Latest Posts

James Hardie cladding and bespoke door canopy installation in Cambridge

May 14, 2022 11:31 am Published by

Many of us dream about buying a brand new house in order to stamp our own style on the internal features, such as kitchen units, floor coverings and colour scheme. However, when it comes to the outside of the house on a new development, we are limited by the architects’ plans and how the builders followed them. But here’s a good example of how Summit Cladding can change all that and make a real difference. We were called to the lovely village of Willingham, near Cambridge, to meet a homeowner who thought the flat-roofed front door canopy on his new house was, well, just a bit boring. He wanted a new look that would stand out from the others in... View Article

James Hardie cladding installation in Loughton, Essex

March 21, 2022 11:44 am Published by

The quality and range of building materials has made huge strides in the past 30 years and today’s story from Buckhurst Hill, Loughton, Essex is a great example. Back in the 1990s this block of flats was fitted with white PVC shiplap cladding, the only colour available at the time. It had lasted perfectly well and, of course, it never needed painting or maintenance. But the flats were starting to look a bit dated. Fast forward 30 years and we find that technological advances have not only produced many different colours, but also created such subtle variations in texture and grain that it’s hard to tell the difference between synthetic cladding and natural timber. It was time for a makeover.... View Article

Door canopy installation in Loughton, Essex

March 14, 2022 12:30 pm Published by

Summit Cladding offers a lot more than just a new way to cover your house walls. A visit from us, with an expert eye, can radically improve the look of your home with a few simple touches. Rob and his wife were visiting the garden centre in Crews Hill, Enfield, when they came across our display and realised that Summit could offer just what they wanted. They moved into their home in Loughton, Essex, five years ago, but there was something not quite right about the front of the property. Apart from its general appearance, there was no front door canopy to offer shelter from the weather. Identifying the problems When Summit approached the house for the first time the... View Article

Stunning James Hardie cladding installation in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

January 31, 2022 12:04 pm Published by

There’s no better recommendation for Summit Cladding than when clients say they are so happy with our work that they will present their house as a show home for other customers. That’s what happened after our visit to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, where former inventor Renny asked us to find a solution to his cladding problems. Renny had spent his working life inventing household products designed to make our lives easier. But now it was his turn to ask for help, to reduce the stress of home maintenance. Timber boards had distorted We have written on this blog in the past about so-called waney edge timber cladding boards which look fine when first nailed on, but eventually twist and distort... View Article

James Hardie exterior cladding installation in St Albans, Hertfordshire

January 15, 2022 1:55 pm Published by

If your house looks like all the others in the road there’s one sure-fire way to make it stand out from the crowd – and that’s to fit James Hardie cladding. Lidia was a former client of Summit Cladding so we were delighted when she contacted us again after her recent house move in St Albans, Hertfordshire. At her previous home we had replaced all the old timber fascias, so Lidia was familiar with the quality of our work. At the new house she was wondering what to do about a small area of render on the house wall that was looking tired and in need of attention. The rendered area, above and below one of the first-floor windows, was... View Article

James Hardie cladding installation in Bognor Regis, West Sussex

October 19, 2021 9:49 am Published by

Many of us dream of living by the seaside. Perhaps you already do, in which case the topic of this blog might be familiar to you. The salty sea air is healthy and invigorating for us humans, but it can be a nightmare for buildings. Summit Cladding travelled to Bognor Regis on the West Sussex coast, to meet clients who moved there 20 years ago and were facing a losing battle against the elements. They had spent a small fortune fighting salt corrosion, replacing fascias and gutters with PVC and constantly repainting the outside of the house with special durable paint. Coastal cladding challenge After my initial consultation with our clients, I approached James Hardie’s technical department to discuss the... View Article

James Hardie cladding installation in St Albans, Hertfordshire

August 15, 2021 6:20 am Published by

There was something really striking about this recent makeover by Summit Cladding. We are talking colour – a rich and vibrant blue that you don’t see very often on the side of buildings. Summit had been contacted by a client who lives in this 1960s terraced townhouse in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He wanted to replace the existing coloured panels with our durable Hardieplank, but they had to be exactly the same colour as the originals. The reason was that each of the houses in the estate had their own distinctive colour scheme. As well as our client’s blue, the other houses were coloured black, red, and even mustard yellow. Unique character The houses were very much a product of the... View Article

James Hardie cladding installation in Sheering, near Harlow in Essex

July 25, 2021 10:27 am Published by

One of the many advantages of getting Summit Cladding to give your property a makeover is the vast number of colours available. We can simply transform the look of your house – after you decide the colour you like. On this latest job in Sheering, Essex, a village just off the M11 near Harlow, the owner, Brian, had already been to look at one of our previous installations nearby and decided he liked the colour “Sailcloth,” which is becoming very popular in the Essex countryside. But first, Brian wanted Summit’s advice on how much of the property’s rendered walls to dress with Hardieplank cladding – just the first floor and above, or the whole house? Maintenance-free solution With the challenges... View Article

James Hardie weatherproof cladding installation in Maidenhead

June 8, 2021 8:47 am Published by

“Do it once and do it right” has always been Summit Cladding’s motto. We say there’s no point in doing an installation if it doesn’t stand the test of time. And that’s one thing we can guarantee when clients come to us, looking for a permanent solution to those leaking walls and rotting timbers. Hardieplank cladding really does the business. Our client, Mariah, had been living in her timber-clad house in beautiful Maidenhead, Berkshire, for 15 years, and was getting fed up with hiring decorators every time the woodwork needed some care and attention. Mariah had spent thousands of pounds over the years trying to find decorators who would do a better job than the last lot. With so much... View Article

James Hardie Cladding installation in Welwyn, Hertfordshire

May 28, 2021 8:49 am Published by

It has been an unusually wet Spring so it’s no surprise that many homeowners getting in touch with Summit Cladding have had trouble with damp. In fact, most of our clients come to us because their house walls are no longer water-resistant. Brick and block walls are great while they keep the bad weather out but once the damp gets in, for whatever reason, you’ve got problems. And timber cladding can be just as much of a problem when the woodwork deteriorates and water gets behind it. All this helps to explain why James Hardie composite cladding boards are becoming more and more popular – as was the case with a recent client who owns a lovely 1930s farmhouse in... View Article