Exterior Painting
Double-storey home | full exterior repaint
A weather-worn double-storey exterior stripped back, prepared and repainted in a clean two-tone scheme.
Waterproofing systems compared, Durbanville, the Northern Suburbs and greater Cape Town
Every contractor recommends the system they happen to own.
The torch-on installer recommends torch-on. The coating guy recommends coating. We only apply liquid rubber, so read this knowing exactly what our bias is, and read the part where we tell you when torch-on is the better answer.
- Based in Durbanville, working Durbanville, Aurora, Vierlanden, Eversdal, Welgemoed, Bellville, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Plattekloof, Sonstraal Heights, Panorama, Kenridge, Fisantekraal and surrounds
- WhatsApp us and we reply during office hours.
- Written scope, one fixed price for the job
Problem & approach
Where these projects go wrong, and how we handle them.
The usual problem
You have a leak and three quotes that recommend three different systems at three different prices, and no way to judge between them. Worse, each quote is written in a way that makes comparison impossible: one prices per square metre, one prices the job, one lists a product name and nothing else. Nobody explains that the systems fail in completely different ways, on completely different timescales, and that the cheapest quote is often the one that has quietly left out the preparation that decides whether any of it lasts. So the decision gets made on price, which is the one variable that tells you the least.
Our approach
Here is the honest version. Torch-on is a bitumen sheet melted down with a flame. Done properly on a big flat concrete roof it is a solid, proven system, and the seams are its weakness: every lap is a join, joins age, and in ten years the leak is nearly always at a lap or an upstand. It needs a flame on site, which rules it out on some buildings, and it cannot be recoated, only overlaid or stripped. Acrylic roof coatings are paints with flex. Cheap, easy, fine for refreshing a sound roof, not a membrane. Liquid rubber goes on wet in three coats and cures to roughly 3mm of seamless rubber with no joins at all, seals around every bolt and pipe as one piece, needs no flame, and can be washed and recoated years later without stripping anything. Its weakness is honest too: it lives or dies on preparation and on getting all three coats, and it is not a structural repair. That is the whole comparison. We apply liquid rubber only, and if your roof is a large flat concrete slab where torch-on is genuinely the better economic answer, we will say that rather than take the job.
More on liquid rubber
Everything we know about liquid rubber, written down.
- Rubber Sealant® Liquid Rubber, Cape TownThe whole system in one place: what it is, coverage, primers, colours and guarantee terms.
- Liquid rubber roof coating vs rubber roof paintWhy the tin on the hardware shelf is not a waterproofing membrane.
- Buy liquid rubber in DurbanvilleAuthorised Rubber Sealant® reseller: drums, primers and collection by arrangement.
- Liquid rubber prices, per litre and per m²Every price published, with the coverage figures behind them.
- Rubber Sealant® coloursBlack plus fourteen standard colours, no top coat needed.
- Rubber roof paint, explained honestlyWhat is in the tin, what it costs, and when it will not hold.
- Waterproof roof paint pricesPer litre, per drum and per square metre installed.
- Rubber paint, surface by surfaceMetal, tile, slate, concrete, flat and asbestos each have their own rules.
- Liquid rubber in DurbanvilleCollect the drums locally, or hand us the roof.
- Rubber Sealant® suppliers, DurbanvilleThe full range, current prices, collection by arrangement.
- Where to buy liquid rubber in South AfricaThe three things to confirm before you pay for a drum.
What may be included
Scope you can actually read.
The exact line items on your quote depend on the site inspection. This is the shape of what a typical project of this type includes.
- Diagnosis first: where the water actually enters, before any system is discussed
- A written recommendation that names the system and says why
- Cost per square metre for the option we recommend, and honest comment on the alternatives
- Preparation spelled out in writing, because that is where quotes hide the difference
- Detail scope: bolts, laps, upstands, flashings, penetrations, drainage
- Three-coat Rubber Sealant® build where liquid rubber is the right answer
- A straight no, with a reason, where it is not
Products we work with
The Systems Behind the Work.
Approved applicator and authorised reseller of Rubber Sealant® Liquid Rubber.
Our preferred paint on most projects.
We are not a Plascon approved applicator. Plascon is simply the paint we choose to specify for its quality and track record, and we will recommend a different system where a project calls for it.
Our process
7 steps from enquiry to handover.
- 1
Enquiry and phone assessment
- 2
Site inspection and leak diagnosis
- 3
Written recommendation with the system named and justified
- 4
One fixed price for the whole job
- 5
Preparation, repair and priming
- 6
Three-coat liquid rubber application
- 7
Drainage check, handover and guarantee documentation
Honest limits
What we will tell you up front.
A proper contractor should be honest about what a service can and cannot do. These are the things we will always flag.
- We do not install torch-on membranes, and we do not install injection damp courses. Liquid rubber is the only waterproofing system we apply.
- On large flat concrete roofs with good access and good falls, torch-on can be the better economic answer. We will tell you when it is and refer you on.
- Neither system fixes structure, falls or drainage. Those come first, whichever route you take.
- Comparative lifespans depend entirely on preparation and application. A badly applied premium system loses to a well applied cheap one every time.
- Guarantee terms depend on manufacturer inspection, correct specification, certified thickness and maintenance.
Not sure what your liquid rubber vs torch-on needs? Send us a photo.
Take one photo on your phone, send it on WhatsApp, and we will tell you what we are looking at. We are in Durbanville most weeks, so a site visit is easy to arrange.
WhatsApp a photoFAQ
Liquid Rubber vs Torch-On: questions we hear
Budgeting
Want the numbers before you phone anyone?
We publish real Cape Town rates, including our own, and explain exactly what a cheaper quote leaves out.
Exterior Painting
Single-storey home | exterior and trim
Walls, fascias and trim brought back to a crisp finish, with cracks treated before any coating went on.
Roof Painting
Tiled roof | cleaned and coated
Tiles cleaned down, ridges checked and re-bedded where needed, then coated with a specified roof system.
Keep reading
The pages our Durbanville clients read before they phone us.
Start here
- Painters in DurbanvilleWhat we charge, how we scope it, and why the cheap quote was never cheaper.
- Asbestos roof: seal it or remove it?The honest cost comparison nobody publishes.
Durbanville, service by service
- Roof waterproofing in Durbanville
- Damp proofing in Durbanville
- Exterior painting in Durbanville
- Interior painting in Durbanville
- Asbestos roof encapsulation in Durbanville
- Complex and body corporate repaints in Durbanville
Where we work
- Painters & waterproofing in DurbanvilleWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in AuroraWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in VierlandenWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in EversdalWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in WelgemoedWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in BellvilleWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in BrackenfellWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in KraaifonteinWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in Kuils RiverWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in PlattekloofWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in Sonstraal HeightsWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in PanoramaWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in KenridgeWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in FisantekraalWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
Complexes, commercial & managed buildings
- Body corporate & complex repaintingA scope trustees can compare, phased block by block.
- Commercial & retail paintingShops and offices painted after hours, never closed.
- Warehouse & industrial coatingRusted metal roofs sealed, hot workshops cooled.
- For property managers & agentsWritten scopes, fixed prices, photographs for the file.
- Wine farm & estate paintingOld lime plaster, gables and cellars, handled properly.
Business parks & work at height
- Painting in Atlas GardensWarehouses and offices done around your trading hours.
- Painting in Durbanville HillsExposed, wind driven buildings need their own specification.
- Factory & industrial paintingWater first, then steel, then walls. In that order.
- Office park & multi-tenant repaintsFloor by floor, out of hours, nobody loses a day.
- Exterior crack & plaster repairWhy the crack came back, and how it is properly fixed.
- Working at heights paintingThe compliance to demand before anyone leaves the ground.
- Scaffolding & access paintingAccess is priced per erection. Plan around that and save.
- Painting tender checklistOne page, so three quotes describe the same job.
Specialist systems
- Rubber Sealant® Liquid RubberApproved applicator and reseller: prices, coverage, colours and guarantee terms.
- Buy liquid rubber in DurbanvilleThe same drums we use, collected by arrangement.
- Liquid rubber prices, per litre and per m²Every price published, with the coverage behind it.
- Asbestos roof encapsulationSeal the sheets in place instead of paying to strip them.
- Asbestos roof coating, Cape TownWhy a R60 coating lifts and a R285 system does not.
- Asbestos roof repairStop the leak without lifting a single sheet.
- Asbestos roof sealing costReal rates and three worked roofs, arithmetic shown.
- Asbestos roofing, Cape TownWhat you actually have up there, and what to do about it.
- How long an asbestos roof lastsThe real lifespan, and how sealing extends it.
- Waterproofing & damp proofingLiquid rubber on roofs, walls and rising damp.
Durbanville and surrounds
Get a fixed price for your liquid rubber vs torch-on.
Three ways to start, all of them quick. Send a WhatsApp, tap to call, or leave your details and we come back with a written scope and one fixed price for the whole job.
WhatsApp Leroy now Call 079 435 6308
Monday–Friday 08:00–17:00
What happens after you send it
We reply, ask the few questions that matter, then book a proper look at the property. You get a written scope, one fixed price for the whole job, and a straight answer on what we will not do.
One-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying Williams & Co work.
Takes about 20 seconds