Categories for Cladding

New cladding installation in Loughton, Essex

October 12, 2023 8:21 pm Published by

Here at Summit Cladding we are always keen to take on a challenge, especially when the property is a bit unconventional. This latest cladding installation job was in Loughton, Essex, and involved what’s known as a BISF house. The letters stand for British Iron and Steel Federation and, as the name suggests, the house has a steel frame, not conventional brickwork. Tens of thousands of BISF houses were built in the 1940s and 50s to cope with the shortage of housing facing returning servicemen and their families who’d been bombed out of their homes during World War 2. A simple and quick solution They were designed to be simple and cheap to build, as a quick solution to an urgent... 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

Cladding installation in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire

May 5, 2020 10:13 am Published by

People say that you can find anything on the internet if you know where to look. Our latest clients, Bob and Jo from Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, did just that and managed to find Summit Cladding very quickly. They knew what they wanted their house makeover to look like, so they searched on Pinterest, the site that allows users to find ideas from photos and other images. And when they saw pictures of work done by Summit Cladding, they knew they had found what they were looking for. Before the lockdown Bob and Jo contacted us in early March, before the start of the coronavirus lockdown, so there was no problem going to their house for a consultation over a cup... View Article

Cedarwood timber cladding installation in Waltham Abbey, Essex

August 22, 2019 9:11 am Published by

There’s nothing quite like genuine cedarwood cladding to make a house stand out from the crowd. We’ve written before on here about the importance of getting the right materials, when there is such a wide choice available. Summit Cladding were called to a stunning property in the heart of Epping Forest, not far from Waltham Abbey, Essex. Our clients had employed general builders to do most of the conversion work, but they felt let down when the builders failed to deliver the finished quality demanded by their architect. As a company specialising in cladding, Summit were able to advise on the best choice of timber cladding to suit the look of the property. And, as with every other building material,... View Article

James Hardie cladding and door canopy installation in Enfield, North London

July 3, 2019 2:03 pm Published by

Here’s a great example of what Summit Cladding can do to transform not one, but a whole block of homes, to bring them up to date with their neighbours. Our client and her fellow committee members run their own property management company in this 1970s block in the leafy hidden part of Winchmore Hill in Enfield, North London. The building was looking tired and dated, while all around them modern flats were being built at almost double the price. Our clients’ answer was to break out of the 1970s “time warp” and order a thorough makeover to bring the block up to date. Door canopies constructed As an illustration of just how neglected the building had become, there used to... View Article

Hardieplank cladding installation in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire

June 8, 2019 3:32 pm Published by

During the 1970s there was a trend for building houses with mock Tudor beams and dark mahogany window frames and soffits. That look has become very dated and for our clients Johan and Heidi it was a look that had to change! When I first met the couple at their home in Abbots Langley, just north of Watford in Hertfordshire, they had been thinking of getting the front of the house rendered to replace the mock Tudor beams. But when they saw how James Hardie Cladding could transform a house, they immediately changed their minds. Asbestos to remove Then we looked at the soffits, which we found were made of asbestos-covered in uPVC, so they had to go. And my... View Article

Fascias and soffit replacement in Chigwell, Essex, May 2019.

May 11, 2019 3:21 pm Published by

If there’s one lesson that we all have to learn about our homes, it’s that even the finest building materials will have to be repaired or replaced one day. This blog is the story of a 1970s house in Chigwell, Essex, which needed some urgent attention when Summit Cladding was called in. Our client, Clive, is in charge of maintaining a portfolio of properties in Loughton and Chigwell and he contacted us when he noticed that nature was taking its toll on the wooden bargeboards. After 40 years, the wood was beginning to rot and damp was getting into the soffits, partly because the gutters were full of debris and no longer working properly. Removing old woodwork Our first task... View Article

James Hardie cladding installation in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

March 8, 2019 10:06 am Published by

Replacing pebble dash Pebble dash – love it or loathe it? A lot of houses have been covered with this popular exterior finish over the past hundred years or more. But, in our experience, most of our clients want to get rid of it, as was the case with Tanya and her husband, based in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. A large section of pebble dash on the front of their house had fallen away, leaving broken tiles and an ugly mess on the wall. Time for Summit Cladding to put things right! Colour choice They had seen examples of James Hardie Cladding on other buildings and decided that was what they wanted. I showed them samples of different colours and after discussing... View Article

Timber cladding and fascia installation in Surrey

January 25, 2019 11:35 am Published by

Summit Cladding travelled to the leafy lanes of Surrey for this latest job – to rescue a client in distress! Chrissy had moved from London to Dorking to be closer to her parents and had found the ideal property, in need of a complete refurbishment. But unfortunately, the contractors who had been commissioned to do the job had made a complete hash of it. We became involved after Chrissy’s project manager called us, on the recommendation of her London-based interior designers. Terrible finish When I arrived to meet my new client, I was appalled at the finish of the job left by the contractors. The house originally had cedar cladding, but the builders used cheap softwood to match it. I... View Article

Concrete cladding installation in Theydon Bois, Essex

January 12, 2019 9:35 am Published by

Summit Cladding faced an unusual challenge with this project – how to combine two different house design styles that are 80 years apart! Our clients, Kevin and Cathy, live in a 1930s detached house in Theydon Bois, Essex. But their home has a new two-storey extension completed in 2017. And their design brief for us was to carry out an attractive makeover by bringing the two time zones into one. Builder’s recommendation Summit Cladding had recently completed another job for our clients’ builder just around the corner from their house and he recommended us, based on the high quality of our work. Kevin and Cathy loved the appearance of James Hardy Cladding but were unsure of what would be the... View Article