Repairing and renovating the facade themselves – that is what many owners do, who do not want to spend money on craftsmen but want to take action themselves as DIY enthusiasts. If you have the necessary expertise and skill in handling building materials and tools, then you can professionally repair the facade and repair wall cracks. We will show you the steps you should take.
You can repair the facade and repair wall cracks or fill cracks in the wall of the house – you can do all this yourself with the steps listed here.
Repairing the facade: step-by-step instructions
The following instructions will show you how to repair damage to the plaster of the facade. Depending on the damage and extent, flush-mounted and/or surface-mounted is used. It is also possible to repair the exterior plaster by using so-called restoration plaster. Here are the instructions for renovating the facade in clear, comprehensible steps:
1 – Remove unevenness, remove loose parts
If the facade crumbles at one point and the masonry may already show, then you must first remove loose parts and clean up unevenness. If the plaster demolitions are flat and no more parts come off, the facade is ready for the next step.
2 – Fill with filler
The masonry must now be levelled with the existing plaster residues using filler. Depending on the type of house and existing plaster / flush-mounted plaster, use lime-cement plaster or exterior plaster. Allow the filler to set well before proceeding to step 3.
3 – Setting plaster profiles with mortar
Profiles are now set on the edges of the external walls of the house using so-called mortar. Thanks to these, the entire surface of the outer wall can then be processed and sealed evenly. Thus you can apply the following smooth plaster, textured plaster and / or a coat of paint and let the facade shine in a new gloss.
4 – Application of deep ground
The substrate, especially the old part of the facade that has been repaired up to this point, may show insufficient adhesion for new plaster. For this reason, it is recommended to apply deep ground over the entire surface. This makes the substrate denser and more load-bearing, so that the old plaster absorbs the new layer of plaster better.
5 – Apply flush-mounted
The plaster of a house wall consists of several, but at least two layers. The first, of course, is the flush-mounting, which also plays a role in repairing the facade. The flush-mounted plaster actually connects the masonry with the finishing plaster. Apply flush-mounted on the repaired facade surface, providing better stability.
6 – Apply top coat
Once the first coat of plaster has hardened, the top coat can follow as the last coat (provided no more than two coats are provided). Here a smooth plaster can be used, which favours manual painting or sealing, or a textured plaster, which is best sprayed with paint / sealing.
7 – Applying paint
If you wish to contrasting the colour of the finishing plaster, this is possible with the appropriate exterior colour for the house. This is how you ensure that your property appears individually.
Repair cracks in facades and walls: In a few simple steps
If you do not want to build or plaster a new wall right away, but only repair cracks, then this can of course also be done with a few clear steps. Cracks in the wall are not as complex as the complete repair of the facade, since only the individual crack is actually processed, filled and superimposed here. And this is what you do:
1 – Measure crack and procure joint filler profile
First measure the crack in the wall or facade. By means of the dimensions you can then buy the suitable joint filler profile. For simple cracks with a small width, one with a diameter of only 5 mm is usually sufficient.
2 – Smooth, clean, widen if necessary
It may sound absurd – but you may have to repair the cracks in front of the facade first. But only if the joint filling profile does not fit, but requires more space. Use an angle grinder with a suitable joint cutter for the widening and clean the crack and its edges thoroughly afterwards.
3 – Apply PU foam as adhesive
Before the filling profile is inserted, spray the crack with PU foam. Make sure that the foam does not expand too far out of the crack in the wall. If too much has been used, let the foam harden for one hour and then cut off the excess parts.
4 – Press in filling profile within 10 minutes
Spray the PU foam into the crack in the wall and then directly press in the joint filler profile, which should now fit after widening the facade crack. This must happen within the first 10 minutes, as the foam material no longer sticks and also begins to harden.
5 – Tape over facade crack
Unlike repairing facades with new plaster, you only have to worry about a limited area when repairing cracks. Therefore, tape the surrounding facade with painter’s crepe or other protective tape. If now only the repaired crack is exposed, continue with the next step.
6 – Apply Adhesion Primer / Depth Primer
A liquid base material should now be applied not only to the complete facade, but also to individual cracks in the facade. Adhesion primer serves as an adhesion promoter on non-absorbent mineral substrates such as concrete. Deep ground, on the other hand, is used on absorbent materials for construction – such as cement or lime plaster and gypsum plasterboard.
7 – Seal and tighten the joint
Now there is still a gap in the crack, which should be closed off with the rest of the facade or wall. These seal against the penetration of water, dirt and pests with acrylic or silicone. Use a straightener or squeegee to create a smooth surface.
8 – Painting
Use the same colour as on the rest of the wall. When you have finished painting, you have successfully repaired the facade yourself and repaired a crack. And it’s not gonna be noticeable.
How professional painters applicators repair and coat a facade
In this video you can see how professional exterior painters repair an old and worn facade.
