Is Acrylic render better than Cement render?

Acrylic render or cement render? There are several advantages and disadvantages of each. Here I will be going through the all of these to answer that important question!

Cement render

Cement render consists of loose materials mixed on-site (cement, sand, lime, etc). this is recommended to be applied to already prepared surfaces such as brick, stone or cement. A rendered finish can be fine, textured or smooth, natural or painted etc.

An advantage of cement render is that its a cheaper option than other renders and can be a great choice for a lower budget project. However some of the disadvantages include; it tends to crack over time and a limited range of substrates, for example only brick and block. Cement render also has to be mixed on-site, meaning possible contamination.

Acrylic render

Acrylic render can be purchased in pre-blended bags/buckets. It can be applied to prepared coarse surfaces such as block, mud brick/brick or stone substrates as well as other substrates such as; concrete, plasterboard and masonry, PVC substrates and exterior cladding. With acrylic render, having a Basecoat is essential.again with acrylic render the finish can be coloured, textured, smooth or natural, depending on what look you’re going for.

some of the advantages of acrylic render include; It only takes up to 2 days to dry-compared to other traditional renders that can take up to 28 days. Another great thing about silicone render is its flexibility with changing temperatures, making it far less likely to crack.However acrylic render also has its disadvantages also as it does require extra care during application, making the job slightly more time consuming/difficult if the worker is not trained properly.

Choosing the perfect render for you

A great rendered finish can come from both acrylic and cement rendering even though the application process and material properties vary significantly. Die to it being the cheaper one of the two, cement render is most common in many rendering projects. Although acrylic render use is rapidly increasing, this is likely due to its long lifespan and its other many advantages.

Bearing this in mind, there are many different options for rendering your home without having to decide between cement and acrylic. At the EWI Store we have a range of different renders ranging from silicone to silicone silicate ,cement , acrylic or even scratch render.

If you unsure of what look you going for you can use our render colouring tool also on the website and test out our range of different colours on your own home! (Here is a video explaining how to use this tool)