The Monocouche Render is a single-coat breathable, waterproof and decorative colour render. It is a cementitious and lime render with a designed mix formulation and containing special additives principally for workability, water retention, adhesion and water proofing.

It is supplied as a ready-mixed dry material, to which a controlled amount of water is added during its application using a rendering and plastering machine See Demo. It is applied as a single coat render without the need for a scratch coat for most applications and is available in a range of colours. Overall thickness varies from a minimum of 15mm to a maximum finished thickness of 20mm. Monocouche renders are available in a range of surface finishes, textures, and colours, details of which are available on request.

The Monocouche Colour Through Render is designed principally for weather proofing external vertical concrete block or brick masonry walls, but can also be used as an internal decorative render.   Surface preparation requirements for  Monocouche  coloured renders are the same as for ordinary sand and cement renders. Codes of practise for External renderings like BS 5262, DTU 26.1 and DTU 20.1 have to be followed.   It is important to consider a minimum of  60 days after blockwork or concrete  has been constructed,   before the application of  the Monocouche .   Only clean water should be used for mixing with the renders.   Scaffolding must be independently tied to allow uninterrupted application.

Protection must be provided when applying  Monocouche  renders in rain or other inclement weather. Application should be reconsidered in temperatures below  5°C and above 35°C.  Cement / Lime products should not be applied to substrates which are frost laden or which have recently been subject to prolonged rain.   Local weather and site conditions must be taken into account by the applicator before any cement/ Lime  product is applied.  The skill of the application is the key the success of the application.

The quantity of material required for a given area should be of the same batch number or be thoroughly mixed together in order to obtain a uniform colour.  When applying in hot weather,  clients such as Mediterranean and the Middle east it is advisable to  spray  the surface  area with water prior to application in order to prevent  the Monocouche from  drying  too quickly.  This curing process needs to be continued for up to five days after the application. For more information regarding application in warm climates, please email our technical team.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

STORAGE
Cement/ lime based products must be stored off the ground, under cover and in dry conditions.

SUBSTRATES
Light weight blocks (SIPOREX type) should be covered with   polymer modified base coat cement  prior to any render application  (see technical data).   For difficult substrates, the incorporation of a  fibreglass reinforcement mesh  is necessary. In all cases, the mesh must be applied around the openings at each edges to avoid  cracks and at the junction of different substrates (precast concrete and blockwork for example). See manufacturer instructions for these specific cases.

If there is a case of visible cracks on existing backgrounds, it is also recommended to apply reinforcement mesh above the cracks. The reinforcement mesh application must follow the manufacturer instructions.

PREPARATION
All surfaces must be clean, suitably dry, sound and free from anything that may interfere with the adhesion of the material to be applied.

ARISES AND FEATURE STOPS
Note that scraped finish renders may, during the scraping process, spall away from the nose of some angle beads. We have found the use of PVC finished beads is the most successful.

MASKING
Masking should be used to give protection to adjacent work and to give clean straight edges. It should be removed immediately after finishing.   

CEMENT / LIME  PRODUCTS
Remove splashes of material from glass or aluminium immediately as they may etch the surface and leave a permanent mark.

( Monocouche  SCRAPED FINISH)
The  Monocouche coloured render is designed to be applied using a spray machine (PUTZMEISTER, LANCY, PFT,…)  (Link to video)  for time saving, mixing quality (see manufacturer instructions for mixing time) and efficiency. Nevertheless,  it is also suitable for hand application.

The minimum finished thickness is 15mm ( 25 kg of per  1 m2). (Depending on background quality).When sufficiently hard, normally between 3-16 hours, this may vary depending on substrate and drying conditions, scrape the surface in small circular motions using a scraping tool. Remove no more than 3mm from the surface, this must remove any laitance and bring the application to the specified finished thickness.   After scraping, any dust on the surface must be removed by brushing with a clean soft bristle brush.

Errors must be corrected at this stage as rectification at a later date is not practical  and can be very difficult  

CURING
Care must be taken to protect cement/lime  products from rapid drying conditions i.e direct exposure to sunlight or drying winds. In these conditions it should be kept evenly damp for about 3 –  5  days by lightly spraying periodically with clean water.

This is to ensure complete hydratation of the cement and the lime.

LIME BLOOM
As the cement sets, lime salts are produced and can migrate to the surface. This is a normal situation when using such kind of product (cement/lime render). This may appear mainly in humid conditions and more often during the winter period. The lime bloom does not affect the technical properties of the coloured renders and can be removed using a light acid cleaning solution (5 to 10%) to be used 30 days after the lime bloom appearance. For further information,  please refer to manufacturer instructions on our website.

PROVISION FOR MOVEMENT
The amount of movement to be expected is related to the moisture content of the materials, the ability of the masonry to carbonate after construction, and the ambient temperature during construction. Unless slip planes are provided, longitudinal movement in load bearing masonry is likely to be less than that in non-load bearing masonry because of the restraint provided by the structure.Whilst it is possible to calculate the likely level of movement and then to design for it, the number of variables involved make calculation complex; it is more usual to:

divide masonry into a series of discrete panels, separated by joints which allow movement of the panels,

and/or

to restrict movement by using bed joint reinforcement. Internal walls in single occupancy dwellings do not normally require movement joints; any small movement cracks are made good after the building has dried out.

However, if the length of internal walls exceeds three times their height then provision for movement may need to be considered;

FIBRE MESH REINFORCEMENT
To reduce the risk of the facade cracking on new build construction it is recommended that the block work is allowed to dry completely before the Monocouche is applied.. Minimum curing time of concrete blocks is 8 weeks. Further more around any likely stress point areas, for example, around windows and doors, it is best practice to apply a 2m2 sheet fibre glass mesh reinforcement. In extreme cases, where the block is uneven and out of level, more commonly on renovation work, it may be advisable to apply a polymer modified base coat.  It is very important that NO mechanical fixing is used for this operation.

at regular spacings in long runs of walling;
above and below openings;
at changes in wall height;
at changes in wall thickness;
at junctions with dissimilar materials;
to coincide with movement joints in other parts of the construction.