If you are considering exterior cladding for your Eriswell home, understanding exactly what the job involves from start to finish helps you plan properly and know what to expect.
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Exterior cladding protects your walls from rain, frost and wind while giving the building a cleaner, more finished appearance. Brandon Roofers installs and repairs timber, composite and fibre cement cladding on homes in and around Eriswell. Because we work on roofs as well as walls, we understand how cladding has to integrate with your roof line, fascias and guttering - junctions that are often where water problems start if the detailing is not right.
Below is an honest account of how a typical cladding installation unfolds, stage by stage.
Before any price is agreed, the wall itself needs to be looked at properly. This means checking the existing surface - whether it is brick, block, render or existing cladding - for signs of damp penetration, damaged pointing, rot in any existing timber, or movement in the substrate. A quote based on photographs alone is risky for both the homeowner and the installer.
At this stage, the junction between the wall and the roof edge is checked. Gaps between the fascia board and the wall, missing or lifted flashings, or blocked guttering all feed water onto the wall face. If these are not addressed before or during the cladding job, the new cladding will be fighting a losing battle from day one.
The assessment also confirms what the wall structure can support. Fibre cement boards, in particular, are heavier than they look, and the fixing points need to be sound.
Scaffolding or tower access is erected as needed for the height and layout of the building. For a typical two-storey house, scaffolding is safer and faster than towers for extended work, and it gives a stable platform for handling boards. Access is agreed with you before it goes up so there are no surprises about where it sits or how long it will remain.
If there is existing cladding, it is stripped back to the wall. This is the point where the real condition of the wall behind becomes clear. Trapped moisture, rot in battens or fixings, or damaged render that was hidden behind the old boards is dealt with at this stage, not left in place to cause problems later. Waste material from the strip-out is removed and disposed of properly.
Any repairs to the underlying wall - repointing, filling cracks, patching damaged render - are carried out before the new installation begins. Cladding fitted over a damaged wall surface will not perform as it should, regardless of the quality of the boards.
Treated timber battens are fixed horizontally or vertically to the wall face, depending on the orientation of the cladding boards and the manufacturer's requirements. The battens create a ventilated cavity between the cladding and the wall - typically 25mm to 50mm wide.
This cavity is not an optional extra. It allows any moisture that finds its way behind the boards to drain out and evaporate rather than sitting against the wall surface. Without it, condensation builds up behind the cladding and causes exactly the kind of damp and rot problems the cladding was meant to prevent.
Battens are fixed into sound masonry using appropriate fixings. Stainless steel or hot-dip galvanised fixings are used throughout - ordinary steel corrodes and the rust staining will bleed through to the visible face of the boards over time.
Boards are cut and fixed according to the layout agreed during the assessment. For horizontal boards, the installation generally starts at the bottom of the wall and works upward, with each board overlapping the one below to shed water away from the wall. For vertical board installations, horizontal counter-battens are used to ensure proper drainage.
Cut ends of timber boards are treated with end-grain preservative before fixing. This is one of the details that separates a job that will last from one that will begin to show rot within a few years. End grain absorbs moisture far faster than the face of the board.
Around windows and door frames, purpose-made trims and flashing details are installed to create a watertight junction. These are not afterthoughts - they are planned as part of the layout from the start.
Where the cladding meets the roof edge is the most critical detail on the whole job. Poorly finished top edges allow wind-driven rain to get behind the boards and directly onto the wall. The correct approach is to use a purpose-made capping or trim that closes off the top of the cavity while still allowing ventilation, and to ensure the junction with the fascia board is properly sealed.
If the fascias or soffits are deteriorating, it makes sense to replace them at this stage rather than finishing the cladding and then having to disturb it again. The same applies to guttering - if a section is cracked, blocked or pulling away from the fascia, water will continue to run down the wall face regardless of how good the new cladding is.
Once the boards are fixed and all trim details are in place, the wall is checked over for any gaps, loose fixings or poorly seated boards. External sealant is applied at junctions where movement is expected, using a product rated for external use and compatible with the cladding material.
Any timber boards supplied unfinished are given their first coat of paint or stain on site if that has been agreed as part of the scope of work. The first coat is best applied before the boards are fully exposed to the elements.
Offcuts, packaging and any stripped-out material are cleared from the site. Scaffolding or access equipment is removed as soon as the work is complete. The finished wall is walked with you so you can check everything and raise any questions before we leave.
A good installer will also point out any related issues spotted during the job - cracked guttering, a loose fascia bracket, a gap in the verge - so you are aware of them, even if they fall outside the agreed scope of work.
A single-storey or part-elevation job on a typical detached house can often be completed in two to three days once access is in place. A full two-storey reclad on a larger property can take five to seven days or longer, depending on the number of openings, the complexity of the roof line and whether repair work is needed to the substrate. Your installer should be able to give you a realistic programme once the wall has been assessed in person.
Brandon Roofers work in Eriswell and the surrounding area. If you are planning a cladding project or want a proper assessment of your wall before you decide what to do, call us to arrange a visit and we will walk you through exactly what the job involves for your property.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
