James Hardie composite cladding installation in Mersea Island, near Colchester
July 20, 2025 10:30 am
Installation Gallery
Maintenance-free composite cladding
It’s not very often that Summit Cladding enjoys a trip to the seaside to get a job done, but this latest project was a real pleasure in the sun and sea air.
Mersea Island, in the estuaries of the Blackwater and Colne rivers near Colchester, is exactly the sort of place you’ll find seaside properties just crying out for some decent weatherproof cladding to protect them from the elements.
The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times and was even a holiday destination for the Roman occupiers of Colchester, or Camulodunum as they called it. Today, fishing and tourism is still the lifeblood of Mersea.
James Hardie composite cladding
Our clients had owned their seaside cottage for a couple of years and already given the interior a makeover. Now it was time to do the same for the outside. Many of the houses on Mersea have timber weatherboard cladding and although our clients house was brick-built, adding James Hardie composite cladding would help the property blend in more with its surroundings.
The process began by attaching treated timber battens to the outside walls. In this case it was vital that we used stainless steel nails and screws to avoid the corrosive effects of the salty sea air.
New soffits fascias and downpipes
A local team of builders was already on site adding a bedroom to the loft space, so Summit worked closely alongside them when fitting the cladding. All the existing timber fascias and soffits were removed so that white 18mm uPVC replacements could be installed. Similarly, all the gutters were replaced with white round deep flow guttering and downpipes. On the rear balcony, all the existing tongue and groove cladding was changed for James Hardie featheredge board.
The project has completely changed the look of the house, with the added benefit that the maintenance-free cladding carries a 10-year guarantee on all work carried out. And it’s fair to say that we at Summit thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the seaside!
Categorised in: James Hardie Cladding
This post was written by Summit Cladding
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