Home Exterior Cladding and Rendering Guide

July 12, 2019 | Posted at 5:24 pm | by Mike (Follow User)

There are three main reasons why people decide to clad the exterior of their home. First of all, you get a frugal visual upgrade to your old home. Second, the energy efficiency of your home gets drastically improved. This is due to the fact that the majority of heat leaves your home via walls, roof, windows and doors. Lastly, by cladding and rendering your home, you’ll make its walls much more resistant to various weather occurrences. Overall, each of these reasons would, on its own be good enough. Here are four things you should know about this.

1.      Make a budget

The first thing you need to do in order to clad your home properly, you’ll have to do some math in the form of budgeting. This starts with a simple calculation of the surface that you want to be covered, as well as some additional works that are going to take place. Previously, we’ve mentioned increasing the looks and the energy-efficiency of your home, which is why a lot of people decide to replace doors and windows, while they’re at it. Other than this, there’s the issue of doing the works yourself (DIY), against hiring an expert to do so. A proper cladding doesn’t require a new façade but these other expenses alone can be quite formidable.

2.      The choice of materials

The most important thing about your cladding and rendering is the choice of material that you’re going to use in the process. Most common materials for cladding are stone, metal, brick and vinyl, each of which has its own set of advantages and downsides.

For instance, stone cladding is quite effective, due to the fact that it gives your home an efficient and natural look, as well as the fact that it’s incredibly resistant to all kinds of occurrences. Its durability is unprecedented but so is its price. For those with large homes, the cost of such a project could be stellar. Metal is also a popular option, although it’s more commonly used with commercial buildings. It’s also well suited for those who want to give their home a futuristic look.

Those who are interested in something traditional, cheaper than metal and stone and easier to work with, usually go for bricks or timber. Timber is particularly popular due to the fact that it’s eco-friendly. Still, those who see cost-efficiency and maintenance as their first priorities usually go with versatile external PVC. This method is particularly popular with those who want to cover a huge area.

3.      Do you need a permit?

The next thing that people want to know about on this topic is whether they need a permit for exterior cladding. The answer is – no, mostly due to the fact that this is usually considered permitted development. There are some exceptions, nonetheless. For instance, if you’re living in a terraced or semi-detached home, chances are that this will affect your neighbors, as well. In this particular scenario, getting a permit might be a lot more complex, especially due to the fact that there are scenarios in which you might face active resistance.

4.      Consider the durability

The last thing you need to take into consideration is the issue of the longevity of your work. For instance, if you decide to add a rain screen, you might prolong the dashing look of your home cladding and allow it to appear new for a lot longer. Keep in mind, nonetheless, that this makes the process somewhat more complex and more expensive. Other than this, you should also take into consideration the fact that there are some manufacturers who provide a warranty. It might be worth your while to consider how a longer warranty affects the total value that you get from it.

In conclusion

In the end, the choice of how you proceed from here is all yours. The choice of the material, the color and the additional works will affect your property in the long run, even drastically boost its resale value and make it easier for you to sell the place, to begin with. Also, keep in mind that this is not something that you’ll do on a regular basis, so it might be worth your while to invest a bit more effort and resources to ensure that it’s done right.