Downham Market Roofers installs and replaces exterior cladding for homeowners in Wimblington, helping you improve weatherproofing, insulation, and the look of your property.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Exterior cladding is a layer of boards or panels fixed to the outer face of a wall. It creates a secondary barrier against wind, rain and frost, and can add a meaningful layer of insulation depending on the system chosen. It also refreshes the appearance of a property that has become tired, stained or damaged.
We work with three main materials: timber, composite, and fibre cement boards. Each has different maintenance needs, lifespans and costs, and the right choice depends on your wall construction, your budget and how much upkeep you want to take on year to year.
Timber cladding is the traditional choice. Properly installed and maintained, it performs well and looks excellent. It does need periodic treatment - painting or staining every few years - to prevent moisture ingress and splitting. Softwood is cheaper upfront; hardwood and treated timber cost more but last longer between maintenance cycles.
Composite cladding is made from a mix of wood fibre and plastic. It resists moisture better than untreated timber and needs very little maintenance beyond an occasional wash. The colour is manufactured in, so there is no painting involved, though it cannot be re-stained to a different shade later.
Fibre cement boards are manufactured from cement, sand and cellulose fibres. They are non-combustible, dimensionally stable in wet conditions, and do not rot. They accept paint well and are a popular choice where fire performance or durability in exposed conditions matters.
Cladding is not a small job. A poor installation can cause water to track behind the boards, saturating the wall beneath and creating damp problems that cost far more to fix than the cladding itself. The contractor you choose matters as much as the material you pick. Here is what to ask before you agree to anything.
A quote that is significantly cheaper than others is not automatically a bargain. It usually means something has been left out - often the scaffolding, the battening framework, or the waste disposal. Ask the cheaper contractor to show you exactly what they have included, line by line.
Be cautious of any contractor who cannot show you a previous finished job, who asks for a large cash deposit before materials are even ordered, or who is unable to give you a written breakdown of what is and is not included. These are not unreasonable expectations for any trade job of this size.
A contractor who tries to start work without discussing the junction details or the ventilation cavity is one who may not understand the system they are installing. Cladding is not just nailing boards to a wall - the substrate preparation and the detailing are where the quality of the job is really decided.
Boards should be level and evenly gapped. Fixings should be stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanised, not standard bright zinc, which rusts and stains the boards within a few years. Corners should be finished with purpose-made trim, not just mitred boards butted together. All sealant lines should be neat and continuous, with no gaps at window or door reveals.
At the base of the wall, there should be a starter strip that holds the bottom board at the correct angle and prevents water sitting against the wall face. The gap at the base of the battening should allow air to circulate up through the cavity and out at the top - this is what prevents the moisture build-up that rots timber and causes damp patches on internal walls.
Exterior cladding on a standard semi-detached or detached house typically costs between £5,000 and £15,000 or more, depending on the size of the property, the material chosen, whether scaffolding is needed, and whether existing cladding needs removing. Fibre cement tends to sit in the middle of the price range; hardwood timber and some composite systems are at the higher end. Any quote below this range for a full re-clad of a two-storey house deserves careful scrutiny.
These are rough benchmarks, not fixed prices - the only way to know what your property will cost is to have it measured and quoted properly on site.
If you are getting quotes for exterior cladding in Wimblington and you want a second opinion on what you have been told, call us. We are happy to look at the specification another contractor has given you and tell you whether it adds up.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
