Top Tips for Rendering ( Making Window Sills With Sand Cement Render)

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In this video, I'm going to show you how to make window sills using sand cement render and corner beads.
Making window sills can be very tricky (especially if you're building them from scratch). However, it is possible and in this video, we're going to show you the easiest way to do it.
We'll show you:
- How to fix external corner beads
- The best process for making window sills from scratch
- The fastest way to apply render
- The best materials to use for success
- A simple hack for working with sand cement render
This is what we'll show you in today's video. For more advice you could also watch these videos from our Plastering For Beginners channel:
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- How To Finish Render - • How To Finish Render |...
- Rendering For Beginners - • How To Render A Wall (...
- How To Plaster A Brick Wall With Cement - • Beginners Guide To Pla...
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For more advice, you could also visit our website at:
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plasteringforbeginners.co.uk
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Thanks for watching. We'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment below and if you really liked this video then please like and subscribe!
Thanks again.
See you on the next one!
Cheers,
Blaine

[@profsjp]

A thing of beauty - great instruction and demo. Really inspiring. Thank you!

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thanks a lot mate...I really appreciate that!!

[@robjack2804]

Pure artisan. Great work. Profession needs more like this.

[@gilespanton9354]

Beautiful work mate love the fact your so passionate in your craftsmanship

[@ronniebiggs4026]

What a massive improvement 👍Top tradesmen and great guy to explain the various processes needed for a quality job.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate - I really appreciate that pal 👍

[@bluecurlygirl]

Never knew there was so much to it. Great to watch an expert at work and taking such pride in your work too. Excellent video and excellent job. Someone took a lump out of our bay window sill and I can't afford to get anyone to do it for me and it's a council house and they'll fix nothing (10 years without heating - they installed the system brand new and 6 months later it quit).

[@kh4ny100]

Pure excellence in craftsmanship

[@iainmcmillan9673]

Mate that's a top vid couldn't have come at a better time as I am wondering how to fix my cracked concrete window sills nice one

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate and not a kitchen!! Thanks for watching my friend 👍

[@anyat686]

A work of art. Beautiful ! My window sills are looking a bit wonky underneath! Need this done to them.

[@ptolemyauletesxii8642]

I love reading these comments. I'm Canadian, a former teacher and now a plasterer in the UK! Something that always sounds funny to my ear is the way you Brits use the word 'pal'. That's a bit old fashioned in North America, and often comes across as sarcastic, as in if someone messes you about in some way you say 'Thanks a lot, PAL!' So, thanks for the video, PAL! 😄

[@antwan.]

in the north east of england 'marra' is used quite a bit which means the same as pal. a marra was a coal miners assistant cheers marra

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha I loved this. That's a great comparison and I've heard "Marra" before but I never actually knew the origins. I do love the English language. Thanks for the heads up lads. Cheers pal 🤣🤣

[@brf351c]

Good stuff - I need to practice for sure.

[@xtr3m3-phr34ks]

Top job!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips!!

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

No worries, thanks for watching!

[@MrSnow-df7ih]

Superb Video..The attention to detail and the patience is awesone 😮👌👌

[@TheStressD]

Another great video mate, well done keep it up buddy.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers pal!!

[@AndrewSmith1965]

Fantastic work

[@nigelparish2631]

any tradesman who is good at his or her job, and passionate about it is always good to watch Thanks for making the video

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thanks mate. I really appreciate that 👍

[@mikew151Manhattan]

stunning work

[@barrydoherty636]

Nice job, well done.

[@fraserlewis3773]

He’s good this guy. Just watched his plastering for beginners vids, might have a go myself

[@stephenshillingford980]

Excellent presentation, good luck with your channel bro

[@adamlegg9985]

Job well done, thanks for the great demonstration

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you for watching!

[@tonyrobinson9046]

That's great. Thank you.

[@jonathanfarrelly8197]

Just started learning how to plaster out here in new york ...iv only come across your videos they are very helpful ...great work keep the viedos comming

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Great to hear a viewer from the states! Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it and good luck with your plastering my friend!!

[@clickingnatureawesomelyadd1406]

👍🏽 Nice job lot of respect to you brother

[@shakhan1848]

Thank you for sharing. Nice video.

[@MyOutdoorVideos]

Fantastic video. Nicely paced.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate, I really appreciate that!!

[@johndillon5290]

What a great video and explanation. I will try your system, however i will have to run a drip line along the bottom of the sill to prevent runs down the external paint work. Thanks for the idea 👍

[@MrListenerman]

Brilliant thanks.

[@petergambier]

Very nice explanation thanks Blaine. I'm far from a beginner and in the beginning started off working as a labourer for a multi-finish spread in London. Years later I gave up cement and chemical glues to specialise in historic lime and now slake and make my own lime putty mortars for old house and church repairs. For the record lime mortar in the eye's is very painful, especially the fine particle mixes used in skimming work and can affect people so differently, one labourer who got splash-back from a mixer was off work, lying down in a darkened room for 3 days until his eye was better. After a couple of hospital visits I now always wear glasses/goggles doing ceiling skims and don't take too many chances. By slaking the fine 'kibbled' quicklime you double the amount of lime putty you produce and there is very little waste of mortar on a job because until it's slapped onto the wall and exposed to the air it won't start to set. I usually pre-mix my mortars several weeks or even months before a job because it makes it lovely and sticky. At the moment I'm rendering a house front in a haired lime mortar and doing 3''x 1'' raised area's around 5 windows & 1 door which I will also be pargeting a bull-nosed, single line in the green render to highlight the opening. Lime mortars uses no chemicals (other than the natural ones) and actually absorbs carbon dioxide from the environment giving a lime plastered room better acoustics and a slightly warmer feel than a cement one. Lime and cement will continue to harden up to 6 years after it's first set. I have greatly enjoyed the interesting and friendly brother- (& sister)hood of the wet trade over the years and started mixing with a stick in a bucket (no whisks at that time in the 80's) worked on one or two multi-million £ projects in the UK with the 4 different conservation firms I worked for and enjoy the bond you get with somebody who also does the same work. All the best.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

So sorry for the late reply but your story is fascinating. I'd love to be able to try using the old lime putty - I think it's an amazing skill so I have a huge amount of respect for you my friend! I'd love to give it a try one time. Hopefully our paths will cross. Thank you for your comment and it's great hearing from a true craftsman like yourself. Well done. Thanks again. Blaine 👍

[@petergambier]

@@PlasteringForBeginners, I'm blushing at the compliments thanks Blaine. I simply got into the whole thing because the material works and has easily stood the test of time and I love old churches, I also take an hourly rate cut when doing them up because they were built for the public and I want to give something back. Working in an old church built in a water meadow with no damp course and no waterproofer it was a fascinating place with Sgraffito mural work done in different coloured sand & cement renders in 1880 by Haywood Sumner, I cut away all the cement render a meter high around the inside of the building and re-rendered in lime mortar. The oldest place I worked in was Torre Abbey, Devon which was 800 years old. down in the undercroft of the place, there was even a cell with a small rectangular hole where a hermit lived out his time. I found this place so cool and because I started early, worked late I would talk to the ghosts of the place. In actual fact we found about 6 or 7 remains in an area near the lavabo (dish washing area) which was being prepared for the new lift shaft. Around the entire complex there was a very expensive laser fence system installed to deter thieves. I talked with Basil the Kia's site manager and asked him if he seen anything strange. He said that of the 6 or so times that the silent alarm had been triggered it was always in the oldest part of the site where the old church was built. There were 2 types of building plan for the place, the architects and the archaeologists, the architects did their drawings with rulers and cad software, the bone diggers did theirs freehand. Before any area's were opened up for repair or replastering you had to take one of the 4 Museum of London bone diggers with you so he could OK you to start. Down in the undercroft area I found a hidden Medieval circular stone staircase which it was decided they wouldn't uncover because of the costs. There were quite a few big (4 -5 feet thick) internal support walls and when repointing 2 of the wall tops I found the bottle stashes of the alcoholic monks who had lived and worked there. The Abbey bottled and distributed brandy and other pricey spirits at the place. Under the haired top-coat plaster, which pulled off the wall like a sheet, near the hidden staircase, carved into a stone support column plastered in 3 coat work lime, facing into a corner with no doors or windows I found a quatrefoil. It looks like a 4 leaf clover and was an interesting find, but no idea what it was for. In other old Devon properties I've found Daisy wheels carved into wooden passageway panels to ward off evil spirits. Across the road from the site there was an old tythe barn where 300 Spanish Armada prisoners-of-war were kept prisoner before their transfer for trial or a bigger jail. While you are still young, learn about the traditional stuff and do it yourself. Go on a SPAB course as I once did, they are all over the country and in terms of contacts are value for money. Lastly since getting into the business I've never been out of work. This has taken many years of living in one spot, I don't advertise, my work is word of mouth. Best of luck.

[@McWhiggle]

Such patience! A rendering Zen Meister!

[@anthonykenny1120]

Super job,, great idea using beads,, 👍👍

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate. I really appreciate that 👍

[@RVBadlands2015]

Love the video it helps a little.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Glad to hear it!

[@TheShazad1978]

Amazing job!

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers mate!!

[@meilong2338]

Looks good

[@davec9515]

👍 we'll done mate nice work

[@juliathompson6433]

You make it look so easy if I lived on ground floor I’d have a go but ladders are a No No great job 👏 👏

[@dan350z2007]

Lovely work mate

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate. I really appreciate that 👍

[@truckertom3323]

It is good to see some one who takes pride in their work, well done to you.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate! I really appreciate that 👍

[@redsreds6598]

@@PlasteringForBeginners love your channel mate & watching your vids. Can tell your a top tradesman. I got a block wall about 2m high x 3m width been bare block for 15 years & I want to render it. I have very little experience just watching people on site & all your videos. 1 do I sbr wall before the scratch coat. What mix for scratch coat how long do I leave it before I put top coat on & do top mix need to be different ratio with waterproofer in. Any advice will be greatly appreciated thank you mate

[@truckertom3323]

@@PlasteringForBeginners Need your advice, i am a painter & decorator. What would you recommend as an all round plastering trowel for filling in with undercoat plaster? For making good surfaces to paint.

[@PaulSmith-iv5lh]

Like the care you take great vid👍

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you!!

[@gorringeman]

Lovely job and so worth doing. Underneath my window sils is stone moulding which is in very bad shape and needs redefining. I was going to use Toupret which is a filler, do you think this will work? Do you have a video doing this kind of job as it's not that straight forward?

[@matthewthomson3828]

Love the videos. Am using your video to plaster my full house. But you may be able to help me with something I need to block point some windows. I got a crushed stone and yellow sand white cement and lime. What is the best ratio to mix. Keep the video coming

[@gulllllll1]

Beautiful work , the English do it well and the standards so high ,we do it very similar here in Australia , everything’s ruled , plumb and flat with a nice sponge finish .

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate and yes I agree. I worked in Oz and the firm I worked with were brilliant!! Great standard of work. Thank you for watching and it was great hearing from you!!

[@NiGHTiMEVuLTuRE1]

What mix ratio do you apply for smooth coat render? Looks a top job that also 👍🏻

[@popparock6506]

look like you've done that once or twice! Beautiful job! great vid!

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha just a few times pal 😂

[@Islamic7882]

Hey Mate, Fantastic job, watch all your videos, great craftsmanship. What was your render ratio for first coat? I believe the top coat was 5:1. Also I have an existing cill, that was painted, the paints peeling off, needs a clean up, would I need to use new beads?

[@myrahouse2368]

Thanks.

[@Back2Brick-Ben]

Hi mate, can you render over old sandstone, using the same techniques to build the cils back up, level and square? Love the vids, cheers!

[@rav1on1]

Hi love the videos. New to all this could you please let me know which type of sand you use for your top coat render for the Cills please and do you add lime to your mix also what ratios you are using thanks . Rav

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Hi mate! The top coat is 5:1 ( 5 Plastering sand: 1 cement). I also added FEB Rendamix to the mix for added waterproofing and workability! Thanks for watching and I hope this helps my friend 👍

[@brianmi40]

My question is how do you WATERPROOF them? My house had pre-cast concrete sills with a rebar for strength. Constant water penetration has rusted the rebar and causes the concrete to split. I can patch the cracks with something like FLEXX, which is a sanded caulk to get a rough texture like the original concrete, but HOW DO I SEAL THE CONCRETE FROM FURTHER WATER DAMAGE?

[@umbertogiannini]

great video, what was the original ratio for the render mix?

[@ep91monster]

These captions crack me up lol. Good job lad

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha thank you matey 👍

[@robjb21]

Great job Blaine, looks sharp with the plastic instead of metal bead

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thanks mate! The plastic beads are a lot shorter 👍

[@robjb21]

Plastering For Beginners yeah have a sharper edge too. Looks the business

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers mate!

[@paulgarrod1066]

That was skillful

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers pal!

[@clintmannion5598]

great job m8 im a painter by trade and that job is a class that u have done big thumbs up from me

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thanks mate! I really appreciate that 👍

[@clintmannion5598]

@@PlasteringForBeginners i m8 i live in whitley bay toon army haha but the stonework gets fucked to bits of the sea air sand and cement and lime plenty pva etc

[@kidzmurals]

You kept your cool with that noise haha brilliant video fella

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha tell me about it pal!!

[@geebee1689]

Beautiful, great workmanship and patience!!

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate. I really appreciate that!!

[@BearwoodBrown]

Great work and filming whats ur render mix?

[@stevewalker9888]

Liked the cameo of the chip pie. 🤣

[@user-yr7hj8kj6t]

brilliantly

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you 😊

[@oliverhutley5074]

Banger 💯💪🏤

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers matey!!

[@strider1mh]

Thanks. Another great video. That chippy will have white finger soon 😄

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha thanks pal. I really appreciate that mate 😊

[@daveylad2]

Your a real craftsman and a pleasure to watch. One question please do you ever put any sbr in the reader mix?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate - I really appreciate that. I do for the scratch, I find it makes the render stickier, but I don't like it in the top coat. I just don't like to finish with it. Thanks again for your kind words, great hearing from you 👍

[@fixit3108]

Good work. I like the finish on the walls. What sand and mix did u use for the walls

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

It was 4:1 scratch and 5:1 finish with extra Lime 👍

[@DrJohnners]

I have uPVC windows so would need to butt up against the plastic at ~1 inch height. What's the bet way of waterproofing this gap, I'm just worried about water ingress and freeze/thaw. Lots of good quality caulking I guess?

[@rs1389]

i want to render around the sides and top around my back door. would you still do the whole bonding agent thing? (sorry im a complete novice)

[@goldenalex]

Did you need to use sbr for the top coat? with it being wet and having a mechanical key i thought it would of been alright?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

I just had it next to me and for sills I'm always a bit cautious - I've seen them go drummy before so I was playing it safe pal 👍

[@georgeboateng1848]

Very therapeutic! More calming music please! :0)

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Cheers pal 👍

[@fergilism]

Luvly

[@snorkherder]

Great Vid, very informative and excellent work, could you please tell me what the liquid (FDR ?) is you're brushing on is it akin to PVA/water mix, Thank you :)

[@NoPlus500]

Snorkherder it’s SBR it’s like a laytex sealer better than pva

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

It's also a waterproofer which is ideal for rendering projects 👍

[@SurfSurf934]

Nice job with the sills. I cut sills off when i do renovations, its much quicker. Use a little wet tile cutter then jackhammer it off. Takes me about 2hours to cut off all the sills of a house.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

That works too my friend! Good way to do it 👍

[@1414141x]

That is the first time I have seen someone renovate some grotty window cills. Those were in pretty good condition though - wonder how you would approach cills on older houses that have started to disintegrate - I've seen a lot of local terraced houses about 110 years old in my area where the ornate Victorian cills have started to flake off. They seem to be made up of some kind of aggregrate compound and were probably pre-cast. Could you tell us what mix you used, it looked pretty thick cement/sand mix - did you have a plasticizer in the mix ? Great to watch and you are a perfectionist !

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thanks mate! Yeah these were in good Knick to be fair but the process is the same regardless. The scratch was 4:1 and the to was 5:1. FEB Rendermix was in both and a bit of lime for the top also. Lovely mix 👍

[@ashleydolan1429]

You wouldn't belive how much your vids have helped me, keep it up muka.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate. I'm glad you're finding them useful. Cheers 👍

[@davidtanner222]

How do you manage rainwater drip grooves on the bottom of sills

[@fortnitegamer8306]

Very nice smooth finish indeed but what about the rain lip under the sill to avoid the rain going back into the house?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

The whole sill is angles including the underside. The water will just run off 👍

[@zedman442]

Nice. Can you do a vid on forming window and door head top drip beads

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

I'll try and get one lined up my friend!!

[@lawrencehearn2219]

Really helpful mate. Been repairing some old damaged sandstone sills using timber forms and lots of trial and error. Never considered using beads to get the clean edges 🤣 Always struggle mix the mix, this weathers making it a bit too powdery even when covered in plastic and watered. What’s the ratio you are using?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Yeah that's how we did it in NZ - its great practice but it takes a lot more time ha! It's just a standard 5:1 with a bit of lime for that creamy consistency when floating. I also always use FEB Rendamix - that's always good to use pal! Great hearing from you and good luck with your sills 👍

[@lawrencehearn2219]

Top man, only one sill left so may as well carry on with timber. But will Defo be looking into those beads for the next occasion. Thanks again, and keep those vids coming. This would have saved me so much time if I had discovered sooner! 👍🏻

[@seanharford4668]

great video, whats the ratio? Is the sand, plastering sand or building sand or sharp sand? Thank you.

[@mikew151Manhattan]

The top coat is 5:1 ( 5 Plastering sand: 1 cement). I also added FEB Rendamix

[@RioBow]

Top banana pablo very very good job.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Haha cheers pal!

[@amberwooddesignrichardwill7212]

😀 Bottom of a door from the joiner I bet, us joiners are nice that way. haha.👍

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Hahaha that's it exactly my friend!! Bang on 😂

[@elgrillin911]

what proportion of sand and cement do you use for the mix? Thanks.

[@stevewalker9888]

A smooth coat render is about 5:1 scratch coat 6:1. And not too much water. Add a little bit of waterproofing solution , in the old days a good dollop of neat pva use to do it if ya didn’t have feb mix . But things change with time. So check the merchant for modern solutions.

[@wagtailproductions4473]

Fantastic video thank you. I’m going to attempt this at the weekend to one of our windowsills after removing the old, damaged render. Just one question, is there anything you need to do to a wooden window frame to protect it when it comes in contact with the render? Without some kind of membrane between the two will the frame rot in time? Thanks

[@peterbutlin6166]

How has it faired after a winter with the ice? I would have thought the plastic would have given water inroads to the cement? A window sill is horizontal after all. Also the 5:1 ratio I would have thought would make the cement permiable.

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

I think it's still going well my friend...I've not heard anything so I assume all is well. I appreciate your concern but I think it's going strong...I'll let you know otherwise 😂

[@Olan...]

Awesome job R kid.....great video...just subbed...are you a Manc by any chance ?

[@DaddyBear3000]

When the video started I thought, ‘how is he going to do the drip edges?’ But using the corner bead is genius. Reinforces the corners and makes it a doddle to do the drip edge. Nice job! 👍🏼

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Thank you mate and thank you for the comment. I really appreciate it my friend 👍

[@kevinball7449]

Nice work there Blaine, just wondering where abouts you work as I'm in northwest UK and you sounded like a northern lad 😉 as in need of a house render as well as me cills cleaning up as they are looking battered. Cheers. Kev

[@fightermma]

I'll do en for you for a grand

[@evanmurphy3697]

Hi just wandering what size speed skim would you recommend thanks in advance

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

I like the 1.2m but 900mm is the perfect size as an all rounder my friend 👍

[@evanmurphy3697]

Cheers thanks for help 👌

[@NoPlus500]

Plastering For Beginners I’ve never seen a steel trowel to flatten s and c render at the final stage. Always sponge float or sponge. Would you do an entire house with the steel trowel this way? Also was it too tight to put beads on at the back of the cill? That’s why you free handed them? Cheers you do great work

[@pagey5457]

Did you put a groove in underneath?

[@mylife-py9qt]

Hi...great work. We are in manchester and trying to found someone like you😀 what type of trademan should we look for and how much would you charge to do 3 windows sil? Biggish at the bottom and 2 like yours for upstaires windows? Just to have an idea on how much i would need to spend😀 thanks

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Hi mate, how's it going?? I'll be honest mate there's quite a lot of prep and it's quite a time consuming job. Depends on the tradesmen but I'd say anywhere from £200 - £400. Shop around and see what you get...just be careful on the tradesmen because sills can easily blow if prepped and rendered badly.

[@mylife-py9qt]

@@PlasteringForBeginners i was quoted 800 for 1 big window and 2 small 😪

[@steve45678]

How long did you leave the render before refloating the sill?. Thanks

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

It was roughly 2 hours. But timings never stay the same with rendering due to heat and climate so you have to do it through touch.

[@ronjeremy7629]

Can you do this on mullions?

[@Daemiex]

the sticky tackyness is the thing i find most so called grab adhesives dont have, like pink grip grip fill etc. they just end up like playdoh, so ill try that trex stuff and see what its like

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

That's why I struggle with Grip Fill - its great when it dries but it doesn't have that instant grab like the T-Rex adhesive. This stuff is great 💪

[@zeeee1314]

Can this be done to cover tile windows cills?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Yeah mate. You just need to use a pre-grit like Rendagrip before rendering. It works a treat!

[@utoob22]

What mix ratio for sand cement

[@calvinjones2136]

Nice job but what happened to the tender bond. It looked like sbr to me ? Live long and plaster 😉

[@marc9709]

I feel like you’re working in Spain or something.. rendered wall,green window frame,blue skies 🤙

[@Shadow-k9w]

would like to see these 4 years on.

[@RVBadlands2015]

I have a Strawbale home and want todo concrete window sills inside. We have deep window sill.

[@Thelegend-gt5lb]

How do you make the white stuff

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

It's a product called SBR (that's what is called in the UK). Its latex 👍

[@nays90]

Hi a similar window sill however it is rotten any suggestions on how I can repair this?

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

Depending on the rot, you might have to rip it out and start again. You can’t work on a rotten background I’m afraid pal

[@nays90]

@@PlasteringForBeginners Thank you for your response

[@eddiecollins6668]

Could you do a video with sand and lime if you haven't already done one

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

I'll look into my friend 👍

[@whatsgoingon3822]

How do you render under the sill edge

[@PlasteringForBeginners]

It's the same process pal 👍