If you are considering new exterior cladding for your Willingham home, here is exactly what to expect from the first inspection through to the finished job.
Exterior cladding is not a quick job, and a good one is not just about the material that ends up on the wall. Every stage matters - from checking the condition of the wall behind to how the site is left at the end. Knowing what a properly run job looks like puts you in a better position to ask the right questions and to spot if corners are being cut.
Ely Roofers installs and replaces cladding on homes in Willingham and the surrounding area, including properties in Ely and the nearby villages. Here is how we approach the job, stage by stage.
Every job starts with a close look at the existing wall. That means checking the condition of the current cladding or render, identifying any areas of damp, movement cracking or failed fixings, and assessing what is behind the outer skin.
On many properties, the biggest risk at this stage is finding a problem that was hidden by the existing finish. A fresh coat of paint over crumbling render can look fine from the pavement. Up close, or once the surface is tapped, the hollow patches become obvious. It is far better to find this before work starts than after.
If the survey turns up damp in the wall or structural movement, that needs to be addressed before any new cladding goes on. Fitting new material over an unresolved problem does not fix it - it hides it, often making the eventual repair more expensive.
Once we know what is there, the next stage is agreeing what the job involves. That includes which material will be fitted, whether any remedial work to the substrate is needed first, what fixings and battens will be used, and how junctions with windows, doors, soffits and rooflines will be handled.
The junction details are where a lot of cladding jobs go wrong. Where the cladding meets a window frame or a roof verge, there needs to be a properly formed flashing or sealed joint. Without it, water finds its way behind the new cladding at exactly those points. Agreeing this in advance, not leaving it to be decided on the day, is part of what a well-specified job looks like.
At this stage you should also clarify what is and is not included - whether scaffold is part of the price, who is responsible for disposing of the old material, and whether any painting or finishing coats are included or are a separate item.
Most full cladding jobs on a two-storey property need scaffold. Working from a ladder is not safe for stripping and fixing work across a whole elevation, and it produces worse results because the installer cannot get close enough to work accurately.
Scaffold should go up before any stripping starts. It needs to be set at the right height relative to the eaves, and it should be tied to the building properly rather than just leaning. If the job is on a terrace or close to a boundary, the scaffold design needs to account for that.
On larger or more complex properties - a three-storey gable end, for example, or a building with a flat-roofed extension - the scaffold arrangement takes more planning and adds to the overall programme time.
Old render, timber boarding or panel systems need to come off carefully. Hacking render off a masonry wall too aggressively can damage the brick or block face behind, making the new render harder to key correctly. Old timber or panel fixings that are corroded need to be cut back flush rather than just pulled out, or the resulting holes compromise the new substrate.
Once the old material is off, the bare wall is inspected again. This is the point at which any issues invisible from the outside become apparent - patches of porous masonry, bridged cavity insulation that has caused damp, or previous repairs that were not tied in properly. None of these should be left and covered over.
Preparation is the stage that determines how long the new cladding performs. For a render system, the wall face needs to be clean, sound and properly keyed. Any loose material is cut back to a firm edge, and the surface is treated or primed as the chosen system requires.
For a boarded or panel system, a framework of treated timber battens is typically fixed to the wall first. These battens create a drainage and ventilation cavity behind the boards - an essential detail that is sometimes skipped on rushed jobs. Without that cavity, moisture that gets behind the boards has nowhere to go and the system deteriorates quickly.
On jobs where external wall insulation is being added at the same time, the insulation boards are fixed to the wall at this stage, mechanically and adhesively, before the render or finish coat goes on.
The actual installation method depends on the material. Render is applied in coats, with each coat needing to set before the next goes on - timing depends on conditions, and cold or very hot weather both slow the process down. Boards are fixed from the bottom of the wall upward, with each course overlapping or interlocking with the one below to shed water downward.
Fixings should be the correct specification for the material and the substrate. Stainless steel or galvanised fixings resist corrosion. Ordinary steel screws will rust through within a few years, causing the boards to loosen and leaving staining on the face of the cladding.
Window reveals, corner details and the top edge of the cladding where it meets the soffit or eaves all need careful treatment. These are the points water will find if they are not dealt with properly.
Once the cladding is on, any required finishing coats of paint or sealant are applied. On render systems, the finish coat is usually integral to the system and goes on as the final render layer - it is not an optional extra. On timber boarding, a coat of paint or preservative stain is applied unless the timber is intended to weather naturally.
Before scaffold comes down, the whole elevation should be walked with a critical eye - checking that fixings are flush, joints are tight, flashings are seated correctly and no section has been missed. Once the scaffold is down, access to correct any oversights is much harder and more expensive to arrange.
The site should be cleared of all old material, offcuts and packaging. Any areas of garden or hard-standing affected by the work should be left as found.
We cover Willingham and the surrounding villages, as well as Ely and the broader Fenland area. If you want to understand what your specific job would involve before committing to anything, call Ely Roofers to arrange a survey. We will walk the property with you and give you a clear picture of the work, the materials and the sequence before any price 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.
