Exterior Cladding in Horsford - What to Do While You Wait (and What Not to Touch)

Expert Exterior Cladding
in Horsford

Exterior cladding - what the work involves

Exterior cladding is a protective and decorative layer fixed to the outside face of a wall. It shields the structure from rain, frost and wind-driven moisture, and it can transform the appearance of a house that would otherwise need constant repainting or rerendering. When it fails - whether through rot, impact damage, failed fixings or poor original installation - it needs to be dealt with promptly to protect the wall behind it.

We fit new cladding systems on homes in Horsford and the surrounding area, and we replace cladding that has deteriorated or been poorly installed. The materials we work with are timber, composite and fibre cement panels. Each suits different budgets, elevations and aesthetic preferences, and we will advise on which makes sense for your property before any work starts.

The three main materials explained

Choosing a material is the first decision, and it shapes everything else about the job. Here is how each one works in practice.

• Timber - The traditional choice and still widely used. Featheredge, shiplap and square-edge profiles are the most common. Treated softwood is the affordable entry point; modified or hardwood timbers cost more upfront but are considerably more durable. Timber needs periodic maintenance - painting, staining or oiling - to stop it drying out, splitting or absorbing moisture. How often depends on the exposure of the elevation and the quality of the original finish.
• Composite - A mix of wood fibre and polymer that replicates the appearance of timber without the same moisture sensitivity. It will not rot, warp or split in the way that untreated or poorly maintained timber does, and it keeps its factory colour for many years. It is more expensive than basic timber but significantly less demanding to look after.
• Fibre cement - A dense board made from cement, sand and cellulose. It handles moisture and temperature variation well, is non-combustible, and takes paint in the same way as a rendered wall. It is heavier than the other options, so the wall and fixing system need to be adequate to carry it.

Indicative installed prices in the UK sit at roughly £50 to £90 per square metre for timber, £70 to £120 per square metre for composite, and £80 to £130 per square metre for fibre cement. Those figures are for supply and fitting on a standard elevation. Scaffolding requirements, removing old cladding and repairing the wall behind it will all affect the final cost of any specific job.

What a properly installed system looks like

A correctly fitted cladding system starts with treated timber battens fixed securely to the wall. Between those battens and the outer boards, a ventilated cavity allows any moisture that penetrates the outer layer to drain away rather than sitting against the wall. Without that cavity, moisture becomes trapped and starts to affect both the battens and the wall surface behind.

Fixings should be stainless steel or another non-corrosive type. Standard steel screws or nails will rust over time, leaving brown streaks down the face of the boards and weakening their grip. Junctions at corners, window reveals, the base of the cladding and any penetrations for pipes or cables all need to be properly detailed and sealed, because those are the points most likely to let water in if they are not done carefully.

Before boarding begins, the existing wall surface should be checked. Hollow or damaged render behind new cladding will trap problems rather than resolve them. Any areas that need attention should be sorted before the battens go on.

What to do while you are waiting for your cladding appointment

If you have already arranged for new cladding to be fitted, or you are waiting for an assessment on existing cladding that is failing, there are things you can do in the meantime that genuinely help, and a few things that can make matters worse. This section covers both.

Practical steps that help before the work starts

The most useful thing you can do while waiting is to manage water around the affected area. If you have cladding that has come away from the wall, water is getting behind it every time it rains. You cannot stop the rain, but you can stop it being made worse. Check that your gutters above the affected area are clear and flowing properly. A blocked or overflowing gutter dumps a continuous sheet of water down the wall face and drives it behind any gap in the cladding. Clearing the gutter takes ten minutes and makes a real difference to how much water gets in before the repair is done.

Clear the area at ground level around the base of the cladding. Soil, compost heaps, overgrown beds or anything else touching the bottom boards traps moisture against the lowest course and accelerates any existing deterioration. Pull back mulch or soil that has built up against the house and let air get to the base of the boards.

Take photographs of the damage before anything is touched. Date-stamped photos showing exactly what the cladding looks like now are useful for the tradesperson coming to assess it, and they are useful for you if you later need to discuss what was found with anyone else. Photograph the face of the affected boards, the base of the cladding and any staining on the wall inside if it is visible.

If you can see an obviously loose board that is flapping or has lifted significantly, and it is within safe reach from the ground, pressing it back against the batten and taping it temporarily with a waterproof repair tape is a reasonable short-term measure to reduce the opening. Do not attempt to climb a ladder to reach anything above the ground floor.

What not to do yourself while you wait

The impulse to get ahead of a problem is understandable, but some well-intentioned actions make cladding repairs more complicated and more expensive. Here is what to leave alone until a professional has had a look.

• Do not pull off loose boards - A board that appears detached at one fixing may still be holding at another. Pulling it off can split the board itself, damage the batten behind it, and expose a larger area of wall to the weather than was open before. Leave it where it is unless it is genuinely falling and poses a danger to people walking past.
• Do not apply silicone or filler to damp boards - Sealing over damp timber traps the moisture inside. The board continues to soften behind the sealant, and when the repair comes to be done, the damage is worse than it would have been if the board had been left to dry naturally. Sealants and fillers are finishing materials; they are not suitable as emergency patches over wet or failing boards.
• Do not repaint or retreat the boards - Applying paint to cladding that is failing or damp before the underlying problem is fixed achieves nothing. Paint applied to a surface that is moving, soft or wet will not adhere properly and will peel within a season. It can also obscure what the tradesperson needs to see when they come to assess the work.
• Do not attempt to pressure-wash failing cladding - A pressure washer drives water into every crack and gap in the boards. If those boards are already allowing water behind them, washing them at pressure makes the situation considerably worse in the short term and can force water into areas that were previously dry.
• Do not attempt to refix boards using nails or screws from a DIY outlet - Standard steel fixings will corrode. On cladding, the fixing corrodes faster than you would expect because moisture can get behind the board even when it looks watertight. A corroded fixing stains the board face and loses its grip. The correct fixing for cladding is stainless steel at a length and gauge matched to the board thickness and batten depth.

When to treat it as urgent

Most cladding damage is inconvenient rather than dangerous, and a wait of a few weeks while a job is scheduled is not catastrophic as long as you manage water around the area as described above. There are situations, however, where you should push for the assessment to happen quickly.

If there is a large section of cladding - more than a metre or so - that has detached or is very loose, it represents a physical hazard in high winds, particularly on upper floors. If you can see damp or staining on internal walls that corresponds to the area of failed cladding, water has been getting in for a while and the wall structure may be affected. And if the base of the cladding has been in contact with soil or debris for a long time, the battens at that level may be soft, which means the problem is further advanced than the board faces suggest.

Questions to ask when you speak to us

When you call to arrange a survey or a quote, it helps to be clear about what you already know. Tell us which elevation is affected, roughly how many boards are involved, how long the problem has been developing, and whether you have seen any staining inside. The more specific you can be, the more useful the initial conversation will be and the less time is wasted on the day of the survey.

Questions worth asking us: what will you check behind the existing cladding before new boards go on? What fixings will you use and why? How will you detail the base of the cladding to prevent ground moisture reaching the lowest boards? If the battens behind need replacing, is that included in the quote or charged separately?

Exterior cladding near Horsford

We cover Horsford and the surrounding area. If you have cladding that is failing or an elevation you want reboarded, call us to arrange a survey and we will give you a straight assessment of what is needed and what it is likely to cost.