Render beads are profiles made from materials like PVC, stainless steel, or aluminium, used to shape, reinforce, and protect rendered surfaces. They provide clean lines, define edges, and prevent cracking in vulnerable areas such as corners, window reveals, and expansion joints.

• In Thin Coat Systems: Render beads help reinforce the lightweight, flexible finishes typically applied over insulation boards. They ensure the render is evenly applied, prevent damage at edges, and accommodate movement.

• In Monocouche Systems: Because monocouche render is applied thickly in a single coat, beads are vital for structural support, alignment, and crack prevention. They also contribute to the visual sharpness of edges and transitions.

In all render systems, beads play a crucial role in both aesthetic finish and long-term durability.

Corner beads are used to reinforce and straighten external corners, ensuring a strong and uniform edge.

• Thin Coat: Often combined with mesh for additional strength; crucial in preventing cracking on vulnerable corners.

• Monocouche: Offers a crisp finish and adds strength to monocouche render corners which are prone to damage due to the thickness of the product.

Stop beads create a clean edge or end point in the render system, such as where the render meets another material.

• Thin Coat: Used to give a professional finish where the system stops, like at wall ends or changes in façade material.

• Monocouche: Helps to define edges and stop points, keeping a crisp finish and preventing cracking at terminations.

Window beads (or reveal beads) are used around window and door reveals to create a neat edge and maintain movement flexibility between the render and frame.

• Thin Coat: Often includes a mesh wing for reinforcement and a rubber gasket for sealing against the frame.

• Monocouche: Helps manage expansion and contraction and ensures a clean, straight reveal around openings.

Movement beads (or expansion joints) allow the render to expand and contract with temperature changes, preventing cracks.

• Thin Coat: Installed at specific intervals (typically every 5–7m), especially on large, flat walls.

• Monocouche: Absolutely essential; monocouche is more prone to cracking due to its thickness and lack of flexibility, so movement joints are vital.

Arch beads are flexible beads designed to follow curves and arches in façades, providing a clean, crisp edge and reinforcing the render around curved surfaces.

• Thin Coat: Used with flexible mesh-reinforced systems to maintain shape and avoid cracking around arches.

• Monocouche: Helps define curved architectural features, but less commonly used due to monocouche’s thickness and tendency to crack without reinforcement.

Bellcast beads (also known as drip beads) are installed at the base of a render system to direct water away from the wall and prevent staining.

• Thin Coat: Essential to prevent water ingress and ensure the finish remains neat and long-lasting.

• Monocouche: Also important in monocouche systems to prevent water from tracking back onto the substrate, which can lead to staining or degradation.

Oversills are used to extend existing sills so they project beyond the new render and insulation thickness, preventing water from dripping behind the render.

• Thin Coat: Critical when EWI is added, as original sills are often too short.

• Monocouche: Used less frequently but still important when original sills don’t offer enough protection.

Bead cutters are tools used to cut render beads cleanly and accurately, often including mitre guides for perfect corners.

• Thin Coat: Helps installers maintain tidy joins and angles, particularly important in visible areas.

• Monocouche: Also beneficial, though the beads may be thicker and require a robust cutter due to the render depth.