Hardwood timber cladding installation in Loughton, Essex

Summit Cladding is about more than just maintenance-free composite boards – brilliant though they are. Sometimes only natural timber will do.

This was the case with our latest job, to replace the cladding on our client’s Georgian house situated within a conservation area in leafy Loughton, Essex.

Summit Cladding had already installed new cedar shingles on his outbuilding, and he was so pleased with the result that he asked us to replace the softwood cladding at the back of the main house with bespoke hardwood cladding.

As we have written many times on here, softwood cladding just doesn’t stand the test of time. It looks lovely when first installed, but nature and the weather will eventually take its toll, leaving peeling paintwork and rotting timber.

That’s why so many of our clients favour composite cladding, supplied in a wide range of colours and needing no maintenance at all.

Bespoke hardwood cladding option

However, as in this case, there are times when the nature of the property calls for bespoke hardwood timber cladding for its appearance and durability and to match the original profile of the house.

Naturally, this meant that the cladding had to be specially cut and all the ornate architraves had to be specially fabricated as well. Our client was working with an architect and designer to ensure that all the replacement materials would match the originals.

Removing and replacing cladding always starts the same way, with the old timber stripped off and freshly treated timber battens attached to the walls of the building. On to that goes a breathable vapour barrier, followed by the cladding.

Maximum timber protection

As it was to be hardwood and not composite, we ensured that the timber was primed back and front for maximum protection before a topcoat in “anthracite grey” was applied. The existing timber fascias were restored and painted in the same colour.

As a special touch, the new guttering recommended by the architect was made of zinc-coated steel manufactured by a Swedish company. It was the perfect match for the new cladding and gave the finished look the wow factor we’d been hoping for.

Despite the freezing temperatures, followed by heavy rain before Christmas, Summit Cladding managed to get the job completed on time and our client is delighted with the result.

Categorised in: Timber Cladding

This post was written by Summit Cladding