Brandon Roofers provides exterior cladding installation and repair for homeowners in Watton, covering timber, composite, and fibre cement systems.
Exterior cladding gives your walls a protective outer layer that keeps rain, frost, and wind out of the structure. It also transforms the look of a property that has tired or plain brickwork. We work with timber, composite, and fibre cement boards, and our team fits cladding so that it works with your roof line, fascias, soffits, and guttering rather than creating new problems at those junctions.
The key to a long-lasting installation is the detailing at every edge - where the cladding meets the roof, the windows, ground level, and any adjoining structure. Water exploits gaps, and poorly detailed junctions lead to moisture getting behind the boards, rotting battens, and eventually to internal damp.
This is the question that matters most when existing cladding starts to look or perform poorly. The honest answer is that it depends on the material, the extent of the damage, and how old the system is. Below is a practical guide to working it out.
Localised damage - one or two split boards, a section of loose fixings, a corner piece that has pulled away - is almost always worth repairing if the rest of the cladding is sound. A single cracked fibre cement board on an otherwise solid elevation can be cut out and replaced without disturbing anything else. The same applies to a run of softwood boards that has surface splits but is still fixed correctly and has not allowed water behind the batten line.
Timber cladding that has dried out and needs re-treating is another case for repair rather than replacement. Sanding back the surface and applying a quality treatment product restores the protection and the appearance for a fraction of the cost of new boards. The condition of the fixings matters here: if screws are corroding and boards are beginning to move, that is a sign the job is approaching replacement territory.
Widespread delamination in composite boards means the material has broken down internally, and no surface treatment will reverse that. If more than a quarter of the boards on an elevation are lifting, splitting, or showing persistent damp staining despite sound fixings, the material itself has reached the end of its life.
Softwood timber that has not been maintained and has allowed water in behind the boards is a replacement job. By the time the boards are visibly rotten at the face, the battens behind are often in a worse state. Replacing boards only - leaving wet or rotten battens in place - means the new boards will fail faster than they should. A full strip-back gives you the chance to check and dry out the wall behind, replace any battens that have deteriorated, and re-batten before the new boards go on.
Age is also a factor. Cladding systems installed more than 20-25 years ago may no longer meet current standards for fixings, vapour management, or fire performance. If a system is at that age and showing any signs of failure, the case for a full replacement is strong.
This is where the repair-versus-replace decision gets more complicated. A failing cladding system can conceal a lot of damage to the wall behind it. Before committing to either option, a thorough inspection of the wall behind - not just the board surface - is essential. A contractor who quotes for repair without suggesting any investigation of the substrate is not giving you a full picture.
If the inspection reveals saturated insulation, timber framing that has begun to decay, or masonry damage, the scope of the job changes. In those cases, replacement is inevitable, but the wall itself also needs work before new cladding is fitted.
Repair costs for cladding are highly variable because they depend on access, the extent of the damage, and the material. A single board replacement might cost £100-£200 including labour and materials for a straightforward ground-level job; more at height where scaffolding or a tower is needed. A full re-clad of a typical detached home elevation runs to several thousand pounds depending on area, material choice, and the condition of the substrate. Fibre cement on a typical two-storey semi-detached front elevation might cost £3,000-£6,000 fully installed. That figure rises if the batten framework needs replacing or if significant wall preparation is required.
A patchwork of repairs on a failing system that is nearing the end of its life often costs more over five years than a replacement done once. Ask any contractor to give you an honest assessment of how long a repair is likely to hold before the next section fails.
Cladding work gives good access to fascias and soffits, so it is worth having those inspected at the same time. Rotten fascia boards allow water into the roof void and cause gutters to pull away from the wall. Guttering that is blocked or cracked directs water against the wall rather than away from it, which accelerates cladding deterioration. Addressing those elements together makes sense from a cost and access point of view.
External rendering is another option where cladding is not the right fit. On some wall types, a sand-and-cement or through-colour render system may be a better solution, and we can discuss whether that is worth considering for your property.
Can I just paint or treat existing cladding instead of replacing it? For sound timber boards that have dried out and lost their coating, yes. For boards that are structurally compromised - delaminating composite, softwood that is spongy to the touch, boards that flex under hand pressure - surface treatment will not fix the underlying problem.
How do I know if water has got behind the boards? Internal damp patches on the wall at board height, staining on the boards that reappears after cleaning, and a hollow sound when you tap a board are all signs. A contractor should be able to lift a board at a joint to check the condition of the battens and the wall behind.
Does insurance cover cladding failure? Standard home insurance rarely covers gradual deterioration. Storm damage to cladding may be claimable, but check your policy before assuming.
If you are in Watton and are trying to decide whether your cladding needs repair or a full replacement, call us to arrange a survey so we can give you a straight answer based on what we actually find.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
