I have a small (re-constituted) limestone retaining wall in my yard which I would like to render and paint. I have previously rendered brickwork. I am unsure whether it is even possible to render limestone blocks because of the porous nature of the material.
This is the wall at present:
I have spoken with a couple of people who operate rendering business. Their feedback was either:
- You cannot render limestone blocks. The finish will look OK for a couple of years, but because the limestone material is so porous the render will flake off.
- Of course you can render limestone blocks. Additional chemicals are added to the render so it will not be a problem.
I would like to know whether one can actually render reconstituted limestone blocks. I'm unsure whether the firms who responded along the lines of (1) haven't worked with product before, or for (2) haven't ever checked to see whether their work is still good a couple of years later.
For bonus points, please tell me what the difference between regular render and what is used for rendering the reconstituted limestone blocks, and/or how the application process is different.
