Proposing the Regal range of colours – developed by Knauf for its Presto render range – has enabled Cavanna Homes to work closely with South Hams District Council’s planning department to achieve a pleasing external aesthetic at its Origins development, set in the heart of the Devon village of Dartington.
“We’ve worked with Knauf products before and planners in Devon have seen it in use on our developments across the county where it provides the right blend of rural appearance with a modern low maintenance performance,” explains Michael Bennett, Commercial and Technical Director for Cavanna Homes (Devon) Ltd.
“We’re very pleased with the result – the Presto render, whether scratch or roughcast, delivers a very good consistent finish, particularly since we have specified Knauf’s Equaliser silicone paint as the final coat."
Developed to simplify what can be a difficult design decision, the Regal range is restricted to 16 colours that are most readily accepted by most UK planners. In the case of the Origins development of 63 plots, Cavanna selected Steel Grey, Snow White, Ivory and Camel for the two, three and four bedroom contemporary homes that will feature a variety of designs, complementing their surroundings with a mixture of finishes such as timber cladding, render, stone and natural slate roofs.
Resulting from extensive research and development, Presto offers a scratch render specifically devised for the UK climate and housing stock, where this type of render is a finish traditional to housing in many towns and villages across the UK.
Consisting of a lime-based render with high resistance to cracking, Presto render can be applied to the substrate either by trowel or mixing pump, such as those available from Knauf PFT, and then scratched back with a special trowel the next day to expose the coloured aggregate and to form ashlar lines and details to meet local requirements or other design criteria.
Available in a standard grain size of 1.5mm, the Regal range of colours in Presto render also includes: Vanilla; County Cream; Lemon; Cream; Mushroom White; Sienna Red; Rose; Cool Blue; Pistachio; Stone; Platinum and Silver Blue. Each has been extensively tested to deliver quality and reliability as well as the traditional aesthetic appearance.
Suitable for painting, rolling and spraying, the final Equaliser coat is a silicone resin façade paint that is specially designed for the equalisation (one-off rolling coat) of mineral finishing coats in white and tinted shades, in order to even out any differences in shade of the surface of the render caused by drying, weathering or processing. Highly vapour-permeable and water repellent, it dries to a low-tension finish and is structure preserving. Although highly economical, Equaliser has a premium, mineral appearance and is resistant to algae and fungi.