Rendering in Oldbury

Oldbury is a Black Country town that the canals turned into an island. Brindley’s canal looped round the old village in 1769, Telford’s improvements in the 1820s completed the loop, and inside it a small farming settlement became a crowded town of chemical works, foundries, maltings and terraced streets. Around that core sit Langley, Rood End, Causeway Green, Tividale and the edge of Warley, with houses from every decade since. RCR Connections Ltd renders and repairs homes across all of them. We’re a Birmingham based rendering and plastering company covering the whole of the Midlands, and walls inside and out are all we work on.

For walls and ceilings inside, see our page on plastering in Oldbury, which covers plastering, re-plastering and repairs.

The team has 62 years of combined experience. What follows is for Oldbury homeowners and landlords who want to understand their walls before deciding what to do with them. It’s laid out in five parts: the town’s history and what it left on the walls, the Church Square conservation area, the house types in the wider town, a guide to choosing a render system, and then the practical side of getting the job done.

Part one: the canal island

Before the canals

Sandwell Council’s 2008 character appraisal of Church Square describes Oldbury as a place that was not even a nucleated settlement until the later Middle Ages. It passed with Halesowen to the Crown in 1102 and was tied to Halesowen’s manor courts for centuries. The appraisal notes that it is not mentioned in the court rolls again until 1557. The earliest known map showing the town is Ogilby’s road atlas, Britannia, of 1675.

1767 to the 1820s

An Act of Parliament in 1767 authorised a canal through Oldbury to link Birmingham with the collieries around Wednesbury and Bilston. Designed by James Brindley and finished in 1769, it looped to the north around the town centre. When Thomas Telford improved the system in the 1820s, the appraisal says, Oldbury became a “canal island”, and the village inside it grew into a compact, densely built town.

Industry and crowding

The canal brought trade and industry. The appraisal lists chemical works, iron foundries, edge tool works, corn mills, wagon works, brick works, maltings and at least one brewery, and quotes a description of the town in the 1840s as “bursting at the seams”. Oldbury was incorporated as a borough in 1935. In the later 20th century came a long period of clearance and change: the Savacentre on the old market square in 1979, which the council describes as the first town-centre hypermarket in the UK, and the civic centre that now houses Sandwell Council.

What the town left on its walls

Industrial towns are hard on buildings. Generations of smoke and fumes left soot and acidic deposits on brick and render. Fast-built terraces used whatever bricks were to hand, and many were later patched with hard cement. When houses were improved in the second half of the 20th century, a coat of render, pebble-dash or spar dash was a quick way to cover old brick and repairs. Today, much of that coating has reached the end of its life.

Part two: Church Square

The conservation area

The Church Square conservation area was first designated in December 1974 and its boundary was reviewed in June 2008. The council’s page describes it as covering most of Oldbury town centre after that review. At its heart is the lozenge-shaped square around Christ Church, with Unity Place to the north, part of Birmingham Street, and Canal Street along the south.

Christ Church

Christ Church was built in 1840 to 1841, and the appraisal describes it as typically understated, the focal point of the square. It also records moss and lichen growing on its brickwork and a crumbling dedication stone, both reminders that even a well-built church needs looking after.

Stucco in the square

The square shows Oldbury’s two traditions side by side. The appraisal records:

• 2 and 3 Church Square: an early 19th-century house of stuccoed brick.
• 1 Church Square: a mid 19th-century house.
• 10 Church Square: a mid to late 19th-century stucco-covered house.
• 30 Birmingham Street: an early to mid 19th-century former bank in stuccoed brick.
• A former Baptist schoolhouse on Canal Street: a small mid 19th-century rendered brick building.
• A cast-iron milepost of the 19th century in the square.

It also notes that Oldbury can claim the first branch of Lloyds Bank outside Birmingham.

The appraisal describes good red brick laid in Flemish bond, often stuccoed over as was the fashion, and lists blue brick, yellow brick, terracotta, stucco, stone, reconstituted stone and moulded brick among the area’s materials. It also observes that in several parts of the study area the red brick has been rendered over.

The streets inside the island

The 2008 appraisal splits the town centre into five zones, and walking them is a good way to understand Oldbury’s buildings.

Church Square and Unity Place. This is the existing conservation area. Unity Place is a crescent named after the Unitarian chapel that once stood there. The appraisal picks out 12 Unity Place, red brick in Flemish bond with timber bay windows, and a listed early to mid 19th-century building on the eastern side. In the 19th century, Church Square and Unity Place were the most desirable addresses in town, which is why the best houses and offices are here.

Lower Birmingham Street and Low Town. East and south-east of the square, the buildings vary a lot in height, style and level. The appraisal says that despite this they hold a strong building line that gives the street its identity.

Upper Birmingham Street, Halesowen Street and Canal Street. These have 19th-century shops and houses of mixed styles and roof heights. Halesowen Street was one of the main streets in the mid 19th century, though much of it has since gone.

Church Street and Freeth Street. This is Oldbury’s civic quarter, with the former public library of the late 19th century on the corner of Freeth Street and the war memorial nearby.

The old industrial core. Between the former canal and the centre, the zone that was once Oldbury’s industrial heart has been heavily changed, with large modern buildings and few traces of what came before.

What the appraisal flagged as problems

The appraisal is honest about the threats to the area. It shows inappropriate signage, fly-tipping on the former canal route, moss and lichen on the church, and older buildings whose original windows and details have been lost. For anyone looking after a building here, the lesson is simple: small, careful repairs done on time protect the character of the place better than large changes made later.

What that means if you own a building here

If you own one of the stuccoed buildings, the stucco is part of what makes it special. It should be repaired, not stripped or replaced with a modern system. Repairs should use a lime-based mix similar to the original, with mouldings run to match, and a breathable paint on top. Listed buildings need listed building consent for most outside works.

If your building is brick and has never been rendered, rendering it would change its character, and in a conservation area that needs careful thought and a conversation with Sandwell’s planners first. Sandwell’s planning pages say that permission is needed in its conservation areas for works that alter a building.

Part three: the wider town, house by house

Most Oldbury homes are outside the conservation area. Here are the types we come across most and how their walls behave.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces

Rows of terraced houses still line streets near the town centre and in Langley and Rood End. They were built with solid brick walls, typically without a cavity, and decorative touches such as brick string courses, stone sills and arched door heads. The most common problems:

1. Cement render or pebble-dash added later and now cracked, letting water in but not out.
2. Bulging render on the front where it has lost its grip.
3. Render taken down below the damp course, wicking moisture up.
4. Black staining from decades of soot under the surface layer.

These walls behave best with breathable finishes. If the old coating is failing, taking it off and repairing the brick gives the best result.

Inter-war council and private semis

Between the wars, Oldbury expanded outwards with council estates and private semis. Many of these have a rendered or pebble-dashed upper floor over a brick ground floor, and a cavity wall. The render on these houses is often original and can last a long time, but it tends to fail in patches: around the bay, under the sills and at the corners of the house.

Post-war houses and system-built homes

After 1945, new estates appeared on the edges of Oldbury and in Tividale. Some houses were built with non-traditional methods using concrete panels or steel frames. These need checking carefully. If a house has a defective concrete structure, rendering over it could hide a problem rather than solve it. We will tell you if a house needs a structural survey before any render goes on.

Newer estates and conversions

There’s been a lot of building since the 1980s, including the mews and terraces on Canal Street built on the site of a late 19th-century ironworks. These mostly have cavity walls of brick and block. Render on newer homes is usually a monocouche or a sand and cement finish on blockwork. Faults tend to be fine cracking, staining, and small areas of damage, rather than wholesale failure.

Flats above shops

Oldbury’s shopping streets have flats over shops. The upper parts can be neglected, with loose render, cracked sills and blocked gutters. Falling render is a risk to people below, so it’s worth getting looked at early.

Free, no-obligation quote in Oldbury: WhatsApp me on 07453 614095 with a few photos, or send us a message.

K-Rend in Oldbury: rendering across the town and Langley

Oldbury is a canal and works town, with Victorian terraces near the centre, inter-war estates round Rounds Green and Bristnall, and newer homes on old industrial land. K-Rend monocouche and silicone render suits a lot of those houses. RCR Connections Ltd is Birmingham based, covering the whole of the Midlands, and Oldbury is just off the M5 from us. These are the parts of the area we work in most, the houses you find there and the K-Rend jobs they usually need.

• The town centre and Church Square. Older brick buildings, flats over shops and a few villas. Work here is mostly on side and back walls and the upper floors above shops, and we check what is allowed before any change to a front. To the north-east, our page on rendering in West Bromwich covers the next town.
• Langley and Langley Green. Victorian and Edwardian terraces near the old works and the canal, with rendered back walls and outriggers. On solid brick we use a breathable silicone system or lime and stop the render above the damp course.
• Rounds Green, Brades Village and Titford. Inter-war council semis and short terraces, many with tired grey dash. A meshed base coat and K-Rend monocouche gives a clean front that does not need painting.
• Bristnall, Warley and Causeway Green. 1930s semis and bay-fronted houses towards Warley Woods, with pebbledash on the upper floors. K-Rend on the top half with brick kept below suits these houses well. Over the hill, our page on rendering in Smethwick covers Bearwood and Cape Hill.
• Tividale and Whiteheath. Post-war and later estates on the high ground towards Dudley, with gables, side extensions and garage conversions. Tividale runs up to the borough edge, and our page on rendering in Dudley covers the homes on that side.
• Lion Farm and the Wolverhampton Road side. Post-war estates, including some non-traditional houses. We find out how the house was built before choosing between K-Rend and silicone over a mesh base coat. Heading south towards Blackheath, see rendering in Halesowen.

Wherever you are in Oldbury, the first step is the same: WhatsApp me on 07453 614095 or message the page with a photo of each side of the house and your road or postcode. We work Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday 7am to 1pm, and between us we have 62 years of combined experience.

Part four: choosing a render

Questions to answer first

The right system depends on the wall, so start with these:

• What is the wall made of? Solid brick, cavity brick and block, concrete panel, or something else?
• What’s on it now? Bare brick, paint, cement render, pebble-dash, or a modern system?
• Is it sound? Tap it. Hollow areas need to come off.
• Is it damp? Find out why before choosing a finish.
• What look do you want? Smooth, textured, coloured, painted?
• Is the building protected? Listed, in a conservation area, or under an Article 4 Direction?

The systems, compared

Lime render. Soft, breathable, flexible. Best for older solid walls and for repairing stucco. Slow to apply and needs protection while it cures. Normally finished in limewash or a vapour-open mineral paint.

Sand and cement. Strong and familiar. Works on blockwork and some modern walls. Too hard and impermeable for most solid Victorian brick. Needs painting and repainting.

Silicone render. A thin, coloured finish on a reinforced basecoat. Repels rain and lets vapour out. Stays cleaner for longer. A good fit for re-rendering many inter-war and post-war houses and suitable for prepared Victorian walls.

K-Rend monocouche. A one-coat, through-coloured render, scraped to a soft texture. No painting. Ideal on blockwork and even, sound backgrounds, and widely used on extensions and new homes. More on our K-Rend monocouche page.

Insulated render. Insulation boards, mesh-reinforced basecoat and a render finish. Can transform a cold solid-walled house, but needs careful detailing at sills, eaves and junctions.

Matching a system to the house

1. Stuccoed building in Church Square: lime repairs, matched to the original.
2. Solid-walled terrace with failed render: strip, repair, then lime or a breathable silicone system.
3. Inter-war semi with patchy pebble-dash: repair or strip, then silicone or K-Rend monocouche over a suitable base.
4. Cold end terrace: insulated render, if the wall is sound and the details work.
5. Block extension: K-Rend monocouche or silicone, coloured to suit the house.

We explain the choice in plain terms before you commit. Our guide, K-Rend monocouche vs silicone render, covers it in more depth.

Patch repairs that blend in

Not every wall needs a full re-render. If the damage is limited to one area and everything around it holds firm, patching is often the sensible route. The challenge is making it match.

• Texture. Old render often has a texture that’s hard to copy. We test small areas until the finish matches.
• Colour. New render dries a different shade from weathered render. On painted walls, repainting the whole elevation hides the patch. On coloured finishes, it may be better to take the repair to a natural break such as a corner or downpipe.
• Strength. The patch shouldn’t be harder than the render around it, or it will crack at the edges.
• Edges. Cutting back to sound render with clean, square edges gives the repair a firm hold.

If patches keep failing, that tells you the whole coating has reached the end of its life.

Faults, A to Z

Algae

Green and black growth on north-facing walls, under trees and near the canal. A biocide treatment and gentle clean usually sorts it. Silicone finishes resist regrowth better.

Bulging

Render pushed out from the wall, often with a crack around the edge. It means the bond has gone. That section, and often more, needs to come off.

Cracking

Fine crazing usually means the render was too rich or dried too fast. Longer cracks may follow brick joints, lintels or structural movement. Each has a different fix, so the cause matters.

Damp patches

Patches inside that line up with outside defects suggest rain getting through. Patches at the bottom of the wall suggest rising or splashing water, or render bridging the damp course.

Efflorescence

White powdery salts coming through the surface. They show water is moving through the wall. Brush them off dry and deal with the water source.

Flaking paint

Usually the wrong paint on the wall, trapping moisture. Strip the loose paint and use a breathable finish, or re-render.

Gaps at window frames

Where render meets a frame, a gap opens up over time. Seal it with a suitable flexible sealant, and check sills are throwing water clear.

Hollow render

Tap test finds it. Small patches can be cut out; widespread hollowness means stripping.

Lintel cracks

Horizontal cracks along a lintel, sometimes with rust staining, point to a corroding steel lintel. It needs repair or replacement before the render is fixed.

Rust stains

Orange streaks from old fixings, wires or brackets. Remove redundant metal and fill the holes properly.

Spalled brick under render

When old render is stripped, brick faces may have crumbled. Replace or repair those bricks before re-rendering.

Staining under sills

Sills without a drip groove let water run down the wall. A new sill or a drip detail fixes the cause.

Part five: getting the job done

Permission

Most re-rendering outside conservation areas doesn’t need planning permission, but check with Sandwell’s planning team if:

• your home is in the Church Square conservation area or another conservation area;
• your building is listed;
• you’re changing the look of the house significantly, for example rendering brick for the first time or adding insulated render.

Building regulations can apply to larger works on a wall, because thermal rules come in once a big enough share of the wall is renewed. Sandwell’s building control service is the place to ask.

Scaffolding and the street

Many Oldbury terraces front directly onto the pavement. Scaffolding there needs a licence from the council, which the scaffold firm arranges. We keep the pavement passable and protected while we work.

Protecting your home

Before any render comes off, we cover windows, doors, paths and anything else that could be damaged. Stripping render is dusty, so close windows and move cars away from the house.

The work, step by step

1. Photos and a chat. WhatsApp photos of the walls to 07453 614095.
2. A visit. We knock on the render to find hollow spots and look over sills, gutters and the base of each wall.
3. A written quote. Clear about what’s being done and with which system.
4. Scaffolding and protection.
5. Stripping and repairs. Old render off where needed, brick and lintels repaired.
6. Beads and basecoat. Corner and stop beads fixed, then a basecoat with mesh where needed.
7. Finish coat. Applied in suitable weather, with time to cure.
8. Detailing. Sills, junctions and seals finished neatly.
9. Clean-up. Protection off, waste removed.
10. Walk round. We check it with you before we leave.

Weather

Curing render is spoiled by frost, so we only apply it when the forecast stays above about 5°C and dry. Very hot, windy days are also a problem, as render dries too quickly. We plan around the forecast and protect fresh work with sheeting.

How long it takes

A small repair might take a day or two. Re-rendering a semi typically takes longer, and stripping, brick repairs and lime render all add time, because each coat needs to cure. We’ll give you a realistic idea when we quote.

After the render goes on

Looking after it

• Keep gutters and downpipes flowing and repaired.
• Don’t let soil or paving build up against the wall above the damp course.
• Wash off growth gently when it appears.
• Use proper fixings and seal any holes if you attach anything.
• Check sealant at windows and doors every few years.

Painting

Silicone and monocouche finishes don’t need painting. Sand and cement render does. If you paint, use a breathable masonry paint suited to the render underneath.

Inside the house

Damp walls outside often mean damp plaster inside. Once the outside is put right, the inside can be re-plastered. We do both. Related pages: plastering in West Bromwich, plastering in Dudley and plastering in Birmingham.

Canal-side and industrial sites

Living near the old canal routes

Parts of Oldbury sit along the old canal lines, including the Oldbury loop that the appraisal’s boundary review takes in. Homes beside canals and old cuttings can be in shade and damp air, so their walls grow algae and dry slowly. We pay close attention to the base of the wall, the drainage around it and the choice of a finish that dries well.

Converted industrial buildings

Where old industrial buildings have been converted, the walls can be a patchwork of brick types, old openings and repairs. Rendering them needs careful preparation, sometimes with mesh over different materials to stop cracks forming along the joins.

Colour and texture choices

Oldbury’s streets are mostly red brick, with some painted and rendered houses among them. Practical points when choosing:

• Warm whites, creams and stone shades sit well with red brick.
• Darker greys can look smart on modern houses and extensions, but test them in sunlight first, as dark colours absorb heat.
• On a terrace, consider how the colour works next to your neighbours.
• A smooth finish shows every imperfection in the wall, while a light texture is more forgiving.

Our colour samples are best judged outside, against your own brick and roof.

Commercial and rented property

We work for landlords and businesses as well as homeowners. For rented homes, render problems often come up after damp complaints, so it helps to deal with the cause rather than just the symptom. For shop owners, we can arrange the work around opening hours where scaffold and access allow.

Questions to ask any renderer

• What’s causing the current problem, and how will the new render deal with it?
• Which system are you recommending, and why?
• Will the old render come off, and what happens if the brick behind is damaged?
• How will you treat the damp course line at the base?
• What happens to sills, downpipes and fixings?
• How will you protect my home and the pavement?

Stripping pebble-dash: what to expect

A lot of Oldbury houses have pebble-dash or spar dash that has started to come away. Taking it off is the most disruptive part of any rendering job, so it helps to know what’s involved.

Why it fails

Dash finishes were usually thrown onto a wet sand and cement coat. That coat is hard and doesn’t let moisture out easily. Over the years, water gets in through cracks and around windows, sits behind the hard layer, and in winter it freezes and pushes the coating off the brick. After the first section fails, water creeps behind the neighbouring areas too.

How it comes off

We cut the coating into sections and remove it with hand tools and light power tools, working carefully so we don’t damage more brick than we have to. Then we brush down the wall, rake out loose mortar and assess what’s underneath.

What you might find underneath

• Bricks with crumbled faces where water has been trapped.
• Old openings that were bricked up in a different brick.
• Lintels that have rusted and need attention.
• Cracks that were covered rather than repaired.
• Mortar that has gone soft and sandy.

We show you anything significant before we carry on, and we explain what it means for the job.

Putting the wall right

Damaged bricks are cut out and replaced, or repaired with a suitable mortar. Joints are repointed where needed. Cracks are stitched if there’s been movement. Only then does the new render go on. Skipping this step is the most common reason a new render fails early.

Working with lime

Lime suits Oldbury’s older buildings, and it’s worth explaining because it’s less familiar than cement.

What makes lime different

Lime mortars and renders set slowly by taking in carbon dioxide from the air. They stay slightly soft and flexible, so they move with an old building instead of cracking. They also let moisture pass through, so a solid wall can dry out.

How it goes on

Lime is applied in thin coats, each one allowed to firm up before the next. Each coat is kept damp while it cures, and protected from sun, wind, rain and frost. In cold months, lime work slows or stops altogether. It takes longer than a modern system, which is part of why it has to be planned properly.

Finishing lime

A lime render is usually finished with limewash or a breathable mineral paint. Ordinary masonry paint can seal the surface and undo the benefit of using lime in the first place.

Insulated render on a solid wall

Many of Oldbury’s older homes have solid walls that lose heat quickly. Insulated render is one way to improve them, but it isn’t right for every house.

When it works well

• The wall is sound, with no structural movement.
• There’s room at the eaves, windows and doors for the extra thickness.
• Downpipes, meters, lights and other fittings can be moved out.
• The house isn’t in a conservation area, or the planners are content with the change.

When it needs more thought

• Terraces where a single house would stand proud of its neighbours.
• Houses with brick details that would be covered.
• Walls with a damp problem that hasn’t been solved.

Getting the details right

The success of insulated render depends on what happens at the edges: sills that extend past the new surface, sealed junctions around windows, protection at ground level and a proper finish at the eaves. These are the places where water gets in if the job is rushed.

Extensions and new walls

Rear and side extensions are common across Oldbury’s estates. A rendered extension can match an older rendered house, or give a modern contrast against brick.

• On new blockwork, K-Rend monocouche or a silicone system both work well.
• Let the blockwork settle and dry before rendering.
• Use movement beads where new walls meet old ones, so a crack doesn’t form along the join.
• If the main house is being re-rendered at the same time, use the same system for a consistent finish.

Bays, chimneys and garden walls

Bay windows

Bay windows on Victorian terraces and inter-war semis are a weak point. The roof of the bay, the joint with the main wall and the sills all collect water. Render around a bay often cracks along the line where the bay meets the house, because the two parts move differently. We treat that line with care, with a bead or a flexible detail where it’s needed, and we check the bay roof flashing before rendering below it.

Chimneys

Rendered chimney stacks take the worst of the weather. Cracked render on a stack lets water into the brickwork, and from there it can show up as a damp patch on a bedroom chimney breast. Repairs need safe access, often from scaffold already up for other work, and the flaunching and flashings are worth checking at the same time.

Parapets and copings

Some older commercial buildings in Oldbury have parapets along the roofline. The tops of these walls need a proper coping with drips that throw water clear. Without that, water gets into the top of the render and works its way down.

Garden and boundary walls

Free-standing walls get wet from both sides and the top. A rendered garden wall needs a good coping and a base that isn’t buried in soil. Cement render on an old brick garden wall often fails within a few years for these reasons, so we’ll tell you honestly if a different approach would last longer.

Is it rain, rising damp or condensation?

Before spending money on render, it pays to know what’s making a wall damp. The three common causes look different.

Rain getting through

Patches appear after wet, windy weather, often high up or around windows, and on the wall that faces the prevailing wind. Cracked render, failed pointing, blocked gutters and broken downpipes are the usual causes. Fixing the outside usually fixes the problem.

Water at the base of the wall

Tide marks low on the wall, sometimes with salts, point to water at the base. Look outside for render or paving bridging the damp course, high ground levels and leaking drains. Lowering ground levels and stopping render short of the damp course often helps more than any treatment.

Condensation

Black mould in corners, behind furniture and on cold walls, worse in winter, is usually condensation. It comes from moisture inside the home meeting cold surfaces. Better ventilation and heating help, and insulated render can make walls warmer, but render alone won’t cure a ventilation problem.

We’ll tell you what we see. If the cause isn’t the render, we’ll say so.

Living next door to the work

On a terrace or a semi, your render work affects the neighbours too.

Party walls and shared details

Render stops at the line between houses, so the edge needs a neat finish, usually with a stop bead. If a shared chimney or downpipe crosses the line, we talk it through with you before we start.

Access

Sometimes scaffold needs to stand on a neighbour’s land or a shared path. It’s best to speak to neighbours early, and we can explain to them what we’ll be doing and for how long.

Keeping things tidy

We sheet the scaffold, clean up every day and keep shared paths clear.

Reading a rendering quote

When you’re comparing quotes, look for:

1. Scope. Which walls, and how much of each?
2. Preparation. Is old render coming off, and are brick repairs included?
3. System. The named render system, with base and finish coats.
4. Details. Beads, sills, drips and seals.
5. Scaffolding. Who arranges it and whether it’s included.
6. Protection and waste. How your home is protected and how waste is removed.
7. Timing. When work can start, and what happens if the weather turns.

A quote that leaves out preparation can look like the better deal, but it often means starting again when the render fails.

A year of rendering weather

• Winter. Frost and short days. Surveys, planning and indoor plastering.
• Spring. Work starts as nights warm up, watching for late frosts.
• Summer. Long days, but hot spells need shading and damping down.
• Autumn. Good working weather early on, finishing jobs before frosts return.

Booking early in the year makes it easier to get a spring or summer slot.

Areas we cover around Oldbury

We work across Oldbury town centre, Langley, Rood End, Causeway Green, Tividale, Bristnall, Warley and the edges of Smethwick and Rowley Regis. Nearby pages include rendering in Smethwick, rendering in Halesowen, rendering in Wednesbury and plastering in Wolverhampton. See areas we cover for everywhere else, or all our services.

More services: Rendering with sand and cement · Rendering new extensions.

Arrange a look at your walls

Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday 7am to 1pm. WhatsApp photos to 07453 614095, email rcrconnectionsltd@gmail.com, or use the contact form.

More from RCR Connections Ltd: All plastering and rendering services · Areas we cover