Pebble Dashing

[Rigsby]

Alastair, you could be on a site doing the same houses week in and week out but not every day will be the same. On cold, damp days you may have to put the render on thin and because of the damp creating no suction or grab whatsoever you could still end up with the dashing rippleing on the scratches of the scratch coat or even sliding off. On the other end of the scale, in summer you may get a breeze whipping out the water in your top coat faster than you can get to dash it and watch the pebbles bounce off!

You have to learn by experience and have a fear of failure. I get stressed on some dashing jobs and I beleive the only reason I cannot teach anybody how to dash is their fear of the responsibility it brings with it. While ever they can get away with acting thick they will never learn dashing. But sack em and hay presto on the next employer they soon learn!

 

[fixit]

Make sure there is a lot waterp
Proofer in the scratch coat. That will stop it drying too quickly

 

[user__removed]

It's knowing when to dash too soon it's gonna slump and too late and you may as well scrape it off and start again.

 

[kgreigh]

Alastair, you could be on a site doing the same houses week in and week out but not every day will be the same. On cold, damp days you may have to put the render on thin and because of the damp creating no suction or grab whatsoever you could still end up with the dashing rippleing on the scratches of the scratch coat or even sliding off. On the other end of the scale, in summer you may get a breeze whipping out the water in your top coat faster than you can get to dash it and watch the pebbles bounce off!

You have to learn by experience and have a fear of failure. I get stressed on some dashing jobs and I beleive the only reason I cannot teach anybody how to dash is their fear of the responsibility it brings with it. While ever they can get away with acting thick they will never learn dashing. But sack em and hay presto on the next employer they soon learn!

I think what it is rigsby as you are an accomplished renderer,anyone who works under you will automatically hand the bulk or all of the responsibility to you,and in not taking on any themselves their actually denying themselves the chance to learn.
i was taught by someone good at certain things so the basics I was taught by him but anything new or anything he didn't know he didn't want to know,I ended up taking on the responsibilities of these type of jobs whitch forced me to learn them.

 

[Rigsby]

I think what it is rigsby as you are an accomplished renderer,anyone who works under you will automatically hand the bulk or all of the responsibility to you,and in not taking on any themselves their actually denying themselves the chance to learn.
i was taught by someone good at certain things so the basics I was taught by him but anything new or anything he didn't know he didn't want to know,I ended up taking on the responsibilities of these type of jobs whitch forced me to learn them.

Like you said, you took responsibility. My lads wont full stop. Give them the ultimatum learn or walk and they walk as the grass is greener on the other side although they usually find it brown when they get there!

Now any trainee will have to learn how to dash first then bead up or I am not interested.

 

[kgreigh]

Like you said, you took responsibility. My lads wont full stop. Give them the ultimatum learn or walk and they walk as the grass is greener on the other side although they usually find it brown when they get there!

Now any trainee will have to learn how to dash first then bead up or I am not interested.

I think it's harder to find good trainees now,willing to learn,motivated and also competitive in a way they want to prove you wrong.thats hard to find,you want someone who when given that ultimatum picks up the trowel/straight edge with a,you just watch me do it attitude.

 

[Smudger1]

The mixes are important with different dyes/colorings and lime, snowcrete, white sand to match the spa etc.... need to know your mixes.
on big ends i use 4x1 sawn nailed on as quoin rules and fatten the returns to give a good edge. Theres a lot to know before you even get your MT out !