 8202-2 and BS EN ISO 8501-1. These are commonly referred to as the “building regulations”, or a term used by surveyors, construction professionals and architects is simply “Regs”.

Interior wall coatings

These typically include Hygienic coatings for schools and hospitals, which usually have a decorative element, in fact colour therapy is also often used to aid patient recovery in hospitals, so the type of coatings used in this environment, also have decorative elements to them.

The main feature of coatings such as this would be factors like the following:

• Easy to clean and hygienic.
• Pleasing to the eye.
• Low maintenance
• Cost efficient
• Hard wearing and durable.

Roof coatings

A roof is by far the most important thing on any house or building, in fact more important than the walls. Our main contractors are agents for Andura roof gard roofing systems, so why not read a little more………

The facts about protective roof coatings

• All products used confirm to all building regs and carry the BSi and BBA certificates.
* All NPA products and services come with a written, insurance backed guarantee. Contact us for more details.
• A great and long lasting alternative to having a roofing contractor replace the whole roof, and far less hassle too!
• A range of natural colours are available.
* Eliminates the need to get quotes from several roofing firms.
• Elastomeric flexible roof coatings don’t crack or fade!
• A roof tile coating solves the problem and expense of having a new roof.
• Full backup and dealer support available, 12 months of the year.
• Full roof repair carried out before application.
• All plants, surrounding trees etc protected with no mess, no fuss.
• Gutters checked, cleaned or replaced if necessary, free of charge in some cases.
• Full written fixed price quotation with no hidden surprises.
• ”Friendly, courteous and discrete service by trained coating and roofing operatives.
• Roof tile coatings, along with our repair service means that your roof is less likely to leak, and is more likely to last longer.
• After a roof coating application, heat loss through the roof can be reduced considerably, meaning your heating bills will be lower in future, saving you even more money!

What is the process involved in applying roof tile coatings to my house?

• Contact NPA for a free quote.
• Roofing team arrive at your house at pre-arranged day and time.
• Unloading of tools and equipment
• Erection of safety and access equipment.
• Full process explained to the customer, in “layman’s terms” (!)
• Remove any plants and/or outdoor furniture to a safe place.
• All outdoor paths, bushes, plants etc, protected and covered from works.
• Garden fish ponds covered temporarily during the day to protect fish. (NOTE: Please advise team if you have a fish pond as we have a separate care policy when live fish or aquatic pets are in the garden)
• Scrape off and remove any plants, moss or debris on the roof and safely dispose of waste.
• Apply a special biocide anti fungal cleaning wash to the roof and brush away any dirt and debris.
• Cover up openings to downpipes to ensure waste moss is not flushed into gutters.
• Cleaning of roof by hand, with power washer and brushes until roof tile surface is clean, dust free and free of all green growth.
• Check and repair or replace any loose tiles or ridge tiles.
• Check and repair or replace any loose or missing areas of flashing.
• Check gutters and pipes are in good order and repair or replace where necessary.
• Apply two good coatings of Andura roofgard to the exterior roof tile surface,
• Clean up and remove any tools, equipment and leave site on good order.
• Documentation and warranty to follow in post after job is complete and payment is received in full.

If you want to find out more info about roof coatings then follow this link……….

This is an original article by Guy Alexander Bell, which you may NOT copy, or sneakily re-word, for your own means. This article is original and may only be printed off for comparison, education, training and evaluation. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed reading it.

What do you think of this? Why not create an account and comment on this article?

Why should I have a wall coating on my house and not traditional masonry paint?

The “great” (!) British weather can be very demanding on the exteriors of buildings with long damp months of mist, fog and rain, frosty cold winters and damp spring times, and the summer is not that much better too! So what does this do to our houses and why should we not just choose to have the exterior walls of our house painted every year instead of investing a little bit more money in a long life weatherproof exterior wall coating?

Within both the trade and the DIY markets, there are various ways of decorating the outside of your home, such as pebbledash, coloured render, tyrolean and of course traditional masonry paint, however these offer only DECORATION to the outside walls and that is it, nothing else, so how do we PROTECT the exterior walls from the effects of the British weather.

Why does a house need protection?

READ THE FULL STORY BY FOLLOWING THE LINK BELOW!

Read the full painting article by clicking here…..

Elena Salgado  described the paper released on Monday as a ‘working document’

The Ministry for Tax and the Economy, led by Elena Salgado, has released details of what they want to do to stimulate the creation of jobs. They are offering 10% tax breaks on home improvements in an attempt to get work back to builders and direct loans of up to 200,000 € to Pyme small businesses and the self-employed via the ICO, Official Credit Institute.
There are also proposals to enforce the payment of invoices in a maximum of 30 days for all public administration bodies, and in 60 days for companies on facturas issued from now, in an effort to improve cash flow.

The Government is insisting that IVA/VAT has to go up in July despite the demands from the PP for a debate in Congress on the matter, even though Salgado has admitted that the measure could result in ‘lower growth’.

The Government is describing their published ideas as a ‘working document’ which has to be negotiated with the other parties.
However the Partido Popular has already described the ideas as a ‘re-fry’.

Hello “Never Paint Again”, I recently had my holiday house here in Valencia, Spain, coated with one of your products and i am VERY pleased with both the result, and the politeness and helpfulness of the work team who did the painting job. IT LOOKS FABULOUS!!!! AND THE DAMP SMELL HAS GONE TOO.

(In fact please can your saleswoman call us back as my neighbour, who is Dutch, wants a quote for her place too.)

The problem (that is somewhat embarrassing) is that once they left, and yes they DID tell me as the coating is so thick it takes a day to be touch dry and a couple of weeks to fully cure, and me being as daft as a brush, leant on it as I was going out the door! It hasn’t really affected the coating you put on the walls  but I got some on my t-shirt. I went into the kitchen to try and wash it off but it wouldn’t come off and I remembered that your NPA wallcoating is waterproof! (You can see my dilemma yes?!)

So, in essence, how do I clean textured wall coating off my clothes please!

Kindest wishes from Mrs. “A”, Valencia, Spain.

Hello and thanks for emailing us back! I spoke with the team and they did explain (at some length) the drying time of wall coatings but not to worry, these things happen! Despite my 25 years in the trade, i have also done it by accident too! . Basically resin based wall coatings are designed to repel the weather and keep your house dry, as you know, so water will NOT wash it off! The best thing to do is to soak the affected area in a little bit of white spirit, or soak a rag with white spirit or turps and dab it off.

I have posted a link to our retail paint website here, so click the following words and a solution will appear before your very eyes!!!!

White spirit, thinners, turps and textured coating thinner solution

Remember to wash your hands afterwards with washing up liquid or something like swarfega or a similar heavy duty cleaner.

A good tip is to cover your hands in Vaseline before you do it, and then simply wipe the vaseline off afterwards, and then wash your hands.

Good luck and let me know how you get on!

<<<<Él no tiene ni idea!>>>>

Hi NPA, I hope you can help us, as we are unsure about what to do next………

…………….but we had our house wallcoated by a company in Stoke on Trent a few years back, but it is peeling underneath the kitchen window out the back. Its only in one place, but the affected paint area must be probably about 6 metres wide.

The coating looks fine on the rest of the house and to be fair to the very hard working  fellas who did the job, they were sub contractors, (and the foreman looked like Mr Bean if thats any help!?)  although i must admit they did a good wallcoating job and were very through. My only worry is that, as i said, the company who did it has gone bust, in fact they were exposed in the daily mirror as con men a few years back, do you know who I mean?

EDITOR: YES I DO KNOW WHO YOU MEAN (!), NOT CONNECTED IN ANY WAY WITH US OF COURSE, BUT I CAN’T ALLOW THEIR NAME TO BE MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS READING THIS!!! …ANYWAY…………oh and no, Mr Bean, (nor the clueless Spanish prime minister) have ever worked for us………..!!!!!!!!!!

The coating has retained its colour (Andura waterlilly) and it also stopped all the damp we were having, but none the less the wife is mithering my head in to get the back of the house redone. Now, as the company went bust, who do I approach? I guess our guarantee is worthless yes?

I hope you can help us……………….

Mr. “E”, Longton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

RESPONSE BELOW FROM GUY ALEXANDER BELL, Bsc.(hons), SURVEYOR.

Hi thanks for your email.

Despite what some  “Telegraph” Journalists (Who pretend to be builders) would have you believe with their sensationalist headlines , this is NOT a very common problem to happen, especially with the high grade weatherproof wall coating that was applied to your home in the first place and I am sorry to hear that the company went bust, i dont know the details so I cannot comment on that.

Whenever you get work done to your home, a good guarantee is always a good thing to have for this very reason, however I must ask you if you were offered a special wall coating insurance backed guarantee, and if so, you need to contact them first.

If not, well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to pay someone to come around for a day with new materials and the correct equipment, to fix and respray the rear wall area you mention with the equivalent Andura textured coating product, as per the factory specifications which are available from the Andura website. It is difficult to comment on individual cases without seeing them first, but as a general rule of thumb, it could be for the following reasons………..

1. The coating was not applied correctly to the house, or the men skimped on the preparation for the job, however, if you say that the rest of the house is fine, then perhaps another option should be looked at……………
2. If the bubbling area of wallcoating is under your window then this could suggest one of two things: Your windows are defective and have allowed moisture to seep in behind the coating, OR, your DPC damp proof course, has failed and has allowed moisture up into the wall, pushing the coating film off the wall.

Now, most exterior wall coating paint coverings are BREATHABLE, that is, they act like the human skin and allow the wall to “breathe”, ie, allow the typical levels of moisture present in the air in homes, to escape, but without allowing the moisture back into the house. In extreme cases though, too much water is trying to escape due to a defect in the structure of the house and therefore the coating has impeded the egress of water from the wall and has caused bubbles to appear. This can often be verified by pricking the bubbled paint area and water should seep out of it.

If this is the case, you need to get someone to take a look, and also check your windows, and the seals around the windows. make sure also that nothing is or has been leant against the coating area, trapping moisture such as rain etc. If this is NOT the case then its probably the DPC has failed.

THE STEPS “NEVER PAINT AGAIN” WOULD TAKE TO FIX THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR WALL COATING WOULD BE…………..

• To fully inspect and survey the problem area with your house, or at least the problem with the wall coating paint covering on your house.
• To agree a suitable course of action with the customer and a price to do the work.
• To remedy the fault in the building causing the coating to fail, in this case, you would need to give us more info but it sounds like the issues we suggested above…………
• We would then start from scratch and prepare the wall, cover the ground with dustsheets and mask up the windows, and then apply a coat of weatherproof Andura XL70 slush coat primer……….
• Spray a thick coating of Andura Texgard classic exterior textured masonry coating.

……although please consider one valid point: If you did not purchase warranty insurance with your guarantee, then whether its us or another wall coating company arrives to fix the job, there would be a minimum charge to fix it, and if the team are coming from some distance, a premium would also be added, so if you could provide us with a bit more info and some photos we would be happy to look into it for you.

We can be contacted FREE by calling our UK team on 0800 970 4928

We found this on the internet, apparently by some company called Pego Builders and we thought it was so nice we would share it with our viewers and also give them a free plug (!), (although no idea who they are!), but this free plug is for you chaps! (Hombres?)

“G’day!”

Here’s a fab video we found in the Public domain, on youtube, which we wanted to share with you. It has been published online by Cement Australia and is well worth a watch, you could certainly learn a thing or two about rendering walls from our Ozzy mate here. Sit back and enjoy!

The above is of course copyright Cement Australia and NOT us! Thank you.

This video can be viewed in full screen and in high or low quality.

A site user writes about the problem he is having with waterproofing internally. Whilst our contractors do not get involved in this particular type of damp proofing work, nevertheless, we suggested that he visit our new retail paint store at www.paintcompare.co.uk to find a waterproofing solution.

“I wonder if you could suggest the way of waterproofing existing brickwork above the bath in order to fit shower there. It is desired to keep existing rough brickwork effect. kind regards (deleted), London”

So what do you think? Could you offer a better solution to ours (which was simply trying to flog him some interior waterproofing paint?!). Why not register on this site and post your comment? (moderated)