Although plaster and render have some similarities, there are some key differences that people need to be aware of.
Render is applied to the external walls of a property. The main purpose of render is to make the external walls as strong as possible in order to withstand the weather thrown at the property. A house can be faced with all sorts of extreme weather such as heavy rain, hail and extreme heat (which can damage the brickwork due to thermal expansion). Because the render is designed to protect the walls of a house and therefore be as strong as possible, the mixture has to be strong.
Compared to render, plaster is the complete opposite. Plaster is applied to the internal walls of a property and has the main purpose of making the walls as smooth as possible. Plastered walls are designed to be smooth in order to look better when the walls are painted. Plaster doesn’t need a mixture as strong as render because it has a different purpose.
To summarise:
- Render is applied on external walls whereas plaster is applied to internal walls
- Render is designed to be strong as possible and plaster needs to be as smooth as possible
- Render has a stronger mixture than plaster to accommodate its purpose
K Rend approved