External wall insulation and render systems take a fair amount of work to install, and essential to the process is having good tools for the job. Generally, when looking to invest in new tools, we recommend looking at stainless steel and other metals that will resist rusting; this will ensure your investment lasts longer, and the higher quality the metal the stronger the trowel as well.
We’re going to be taking a look at some of the products that we stock here at EWI Store to explain exactly what they’re for!
Plastering trowels are the most versatile and useful trowel to have in your collection. They are incredibly multi-purpose, but are typically used for applying the the basecoat layer in any render or external wall insulation system. Plastering trowels are also suitable for applying certain render finishes.
This tool is typically used for applying the first layer of the basecoat to create a textured surface to increase the adhesion of the second coat. It’s also useful for applying adhesive to the backs of insulation boards, especially if you are choosing to apply the adhesive to the ensure surface of the board as opposed to the ‘dot and dab’ method. This particular tool has a straight edge on one length, while the rest of the edges are ‘notched’ – the size of the notch can also vary depending on the purpose of the trowel.
As the name suggests, the bucket trowel is used for mixing, scooping and scraping product in the bucket. Great for picking up product to slap on the wall before spreading it out.
Typically used for smoothing out the basecoat layer over a large surface area. Rendering spatulas are particularly good for saving time and energy, allowing you to cover a lot of ground at a quicker pace. Generally these are used for roughly spreading the product across the surface before going over the area again to perfect it.
As the name suggests, the trowel is ideal for achieving a perfect corner. This tool can really save time, allowing you to achieve a neat corner; they often come as either ‘outside’ corner trowels or ‘inside’ corner trowels for external and internal rendering and plastering.
Plastic render floats are very cheap and lightweight, ideal for ‘rubbing up’ a thin coat render to bring out the grains to create the desired textural finish. They are used at the very final stage in any EWI or render installation; typically with our thin coat renders, e.g. our Silicone, Silicone Silicate and Acrylic renders.
Once again intended for the very final stage of a render system, the sponge float is used to create a ‘sponged finish.’ The sponge float essentially rubs out the trowel marks on a surface in order to achieve a smooth, perfect rendered surface.
This is used to fill and finish masonry joints with mortar or cement. This is perfect for repairing a substrate before installing your EWI or render system. Any cracks and gaps in the substrate pose the threat of condensation and moisture, which can be detrimental to any further work, so these are filled using the pointing trowel.
Last but not least, the pebbledashing trowel. Its sole purpose is to scoop up dash aggregates to simply hurl them at the adhesive-covered substrate.
