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INTERNAL FINISHES
Internal finishes cont’d
• Upon completion of the structure, suitable finishes are required  Surfaces requiring special finishes are;
to the internal surfaces of the house. Finishes may be required  Wall
to protect surfaces from rain, sunlight, abrasion, chemical
 Floor
liquids and fumes, micro-organisms, fungi, insects and fire.
 Ceiling
• They may be required for;
 Suitable finishes for these surfaces are dependent on specific
• Hygiene
functional requirements which are determined by the surface
• To reflect or diffuse light being considered and its location.
• To provide colour/and or pattern
• To define areas visually or to absorb sound  We will consider the functional requirements of internal
finishes generally, and then look at the suitability of each; that
is for wall, floor and ceiling finishes

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Internal finishes cont’d Internal finishes cont’d

1) DURABILITY; can be gauged by the following;
Functional requirements for internal finishes
These may be considered under the following sub- ▪ Resistance to abrasion – damage may be caused by objects
rubbing against surface.
headings;
▪ Resistance to weather or other liquids – damage may be
1. Durability
caused if the surface finish is not waterproof in areas
2. Comfort and safety where water or other liquids maybe frequently used.
3. Physical attributes ▪ Resistance to indentation – damage may be caused by
4. Maintenance objects banging into the surface finish or by high heels on
Note that all the factors may not apply in each case, however,
soft floor finishes.
those functional requirements that are appropriate to a particular ▪ Resistance to impact - damage may be caused by objects
situation will need to be considered when selecting the most banging into the surface finish. This may cause cracking to
appropriate finish for the situation fragile or brittle finishes.

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Internal finishes cont’d

Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Resistance to splitting/tearing – damage may be caused by wear and tear of
the finish.
▪ Resistance to sunlight - ultraviolet degradation causing
▪ Resistance to cracking – damage may be caused by wear and tear of the finish
embrittlement of some materials or fading of colours in or created by stresses and strains on the finish by the reaction between the
other materials. finish and the background or items attached to the surface.

▪ Resistance to mould and fungi - mould growth may be a ▪ Amount of moisture/thermal movement – compatibility with the background
and surrounding materials.
problem on finishes where humidity is high and ventilation
is poor allowing surface condensation to develop. ▪ Strength in bending – this is particularly important where the finish is likely to
be attached to a curved surface or one in bending due to deflection under
▪ Resistance to high temperatures or fire – some finishes load may occur.
may need to have a low rating for the spread across their
surface in order to ensure that a fire is not able to spread
easily from one room to another in a house.
▪ Strength in compression or tension or shear – this is
particularly important where the finish is likely to be
subjected to compression or tension or shear forces. 5 6

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Internal finishes cont’d
2) COMFORT AND SAFETY
▪ Freedom from slipperiness – this is particularly important for floor finishes
where liquid spillages may occur.
▪ Warmth – contribution to the thermal performance of the element to which the
finish is attached. Timber finishes are warmer than stone, concrete or clay
tiles.
▪ Quietness – contribution to the acoustic performance of the element to which
the finish is attached. Carpets are soft and therefore quiet; tiles are hard and
can be noisy when walked upon.
▪ Resilience – ability of the finish to spring back into shape after being walked
on.
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Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Toxicity- surface finishes used in areas where food
is prepared should not be toxic or become toxic if
moistened.
▪ Moisture absorption – surface finishes that can
absorb small amounts of moisture, such as plasters,
can be helpful in reducing the incidence of surface
condensation in areas of high humidity such as
bathrooms and kitchens. However, timber products
may swell excessively if they are used in areas
where moisture absorption is likely to be high.
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Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Method of fixing – this could be by mortars, adhesives or
mechanical fixings dependent on the type of finish.
▪ Cost – expensive finishes may convey a sense of opulence to the
observer. Finishes having a low initial cost may need to be
replaced more frequently than more expensive finishes.
▪ Ease of cutting – this is particularly important where finishes need
to be installed around fixtures and fittings.
▪ Ease of handling – large or bulky materials may be more difficult to
handle than smaller and lighter materials.
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Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Sound absorption and transmission – soft finishes can contribute to a
reduction in the transmission of sound energy through an element if they are
applied to a surface. Echoes are reduced in a room when soft finishes are
used. Hard floor finishes can contribute to an increase in impact sound.
▪ Light reflection and transmission – finishes that are light in colour or shiny in
texture are likely to provide greater light reflection than dark or matt
surfaces. Similarly, transparent surfaces will provide greater light transmission
than will opaque surface.
▪ Thermal conductance – some materials used for surface finishes, such as
metals may conduct heat more readily than others.
Internal finishes cont’d
3) PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
▪ Appearance – colour, design and texture of the finish material.
▪ Shape – this has an effect on the appearance of the finish, but can
also affect how easily the finish can be attached to the background.
▪ Dimension – large units are quicker to fix than smaller units but may
require more cutting if fixed in small areas or installed around fixed
objects.
▪ Weight – this has an effect on the dead load of the building but may
also have a significant effect on the attachment to the background.
Weak backgrounds will not be able to support heavy finishes.
Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Ease of jointing – this includes the method of jointing
finishes to each other and the method of jointing to
other materials in the buildings. Joints must be able to
satisfy the functional requirements of the finishes they
join and may also need to accommodate tolerances for
moisture and thermal movements.
4) MAINTENANCE
▪ Ease of cleaning – some finishes may be easily cleaned by
wiping with a damp cloth or sponge. Others may require
special chemicals to clean them.
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Internal finishes cont’d
▪ Frequency of cleaning – some finishes may need more frequent
cleaning than others due to their location or frequency of use.
Frequent cleaning may be required to maintain standards of
hygiene in food preparation areas.
▪ Ease of repair – some finishes may be easier to repair than others.
Some finishes may require complete replacement rather than
repair.
▪ Life expectancy - linked to lifecycle costing. Some finishes may
need to be replaced more frequently than others.
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Internal wall finishes
1) Plaster
▪ The term plastering is usually applied to internal wall and
ceiling finishes which give joint less, hygienic, easily
decorated and usually smooth surfaces, often on uneven
backgrounds.
▪ Plasterwork may also be required to provide thermal
insulation, fire resistance, and to contribute to sound
insulation by sealing porous materials such as no-fines
concrete.
▪ Special plasters are used to absorb sound within rooms and
others to insulate against the passage of X-rays.
▪ The purpose of plaster is to provide a smooth hard level
finish to walls and ceilings, but some houses may be by
exposed brick or stonework, painted at times. They are
usually painted with coats of emulsion paints to improve
appearance. 15
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Plastering of walls
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INTERNAL WALL FINISHES
❑ Although it is possible to provide an internal wall finish using
facing bricks or building stones used to enclose and partition
the walls, it is not usual. This is due to the fact that they are
usually coarse textured, and not attractive to look at.
❑ Most internal finishes to walls comprise an application of
plaster or plasterboard with a paint or a wall paper covering.
❑ The most common types of wall finishes internally include;
1. Plaster
2. Tiling
3. Painting
4. panelling
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Internal wall finishes
 The finished surface of plaster should be at once flat and fine
textured (smooth). To achieve this, a coarser-grained material is first
spread on walls in one or two coats to render the surface level and
when this has dried a thin coat of fine grained material is spread
over it to provide a level and smooth surface.
 Plaster undercoat - the first coat of plaster is described as the
first undercoat or render coat and it consists of sand, mixed with
lime or cement, or both, or with gypsum and water.
 The material is spread and struck off level with a straight edge to
approved thickness.
 If surface on which render coat is applied is uneven, second
undercoat is applied and finally a coat of some fine-grained
material such as lime or gypsum plaster, mixed with water is
spread and trowelled smooth.
 The final thin coat, of fine material, is described as the finishing
or setting coat.
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Trowelling of plaster
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Internal wall finishes
 To reduce the cost of plastering, it has become common
practice to apply only two coats of plaster, the render
and the set coats (one undercoat and a finishing coat), to
walls. However, the two coat application may not be very
applicable for rugged surfaces, since there may be
sagging on some parts of the wall.
 Properties of plaster
 Thermal insulation – plaster finishes are relatively thin and make
a correspondingly small contribution to the thermal insulation of
ordinary buildings.
 Condensation – some types of plasters may absorb temporary
condensation but in conditions which give rise to permanent
condensation, all plasters may become saturated and loose their
thermal insulation value. Gypsum lightweight plaster having a low
thermal capacity, warms up quickly and having superior thermal
resistance tends to keep the surface temperature above the dew
point of the air so that condensation does not occur.
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Internal wall finishes
 Texture – trowelled smooth surfaces comprising either neat gypsum or
including a fine grade of material are common, but texture can be
provided by manipulating of a trowel or other tools or by including
sand in the finish.
 Suitability for decoration – various plasters can be manipulated
through mixing to give decorative finish.
Materials used in plaster
 The undercoat in plaster i.e render and float coats, consist of some
coarse-grained material such as natural sand which is hard, insoluble
and inert, bound with a matrix of lime, cement or gypsum.
 Sand for plastering should be clean and not contain more than 5% of
clay or other soluble adherent matter. Lightweight aggregates can also
be used instead of sand and because of their cellular nature, they are
better thermal insulators than natural sand.
 Condensation of moisture on surfaces can also be reduced by their use
due to the insulating property of the plaster which prevents inside
face of walls to be as cold as it would be if sand were used.
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Internal wall finishes
b) Cement plaster
• A mixture of cement and clean sand forms a very hard
surface as it sets, but it is not plastic and requires a deal
of labour to spread.
• It is usual therefore to add either lime or plasticizer to the
cement and sand to produce a mix that is at once plastic
and yet dries out to form a hard surface. This type of
undercoat is the most commonly used to day, and are the
cheapest compared to other undercoats.
• As this undercoat dries out, it shrinks and may appear in
the surface. The more cement is used, the greater the
shrinkage and therefore cracking.
• Extent of cracking may also depend on the strength of the
surface on which the plaster is applied and the extent to
which the plaster binds to the surface.
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Internal wall finishes
 Sound absorption – this is a property which affects the
volume and character of sound in a room. Ordinary plasters
have low values for sound absorption, but special acoustic
plasters may have improved absorption values.
 Sound insulation – the effectiveness of a solid and airtight
sound barrier increases with its mass, but being thin, plaster
finishes contribute significant mass only to light weight
elements. Plaster can also improve sound insulation by
sealing the surfaces of porous barriers, in particular, no-fines
concrete.
 Fire protection – normal plasters are non-combustible, have
no spread of flame, do not evolve smoke, and where
adhesion to surfaces is good, they contribute to the fire-
resistance of elements.
 Hardness – in housing, a fairly soft finish may be preferred,
but in public buildings, and more so in factories, plaster
finishes on walls must be very hard. 20
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Internal wall finishes
 Lightweight aggregate plasters have a good resistance to
damage by fire and can be used to protect such structural
parts as timber floor joists. However, they are not
resistant to damage by knocks or abrasions as dense
aggregate plasters.
The Types of plaster include;
a) Lime plaster
 When a plaster of lime and sand dries out, it shrinks and
fine hair cracks appear on the surface.
 To restrain this shrinkage and to reinforce lime plaster,
long animal hair was mixed in with the lime and sand.
 The disadvantages of lime plaster are that it is somewhat
soft and easily damaged by knocks, and in time ,becomes
powdery, and its soluble in water.
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Internal wall finishes
 The kind of plaster therefore needs to be used only on
hard backing to prevent cracking.
c) Gypsum plaster
 Gypsum (or plaster of paris) is a chalk-like mineral which
is mixed with sand to make considerable undercoats.
Can also be used as a finishing coat, and it’s advantage
is that it expands very slightly on setting and therefore
not likely to cause cracking as cement and lime.
Plaster finishes to timber joists and studs
• The usual method of providing a level finished surface to
the ceiling (soffit) of timber floors and roofs and on
timber stud partitions is to spread plaster over timber or
metal lath or to fix preformed boards to the timber
ceiling or wall (check previous figure).
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Internal wall finishes
Background of plaster
These should have certain properties to enhance
placement of good quality;
• Movement – there should be no difference in the movement
of plaster and background arising from structural settlements
or from changes in temperature or moisture content;
particularly at junctions between dissimilar backgrounds can
be considerable and often cause cracking and loss of
adhesion of plaster.
• Key – voids in surfaces into which plaster can penetrate and
interlock provide the most effective means of supporting the
weight of plaster and resisting the effects of thermal and
drying movements, and for strong undercoats an effective
mechanical key is essential. 25
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Final coat of plaster
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Internal wall finishes
 The materials are then mixed with water to form a slurry
and run to a storage tank. When required, the slurry is
pumped to presses where the water is extracted by
pressure and the plastic clay left is then dried in stoves
to reduce moisture content to approximately 10%.
 The dried clay is then crushed to dust of controlled
particle size in grinding pans and the particles are formed
into tiles in presses.
 The formed tiles are passed through a drier prior to
entering a tunnel oven for firing. Once the ‘biscuit’ tile
has cooled, it is glazed.
 Glazing is applied in the form of a mixed liquid consisting
of fine particles of glaze and water. The coated tiles are
then fired for a second time at a temperature of
approximately 1,150 degrees when the glazing coating
fuses to the surface of the tile. 29
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Internal wall finishes
 Strength – a background should be at least as strong and not less rigid than the
plaster which is to be applied to it. It must be strong enough to restrain the
drying shrinkage of plaster and setting expansion of gypsum plasters.
 Suction – absorptive backgrounds reduce water, which usually increases density
and therefore the strength of the product. This might weaken the adhesion of
the plaster.
 Efflorescence – some backgrounds contain efflorescent salts, which may be
brought forward to the surface of the wall when any water contained in them
dries out. This discolours the plaster.
 The various types of background include clay brick, blockwork, concrete,
stones, boards, metal lathing, wood lath, etc.
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Internal wall finishes
2) Wall Tiling
✓ Wall tiling and mosaic wall coverings consist of relatively thin and
small units which are usually fixed by adhesion.
✓ They may be required to improve appearance or to improve
resistance to abrasion or staining.
✓ Glazed tiles are particularly easy to clean.
Manufacture of tiles
✓ Tiles are manufactured from special clays containing silica and
alumina with sodium or pottasium alkalis, mixed with a quantity
of flint to resist crazing (network of fine cracks) in the tile and
limestone to reduce shrinkage of the tile during firing.
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Internal wall finishes
 Gloss, matt and eggshell finishes are available together
with a wide choice of colours, designs and patterns.
 A range of sizes, thicknesses and colours can be
produced. The appearance and easily cleaned surface of
glazed tiles makes them suitable for complete or partial
tiling of bathrooms and the provision of splash backs for
sinks and basins.
 Tiles are fixed with a suitable adhesive which can be of
thin bed of mastic adhesive, a bed of cement based
adhesive, sand cement (traditional method) or the thick
bed adhesive method.
 Glazed tiles can be cut easily using the method employed
for glass to fit various shapes.
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Types of tiles Internal wall finishes

• Tiles are rigid and thermal movement can
normally be ignored. However, clay tiles may
absorb moisture and expand when they are
removed from the oven, although this movement
is likely to be complete when tiles are fixed.
Reversible moisture movement is negligible.
Joints of tiles
✓ Joints must allow a degree of micro-movement, the jointing material must,
therefore, not be too strong and the joint must not be too narrow.
✓ Joints must be grouted or pointed, preferable with proprietary products to
prevent ingress of dirt, moisture and corrosive substances.

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Fixing of tiles Grouting/Pointing

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Adhesive/fixing of tiles Grouting wall tiles

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Internal wall finishes

3) Wall paneling Wall paneling
• Traditionally, wall paneling would be made from
hardwood and formed into panels with stiles and rails
similar to the technology used for the construction of
solid timber panelled doors.
• Modern wall panelling generally consists of sheets of
plywood or medium density fiberboard finished with a
veneer and fixed to timber framing, screwed to timber
grounds which in turn have been fixed to the backing
wall.
• The panels maybe fixed together by tongued and grooved
joints on their edges.
• The panels are normally installed as wainscoting meaning
that they extend from the floor to a height of
approximately 1m above floor level and are topped with a
timber dado rail (FBT 244)
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Wall panels Half-panel wall

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Internal wall finishes Internal wall finishes

4) Painting  The finishing coat also determines the texture and colour of a surface.
✓ This refers to the application to surfaces of pigmented  Some paint gives a surface a smooth finish, while others help surface
liquids or semi-liquids, which subsequently hardens. not to collect grime.

✓ Because the cost of labour, plant, etc, greatly exceeds the  They also give good protection since their resistance to moisture is
cost of paint, using cheap and inferior paint or skipping good.
the preparation of the surfaces is false economy.  They are permeable and partly hide condensation.

✓ It is also sound economy to reinstate the surface of paint
film before it has deteriorated to the extent that it
becomes necessary to remove the whole film, to repair
any rotted timber and corroded metal, and to prepare,
prime and paint the background.
 Paints may also have special properties such as; water and chemical
resistant paints, fire retardant paints, heat resistant paints, fungus –
resistant paints, insecticidal paints, permeable paints, floor paints,
multi-colour paints, texture paints, imitation stone paints, anti-
condensation paints, metallic, luminous, fluorescent, phosphorescent
and radioactive paints.

✓ Surfaces are usually first primed, undercoat applied and

then finally the finishing coats which from the final
protection against weather, chemical and mechanical
damage.
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Painting of walls EXTERNAL WALL FINISHES

 The main functional requirements that an external wall finish needs to be
able to satisfy are as follows;
 Weather resistance
 Appearance
 Durability
 Fire resistance

a) Weather resistance
- to be effective as an external finish the material
used must be weather resistant.
- This can be achieved by placing over brick or stone
walls.
- External finishes do not, however, need to be
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impervious 44

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External wall finishes External wall finishes

b) Appearance d) Fire resistance
- External wall finishes, will to a large extent, define the external - the external wall finish is unlikely to substantially improve the
appearance of the building fire resistance of the material to which it is attached.
- Therefore, their appearance will be an important consideration in - However, when the material for the external finish has been
their selection. selected, consideration should be given to its surface spread of
flame performance.
- Appearance can be influenced by the selection of the material
Types of external wall finishes
used for the finish and also textures and colours adopted.
There are many types of wall finishes to be applied externally to a
c) Durability
building, but few have been discussed herein as follows;
- the external wall finish will be subjected to the vagaries of the
✓ Rendering
climate it is exposed to, thus careful selection of the materials,
textures and colours is important. ✓ Paints/Varnish
- It is likely that the external wall finish will not last the lifetime of ✓ Textured coatings
the building to which it is attached. ✓ Cladding
- Thus at least one replacement in the lifetime of the building ✓ Tile hanging
should be expected, dependent on materials. 45 ✓ Weatherboarding 46

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External wall finishes External wall finishes

1) Rendering
 For rendering to satisfy the functional requirements of an external wall
- Owing to their colour and texture, bricks, concrete and
clay blocks and even natural stones, do not provide an
attractive external finish for buildings.
- The external faces of walls built with these materials are
often rendered with two or three coats of cement and
lime mixed with natural aggregate and finished either
smooth or textured.
- Rendering is a form of external plastering using a mixture
of cement. Lime, sand and water to provide protection
against penetration of moisture or to provide desired
colour, texture and appearance to an external wall.
- As an applied external finish to walls as additional weather
protection, rendering depends on a strong bond to the
background wall, on the mix used in the rendering
material and on the surface finish. 47
finish, careful considerations needs to be given to the following;
1) The mix design
 Strong cement: sand mixes are impervious but there is a
tendency for them to crack during drying or because of
differential movement between the finish and the
background.
 Shrinkage cracks allow water to penetrate behind the
rendering, which cannot then escape by normal evaporation.
This leads to damp walls and loss of adhesion of the render
to the backing wall, causing it to eventually fall off.
 Weak cement: lime: sand mixes are less likely to crack since
there is less shrinkage during drying but these mixes are
more permeable than stronger mixes. However, moisture
entering the render will be able to evaporate as weather
conditions change.
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External wall finishes

2) The bond to the background
Partly rendered wall
 The rendering should not be stronger than the background to which
it is attached. Otherwise, cracking may occur due to differential
movement between the finish and the background.
 Weak mixes are therefore preferred. Dry backgrounds need wetting
to reduce any suction characteristics in the background prior to the
application of the render.
3) The degree of exposure of the building
 Weak mixes are satisfactory in sheltered conditions but not
sufficiently durable in exposed conditions.
 Strong mixes should also be used at points that are vulnerable to
impact damage or abrasion.
 Weak mixes are slow to harden and therefore may be affected by
frost action during the first few weeks after their application.
Therefore, strong mixes should be used when applying rendering
during periods of cold weather.
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External wall finishes Render application

4) The application of the render
 The render may be applied in either two or three coats.
 Three coats should be used where the background is uneven or
where the exposure is severe.
 Undercoats should be scratched to provide a key for the final coat
and allowed to dry thoroughly before the final coat.
5) The texture of the surface - Five different textures are normally
available for rendered finishes; smooth, textured, rough cast, pebble
dash, Tyrolean
i) Smooth finish
 a steel trowel or wood float finish may be provided.
 There is a tendency for smooth finishes to craze if they are
overworked, due to carbonation of the cement laitance brought
to the surface. Uneven weathering of the surface, particularly
rain staining, can be a problem with this type of finish.

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Render application External wall finishes

ii) Textured
• the finish is provided by scraping the final coat with the edge of a
trowel, hacksaw blade or nail board.
• This removes the cement laitance ( a residue of weak and non-durable
material consisting of cement, aggregate, fines or impurities brought to
the surface of over wet concrete by the bleeding water) and prevents
crazing to the surface.
iii) Rough cast
• a wet mix of cement; lime; sand selected aggregates is thrown onto the
undercoat.
• This provides good adhesion of the final coat to the undercoat.
• The uneven surface produced by the protrusion of aggregate particles
form the final coat of render, breaks up water paths and helps to reduce
rain staining.

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Rough cast application iv) Pebble dash
• a similar technique to rough cast rendering, but dry aggregate is thrown
against the final coat whilst it is still wet and is worked into the render by
tapping it with the surface of the trowel the aggregate used for pebble dash
is generally smaller than that used in rough cast finishes.
• The adhesion of the aggregate to the render is not as good with pebble dash
as it is with rough cast.
v) Tyrolean
• A proprietary composition of render is flicked onto the undercoat using the
blades of machine to create a decorative textured finish.
• It is applied using hand operate or open-hopper spraying machine, the
unique ‘honeycomb’ texture is built up using several strokes from different
angles until a finished thickness of 4mm – 6mm is achieved. The substrate
must possess suction capabilities for the Tyrolean finish to achieve the
desired effect.
• It is hardwearing and weatherproof, therefore highly suitable for coastal,
sub-urban and rural environments.
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Pebble dash Pebble dash render

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Tyrolean finish External wall finishes

2) Paints/Varnish
Application of paints to external walls is done for mainly
two reasons;
i) to impart colour
ii) to provide a protective coating which increases durability of the
member to which it has been applied.
• Note that the process involved in painting walls externally might
be different from the process internally due to the differences in
the backgrounds to be finished and also the heights to be
painted.(read more on painting procedures).
• In Kenya, it is common to first render the walls and then apply the
preferred choice of paint, but it is also possible to apply paint
directly to the external wall partition which in most cases are
bricks, stone or concrete blocks.
• External paint must be waterproof and durable to withstand harsh
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Externally painted walls
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External wall finishes
• Most of the textured finishes are in the range of 0.3 to 3.0
mm measured as dry film thickness (DFT). Compare this to
the emulsion paint of 0.04 mm per coat. The thick plaster
offers better protection against weather.
• It can cover up mild cracks and patches on base surface. It
has the advantages of acrylic emulsion such as breathing
out moisture and preventing moisture entry.
• It can take up minor elongation and contractions in the
base better than normal paints.
• They use acrylic binder and siliceous materials as fillers,
makes the coating fire retardant and no harmful fumes are
generated on fire accident.
• The textured coatings have recessed groves that do not
offer places for dirt to sit. Any dirt on the walls do get
washed by rains. The coatings are water washable.
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Textured coatings
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External wall finishes
3) Textured coatings
• Textured coatings are basically emulsion paints with high
solids content used in architectural segment. The concept
came as an alternative to exterior painting, stone
cladding or grit washing.
• It is a ready mixed product similar to acrylic paints but
comes in a thicker consistency and applied through roller,
trowel, spray gun or special tools.
• The presence of filler particles in various sizes and colors
in the coating and the method of application gives rise to
a variety of textures.
• With a normal emulsion paint you create a plain wall
differing only in color or glossiness. A texture finished wall
will have a cast, chiseled, embossed scattered or
patterned appearance in single or multiple colors.
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External wall finishes
 The textured coating are preferred in exterior of high rise
buildings, commercial complexes, institutional buildings
and flyovers. Interiors of shops, restaurants and
cineplexes also chose textured coatings over normal
paints.
 Any wall or ceiling can be painted but only some textures
can be applied on curved surfaces and sloping roofs.
 The application consists of a texture coat and two coats
of top coat. A prime coat may be needed if the base is
flaky or old. The client decides the texture and shade.
 In Kenya, various types of textured coatings can be
obtained from the paint manufacturing companies such as
Basco, Crown Paints, Galaxy Paints, and also from other
specialised manufacturers.
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4) Cladding
External wall finishes
• a wall cladding is a material used to cover the external
surfaces of a wall. It is also known as siding
• It is used to improve the appearance and insulation value of
any building.
• Wall cladding is a non-structural covering installed over
structural surfaces. It is composed of a variety of building
materials and made to tolerate extreme weather
conditions.
• While builders predominantly install wall cladding on
exterior surfaces of buildings and structures, it can also be
used to improve any interior surface.
• Its advantages include; is easy to install over all existing
surfaces within a short period of time, hides
imperfections in a structure's finish and works well as an
insulator with existing wall and roof insulation.
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Stone wall cladding

External wall finishes
 It also serves as a noise insulator and, if installed properly,
resists termites, moisture and fire. Wall cladding lasts a long
time with minimal maintenance; most cladding comes with
lifetime warranties of up to 50 years.
 Wall cladding can be made from vinyl, aluminum, steel, fiber
cement, brick, stone, timber and weatherboard, among other
materials, each with their own advantages and drawbacks.
 Vinyl, for example, is one of the easiest to maintain. Timber,
on the other hand, is one of the most popular for its visual
appeal, but is also difficult to maintain. Stone provides both
visual appeal and strong insulation, but is costly. Fiber cement,
while plainer, is also a strong insulator and more cost-effective.

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Metal cladding Timber cladding

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PVC cladding External wall finishes

5) Tile Hanging
• Roof tiles may be used as a finish to an external wall, either to enhance
appearance of the wall or to provide additional weather resistance to the
wall.
• The tiles may be vulnerable to breakage due to impact damage; it may
therefore be better to limit their use to more inaccessible areas, such as
upper storey.
• Tiles can be hung on preservative treated battens fixed to the wall.
Counter battens may be used in order to ventilate the cavity between the
back of the tiles and the walls.

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Wall tile hanging Wall tile hanging

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External wall finishes Weatherboarding

6) Weatherboarding

• For this type of finish, either softwood or hardwood timber boards

may be used. If non-durable softwood are used, they must be
preservative treated by either staining or painting.
• The boards maybe nailed directly to the sheathing of a timber or
steel farmed house or fixed indirectly to timber grounds plugged
to a masonry walls. Secret nailing using corrosion resistant metal
nails protects the fixings.
• All boarding needs to be nailed on an impervious barrier of
bituminous felt or building paper, irrespective of the background.
• The spacing of the preservative treated timber battens to masonry
is dependent on the thickness of the boards and the manner in
which the boards are laid.
• The boarding should be free to move on at least one side and can
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Weatherboarding profiles Painted weatherboarding

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