Exterior
Masonry, harling, render & pebbledash
The painted skin of most Fife houses. The single biggest factor is whether the wall needs to breathe — modern cement render or block walls can take a standard acrylic masonry paint, but anything pre-1919 (stone, lime harling, traditional render) needs a breathable mineral or silicate paint or you will trap moisture and cause real damage.
Use this
Acrylic / smooth masonry paint (Dulux Weathershield, Sandtex 365, Crown Sandtex). Reliable, 15-year life on a clean surface.
Mineral silicate or limewash (Earthborn Silicate, Beeck, Keim). Breathable. Bonds chemically to mineral substrates.
Flexible textured masonry (Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry or Dulux Weathershield Smooth) applied generously with a long-pile roller.
Avoid
Traps damp behind the coating — leads to spalling, blown harling, internal mould. The most expensive mistake we see.
Will fail within one Fife winter — driving rain just lifts it.
Prep checklist
- 1Jet wash or scrub off all algae, lichen and chalk back to a sound surface.
- 2Treat any green growth with a fungicidal wash and let dry fully.
- 3Stabilise chalky old surfaces with a masonry stabilising solution before topcoats.
- 4Fill cracks with the matching system (lime mortar for old, flexible exterior filler for modern).
Local pro tip
In coastal Fife (Tayport, Kingsbarns, Crail, St Andrews, East Neuk) salt accelerates everything — we add a third coat to north-facing and seafront walls as standard.