James Hardie cladding installation in Dover, Kent

April 3, 2021 11:32 am Published by
Cladding installation in Dover, Kent
James Hardie cladding in Dover, Kent
Anthracite grey James Hardie cladding
Cladding installation to match a nearby windmill
Anthracite grey Hardieplank cladding
Sympathetic cladding installation
Beautiful windmill in Dover, Kent
Pre-installation of cladding

Could there be anything nicer and more typically British than living within sight of the white cliffs of Dover, alongside an ancient windmill? This was the scene that greeted us when Summit Cladding travelled down to Kent for our recent assignment.

Our clients had lived in their beautiful flint-walled cottage in its idyllic location for over ten years, just yards from the Grade 2 Listed windmill. But unfortunately, their flint wall was causing them a major headache.

Much as they loved its appearance, the wall was letting damp into the house and a previous attempt to repoint it with authentic lime mortar had been unsuccessful. This was when Summit Cladding came to the rescue, thanks to the recommendation of a previous client of ours, who was a friend of the householder.

James Hardie cladding to match the windmill

The first thing we noticed was that the neighbouring windmill was covered in traditional feather-edge timber cladding, which is a style exactly replicated by the maintenance-free James Hardie composite cladding that we supply and fit, so that would be our aim.

Our task was to make the exterior flint wall totally weatherproof, but that might be easier said than done due, to the uneven nature of the flint and mortar. Normally, we are called on to fit cladding to flat and smooth brick or rendered walls, so this was a particular challenge – but one that we were up for!

Painstaking process

We started by carefully removing a few sections of flint, a slow and painstaking process, so that treated timber battens could be fixed in place to provide a straight vertical surface. This was followed by a breathable vapour barrier to ensure that the exposed wall was watertight.

With the surface prepared we fitted Hardieplank cladding in anthracite, the colour chosen by our client, to compliment the neighbouring windmill. We also extended the edge of the slate roof to overlap the new material and framed the curved head of the windows to maintain the original detail.

The result is a beautiful new look for a property of character set in a classic location of outstanding natural beauty – and no more damp, thanks to Summit Cladding.

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