Ely Roofers fits exterior cladding on homes and commercial buildings in Chatteris, and if you've never had cladding installed or replaced before, this page walks you through exactly what to expect at each stage.
Cladding a building or replacing failed cladding is a multi-stage process. It is not a job where someone arrives in the morning and hands you a finished wall by teatime. Understanding the sequence - what happens, in what order, and why - helps you plan around the work, ask better questions, and recognise whether a job is being done properly.
We carry out exterior cladding installations and replacements in Chatteris and the surrounding area. What follows is an honest account of how a typical job progresses from the first visit to the final clean-up.
Every cladding job starts with a proper look at the building. This is not a five-minute walkround. A thorough survey checks the condition of the existing cladding (if there is any), the state of the wall behind it, the fixing substrate, the flashings at windows and abutments, and whether there is any evidence of existing damp or damage to the wall structure.
For a full replacement job, the survey also considers the building's exposure to wind and rain, whether there is planning sensitivity around materials or appearance, and whether the customer wants to incorporate insulation behind the new cladding at the same time. All of that informs the specification before any material is chosen or priced.
If the original cladding is still in place, it is sometimes necessary to probe or open up a small area to check the condition of the breather membrane and substrate behind it. A building that looks sound from the pavement can have saturated insulation or corroded fixings that only become apparent up close.
Once the survey is complete, the right cladding system can be specified. This means deciding on the material - timber, composite, fibre cement, or render - and the fixing method, insulation thickness (if any), and the detailing at junctions. It also means agreeing exactly what the scope of work covers: which elevations, what happens to existing sills and reveals, and how windows and doors will be treated at the edges where cladding meets frame.
Getting the scope clear before work starts matters. Disputes on cladding jobs almost always come down to something that was not defined at the outset - whether reveals get re-lined, whether existing soffits are included, or who is responsible for redecorating around window frames once the cladding is fitted.
Most full cladding replacements require scaffolding, at least to the affected elevations. On a two-storey property, a full scaffold gives safe working conditions for the entire wall height and is the right way to approach the job. For single-storey work or localised repairs, a tower scaffold or access platform may be sufficient.
Access equipment is erected before any cladding work starts. On a domestic property, this means agreeing with you where scaffold feet will stand, whether any garden features need protection, and what access you will need to the property during the works. A good contractor walks through this before the scaffold goes up, not after.
On a replacement job, the old cladding comes off first. This is often where the actual condition of the building becomes clear. Once boards or render are removed, the wall behind is exposed and can be assessed properly. Common findings at strip-out include:
Any of these findings may affect the cost or programme of the job. A contractor who surveys properly beforehand will have anticipated most of them. Where something genuinely unexpected is found, it needs to be shown to the customer and discussed before work continues.
Once strip-out is complete and any remedial work to the substrate is done, the wall is prepared for the new cladding system. This typically involves:
With preparation complete, cladding boards or panels are fixed to the battens. The sequence and method vary by material. Timber and composite boards are typically secret-fixed or face-fixed from the bottom course up, with each board overlapping the one below. Fibre cement and metal panels follow the manufacturer's fixing pattern, which is specific to the product. Render systems are applied in coats, with reinforcement mesh embedded in the base coat before the finish layer goes on.
At every window and door opening, the reveal (the return into the opening) has to be dealt with. This is detail work and it takes time to do properly. Cut board ends need to be treated or sealed before being covered by trim. External corners are finished with purpose-made profiles or mitred boards, not left as exposed end grain.
Flashings are fitted or re-fitted at the head of windows, along abutments with the roof, and at any horizontal breaks in the cladding. These are not optional extras - they are the primary defence against water ingress at the most vulnerable points on the elevation.
Once all boards are fixed and all flashings fitted, the elevation is checked over. This includes confirming that all fixings are correct and any face-fixed screws are plugged or capped, that all cut edges are sealed, that trim and corner pieces are properly bedded, and that any mastic joints at windows and reveals are neatly finished and fully adhered.
Snagging is the process of going back over the finished work and correcting anything that is not right. A good contractor does this before scaffolding comes down - because once the access is gone, correcting a snag becomes a separate mobilisation.
Once the scaffold is struck, the site is cleared. That means all offcuts, packaging, old cladding material, and any skip waste are removed. The garden, drive or yard is left as it was found. On a domestic property in Chatteris, this matters - you should not be left picking up debris from your own garden after a contractor has left.
Full wraps of larger properties or commercial buildings take longer. Scaffold erection and strike add time either side of the installation phase. Your contractor should give you a realistic programme at the outset - not a best-case estimate that slips by a week once the job starts.
Call Ely Roofers to arrange a survey on your property in Chatteris. We'll go through each of the stages above with you, explain what we find, and give you a clear picture of what the job involves before any work is agreed.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
