How much does roughcasting cost?
For a typical house in the UK, published price guides put roughcasting a whole house at about £2,100 to £9,200, depending on its size. Taking the old coat off, scaffolding and repairs underneath can add a lot on top. Here's where those figures come from, and what makes your own price higher or lower.
One thing first. These are national figures from cost guides, not quotes. If you're in Paisley or elsewhere in Renfrewshire, the form at the bottom of this page will get you a real price from one trusted local firm. We can't arrange quotes outside Paisley and Renfrewshire, but the rest of this guide applies wherever you live.
Typical prices by house size
| House | Typical total | Time on site |
|---|---|---|
| 2-bed terraced house | £2,100–£4,800 | 3 to 7 days |
| 3-bed semi-detached house | £2,300–£5,500 | 6 to 8 days |
| 4-bed detached house | £2,700–£9,200 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Medium-sized bungalow | £2,300–£5,500 | 6 to 8 days |
Source: MyJobQuote, cost to pebble dash a house (covers pebble dashing and roughcasting; last updated 4 August 2026), opened 11 November 2026.
Price per square metre
Firms often work from a rate per square metre of wall, so it helps to know what that looks like. The two guides we could use agree on the broad range but not the detail:
| Source | Rate per m² |
|---|---|
| MyJobQuote | £40–£60 for small areas up to 10m², £35–£55 for 20–50m², £30–£50 for a whole house (50m² or more) |
| BestBuilders | £40–£55, fitted (pebbledash or roughcast) |
Sources: MyJobQuote (updated 4 August 2026) and BestBuilders, house rendering cost (updated 7 September 2026), both opened 11 November 2026. BestBuilders says its rates cover England, Scotland and Wales, with London and the South East typically 15–30% higher.
BestBuilders also gives typical wall areas: about 45–70m² for a mid-terrace (front and back only), 90–120m² for a three-bed semi, and 140–200m² for a three or four-bed detached house. Multiply those by the rates above and you land in much the same place as the table by house size.
The extras that change the total
The house-size figures are for putting the new finish on. On a re-roughcast, which is most jobs in Paisley, there's usually more to it.
| Extra | MyJobQuote | BestBuilders |
|---|---|---|
| Scaffolding | £750–£1,000 | £800–£1,600 for a full two-storey semi; £1,500–£2,500 for a detached house |
| Taking off old render | £25–£45 per m², labour only; £2,000–£4,000 for a full semi, £3,000–£6,000 for a detached house | £10–£25 per m², often £1,000–£3,000 across a house |
| Skip | £220–£440 | £200–£400 each |
| Small patch repairs | £200–£350 labour plus £40–£80 materials | Not given |
Sources: MyJobQuote, pebble dash (updated 4 August 2026), MyJobQuote, removing render (updated 25 September 2026) and BestBuilders (updated 7 September 2026), all opened 11 November 2026. The two disagree on the cost of hacking off old render, so we've shown both.
So for a semi where the old roughcast has to come off, a realistic budget is the finish itself plus removal, scaffolding and a skip. Going by the guides above, those extras can add several thousand pounds to the headline figure. That's why a quote that looks cheap often turns out to leave out the scaffold or the hacking off.
What makes your price higher or lower
How much wall there is
It's priced on wall area, not bedrooms. A mid-terrace only has a front and a back. A detached house has four sides, maybe a garage, and gables that go right up to the roof.
Height, and scaffolding
A bungalow can often be done from towers or ladders. Anything taller needs scaffolding, and on a tenement or a house right on the pavement, the scaffold may also need a permit from the council.
Taking the old coat off
This is the big one. If the existing roughcast is sound, some firms will put a new coat over it. If it's cracked, loose or hollow, it all comes off, and that's slow, messy work. Our roughcast repairs page explains when a patch will do instead.
What's underneath
Once the wall is bare, problems turn up: crumbling brick, failed pointing, cracked blockwork, rotten lintels. Those are priced as extras, and it's fair that they are, because nobody can see them until the old coat is off. A good firm will warn you this might happen.
The finish
Traditional roughcast and harling sit at the cheaper end. Through-coloured renders such as K-rend, and silicone finishes, generally cost more per square metre, though they don't need painting. Our rendering page compares them, and our guide to harling, roughcast and pebbledash explains the names.
Access and time of year
Tight gaps between houses, conservatories in the way and steep gardens all add time. So does the weather. Roughcast needs dry days above freezing to cure properly, so in the west of Scotland the season runs roughly from spring to early autumn. Winter bookings are possible but can be delayed.
Roughcasting in Paisley: what to expect
A lot of houses in Paisley and the rest of Renfrewshire are roughcast already, especially the council-built and ex-council semis and four-in-a-block cottage flats from the 1930s to the 1970s. Most of the work here is therefore re-roughcasting, which means the removal costs above usually apply.
With cottage flats and semis, the wall is often shared visually with next door. If only your half is redone, the colour and texture won't match theirs. Some neighbours agree to do the whole block together, which can bring the scaffolding cost per house down. It's worth a chat over the fence before you ask for a price.
For more on the work itself, see roughcasting and harling in Paisley, or roughcasting in Johnstone, Renfrew, Erskine and the rest of Renfrewshire.
What to check in a quote
- Is scaffolding included, and for how long?
- Does it include hacking off the old coat and taking the waste away?
- How will repairs to the wall underneath be priced if they turn up?
- What finish and colour, and will it need painting later?
- Are window sills, downpipes and satellite dishes taken off and refitted?
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Common questions
Is it cheaper to roughcast over the old roughcast?
It can be, if the old coat is sound and firmly stuck to the wall. If it sounds hollow when tapped, or is cracked and coming away, it has to come off first, or the new coat will fail along with it. A tap test on the day is the only way to know.
Does the price include scaffolding?
Sometimes, sometimes not. Published guides often list scaffolding separately, and it's one of the biggest single costs on a two-storey house. Ask for it to be shown as its own line in the quote.
How long does it take?
MyJobQuote puts a three-bed semi at six to eight days, and a four-bed detached house at one to two weeks. Rain and frost add to that, because the work needs dry weather above freezing.