Description
Spray rendering rewards consistency: one mix specification and one nozzle setting across the job give an even texture over a whole elevation. Machine CT174 silicate-silicone render 1.0mm was built by Ceresit for pumps rather than trowels, and everything about it — the fine stone-like grain, the low consumption, the calibration it asks for before the first pass — follows from that one decision.
Where Machine CT174 Silicate-Silicone Render 1.0mm Is Sprayed
Machine CT174 silicate-silicone render 1.0mm sprays at an assumed 1.5 kg/m² through a 6 mm nozzle, giving spray crews an even, stone-textured finish across large ETICS elevations in one continuous pass. Renders World stocks it in the silicone render range as the pump-fed member of the Ceresit thin-coat family.
- Ceretherm ETICS facades — the manufacturer recommends it as the facade render within Ceresit Ceretherm external thermal insulation composite systems built with EPS boards and mineral wool. Those are the two board types the declaration names, and no others are claimed for it.
- Cured mineral substrates — concrete over three months old and cement or cement-lime renders over 28 days old, each at 4 % moisture or below, primed with Ceresit CT 16.
- Reinforced basecoats — layers made with Ceresit CT 85, ZU, CT 190 or CT 100 at more than three days old, or CT 87 at more than two days, primed with CT 16 in every case.
- Interior work — gypsum substrates below 1 % moisture, gypsum-fibre board, plasterboard, chipboard and sound existing paint coats, all inside the building only.
The pattern behind those substrate rules is a single requirement: a smooth, load-bearing, dry and clean surface, primed so the render meets uniform suction. Get that right and the fine 1.0 mm grain repays it with an even, uniform structure across the bay. Uneven or damaged substrates are smoothed and repaired first — Ceresit CT 29 render filler is the named route on traditional renders and concrete.
Why Spray Contractors Specify the 1.0 mm Grade
- Dedicated to machine application: machine application and optimised consumption are listed as the product's defining characteristics, with a homogenous final structure as the intended result — this is a render built for a pump rather than a hand grade that tolerates one.
- Vapour permeable at V2: Sd between 0.14 m and 1.4 m to EN 15824, so moisture keeps moving outward through the finish and the insulation beneath it stays dry through a UK winter.
- Low water absorption at W3: w ≤ 0.1 kg/m²h⁰·⁵ to EN 15824, the class that keeps driving rain sitting on the surface rather than soaking into the coat.
- Adhesion of 0.6 MPa to EN 15824, declared for the render on a prepared and primed substrate — the figure that matters when a fine coat is being asked to hold across a full storey.
- Combined binder behaviour: the manufacturer describes the product as combining the good points of a silicate render and a silicone render — vapour permeable, low in absorbability and dirt resistant — from a water dispersion of synthetic resins with mineral and pigment fillers.
Declared Performance of the Render Itself
| Property | Declared value | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging | 25 kg plastic container | Product |
| Grain and structure | 1.0 mm, stone-like | Product |
| Density | 1.9 kg/dm³ | Product |
| Assumed consumption | approx. 1.5 kg/m² | Product |
| Water vapour permeability | cat. V2, 0.14 ≤ Sd ≤ 1.4 m (EN 15824) | Product |
| Water absorption | cat. W3, w ≤ 0.1 kg/m²h⁰·⁵ (EN 15824) | Product |
| Adhesion | 0.6 MPa (EN 15824) | Product |
| Thermal conductivity | λ = 0.61 W/(m·K) (EN 15824) | Product |
| Application temperature | +5 °C to +30 °C, humidity below 80 % | Product |
| Open time | approx. 15 min | Product |
| Resistant to rain | after approx. 24 hours | Product |
| Recommended nozzle and pressure | 6 mm nozzle, 2 bar minimum | Product |
| Shelf life | up to 12 months from the production date | Product |
| Standard | complies with EN 15824 | Product |
| Test conditions for every figure above | +23 °C and 50 % relative humidity | Product |
Everything above belongs to the render in the tub. The numbers below belong to something else: complete wall build-ups, each assessed as one assembly of adhesive, insulation, basecoat, mesh and finish. A render named inside an assessed assembly is not itself assessed, and the two sets of numbers are never interchangeable — so the reference documents are given separately, against the systems that hold them.
| Ceresit Ceretherm system | European Technical Assessment | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Popular | ETA 08/0309 | System |
| Classic | ETA 09/0014 | System |
| Premium | ETA 08/0308 | System |
| Wool Premium | ETA 09/0037 | System |
| Wool Classic | ETA 09/0026 | System |
The consumption line drives the order: 25 kg ÷ 1.5 kg/m² = approximately 16.7 m² per container. Specify the system and the render together and the reference documents line up; specify the render alone and there is no assessment to quote, because the tub does not carry one.
What This Declaration Does Not Contain
Three things are worth naming because they appear on neighbouring products and a buyer may reasonably expect them here.
- No self-cleaning claim and no biological protection. The manufacturer states that this render is dirt resistant and goes no further: no such mechanism is declared for it, and no protection against fungus, mould or algae. Where those properties are the point of the job, the range to look at is elsewhere in the collection.
- No reflectance figure and no fire class. Neither is declared for this render, so neither is stated here.
- No Declaration of Performance number of its own. The DoP numbers this product is associated with belong to the Ceretherm systems named alongside their assessments, not to the tub.
How to Prime and Spray CT 174 Machine, Step by Step
- Prepare and prime. Smooth and repair uneven or damaged substrates first, remove dirt, weak layers and elastic, lime or adhesive paint coats, then prime with CT 16; absorbent substrates take CT 17 first, with CT 16 following after at least two hours. Choose a CT 16 colour close to the render shade.
- Wait for the primer to dry completely. The condition is exactly that — the render goes on when the priming paint is fully dry, not on a fixed clock.
- Stir the whole container until uniform, adjusting consistency to your machine with no more than 2 % clean water, then mix again. The product is never combined with other renders, pigments, resins or binders.
- Calibrate on a sample panel — a test application on something like a plasterboard offcut, to set consistency, flow, nozzle size, delivery rate and pressure before the facade. Minimum recommended pressure is 2 bar, and the right figure shifts with machine type, hose length and pumping height.
- Spray at 40–60 cm, square to the wall, holding the nozzle vertically at 90° and working in smooth passes: two layers in circular motion, or with a gun, one horizontal pass then one vertical, wet on wet.
- Build to grain thickness — roughly 1 mm — for complete, even coverage, keeping delivery rate and pressure under control throughout so the finished structure reads the same across the bay.
The primer comes from the quartz key coats in the exterior render primers range, and the reinforced layer beneath is built with mesh from the alkali-resistant rendering mesh collection — pick the grade that matches the basecoat your system specifies. Trowel technique, panel planning and finishing sequence for thin coats generally are covered in the step-by-step thin coat rendering method.
Machine Setup, Batching and Weather Protection on Site
- Conditions: ambient and substrate between +5 °C and +30 °C with humidity below 80 %. Every declared figure was obtained at +23 °C and 50 % relative humidity, so hardening runs faster or slower as site conditions move away from that.
- Timing: approximately 15 minutes of open time and rain resistance after approximately 24 hours — plan texturing to follow the spray head closely and programme the elevation around the 24-hour figure.
- Continuity and clean-down: work one surface without breaks at a constant consistency, then wash the machine, hoses and tools with water immediately — hardened residue has to come off mechanically.
The render is not applied to walls in solar radiation, to avoid drying too fast, and is protected from rain until completely dry; scaffolding sheeting is the recommended protection. Mineral fillers can produce colour differences between production runs, so one surface is rendered from containers carrying the same production badge number. Checking those numbers before the first lid comes off is a two-minute job with a very good return. Indoors, rooms are aired after application until the odour has gone and before they are used again. Shoulder-season planning against the +5 °C floor is set out in the guide to render application timing in UK conditions, and the wider trade-off between pump and trowel — crew size, setup time and consumption — is weighed in the machine against hand-applied render comparison.
Choosing Between the 1.0 mm Machine Grade and the 1.5 mm Hand Grade
| Variant | Application method | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Machine CT174 silicate-silicone render 1.0mm | Spray, 6 mm nozzle at 2 bar minimum | Large elevations run by a calibrated pump crew |
| CT 174 hand-applied 1.5 mm grade | Trowel, separate product with its own declaration | Trowel work, detailing and mixed-method projects |
These two share a name and a chemistry family, not a document. Every figure given for this render is declared for the machine grade only; the hand grade's vapour class and working range are its own. Ask for them against its own declaration when you compare the two, and the comparison stays honest.
Ordering CT 174 Machine for a Commercial Programme
- Specify machine CT174 silicate-silicone render 1.0mm where a calibrated pump, a fine uniform texture and a low consumption rate are the point of the job, and where the build-up is one of the Ceretherm systems the declaration names.
- Deep and intensive shades: intensive dark colours on this render are limited to small areas such as architectural details. That is a tighter instruction than the Atlas renders in this collection carry, where a reflectance threshold and a basecoat condition are set instead. For a dark full elevation, choose the range whose declaration supports it. The guidance on dark render shades and solar exposure is worth going through before the scheme is signed off.
- Colour and tinting: the product is available across the Ceresit Colours of Nature palette, and Renders World tints it in house, to order, from stock. View the swatches through the render colour charts and sample books rather than a printed chip, and confirm the shade reference on the order.
- Prices and returns: render prices move too often to publish here, so ask and you get the current one. Tinted material is mixed for your order and sits outside the 14-day change-of-mind return — the detail is in the cancellations and returns policy.
To order, take your tub count from the consumption figure, keep the containers in one production batch per elevation, and add the CT 16 primer to the same delivery so nothing waits on site. Renders World mixes to the shade reference on the order and processes orders the same day where the stock is there. Delivery is quoted rather than calculated at checkout: the team works out the most cost-effective method for the weight and the postcode and confirms it with you after the order, and the terms sit in the shipping policy. Or come and get it: the counter at Unit 9A, Central Trading Estate in Southampton is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 5pm and Saturday morning until noon, and a tub is tinted to your shade there and then and leaves with you.
FAQ — Quantities, Substrates and Spray Settings
How many containers does a 500 m² facade need?
At the assumed 1.5 kg/m²: 500 m² × 1.5 kg/m² = 750 kg, and 750 kg ÷ 25 kg = 30 containers. Adding 10 % for detailing, hose clearance and edges gives 825 kg ÷ 25 kg = 33. One container covers approximately 16.7 m² at that rate.
Treat it as a planning figure rather than a promise. What decides whether it holds on the elevation:
- Your own calibration panel — consumption is stated as assumed, and the panel is where the real rate appears.
- Detailing, edges and hose clearance — the allowance above covers them roughly; a reveal-heavy elevation eats more.
The render coverage calculator builds the full materials list around whichever rate you settle on.
How old does the basecoat or substrate have to be?
Reinforced layers made with Ceresit CT 85, ZU, CT 190 or CT 100 are rendered at more than three days old, and CT 87 at more than two days, each primed with CT 16. Cement and cement-lime renders need more than 28 days and concrete more than three months, both at 4 % moisture or below.
Which machines and pressure are recommended?
The named devices are SPG Baumaschinen PG 20 and Wagner PC 830, with a minimum recommended pressure of 2 bar through a 6 mm nozzle. Operating pressure changes with machine type, hose length and pumping height, so the contractor sets the final method from their own test application — and any unit not on that list is a question for Ceresit before the facade starts.
Is this render self-cleaning?
No. It is declared dirt resistant, which is a different and narrower property: the surface resists soiling, but no such mechanism is described in the declaration, and no biological protection against fungus, mould or algae is claimed for it. On a shaded or heavily soiled elevation that difference matters, and the render whose own declaration does carry that property is Ceresit CT 76 Solar Protect.
Can it be used indoors?
Yes — it is a decorative thin-layer render for indoor and outdoor applications, and several substrates are interior-only: gypsum below 1 % moisture, gypsum-fibre boards, plasterboard, chipboard and sound existing paint coats. Rooms are aired after application until the odour has gone.
How is an aged CT 174 Machine facade refreshed?
The renovation route is repainting with a silicate or silicone paint from Ceresit's own range. That keeps an ageing elevation on a documented pathway and makes maintenance a repaint rather than a re-render.
Technical Documentation