Getting exterior cladding fitted in Cottenham is only part of the job - what you do in the years that follow determines how long it actually lasts.
Exterior cladding is a fixed board system applied over your external walls to protect them from rain, frost and wind and to give the building a clean, finished appearance. At Newmarket Roofers, we install timber, composite and fibre cement cladding on homes in Cottenham, Newmarket and across the surrounding area. Each material performs differently over time and needs a different approach to ongoing care.
The installation itself - the breather membrane, the ventilated cavity, the battens and the boards - is only the beginning. A well-installed cladding system can perform for decades, but it will not do so without some attention. The good news is that most of what keeps cladding in good shape is simple and can be done by the homeowner without specialist tools or skills.
Cladding failure rarely happens suddenly. It develops gradually, usually starting at the joints, fixings or junctions around windows and doors, and spreading inward from there. By the time a board is visibly splitting or a section is clearly moving, the problem has usually been developing for one or two seasons. Catching it earlier is almost always cheaper to fix.
The most common cause of premature cladding deterioration is neglected sealant at junctions, followed by paint or coating failure on timber boards, and then physical damage that has been left without repair. None of these are difficult to address when caught at an early stage. All of them become expensive when ignored.
Once a year, work your way around every elevation of the building and look at the following. You do not need ladders for a first pass - binoculars are useful for upper sections.
Algae, lichen and general surface grime accumulate on cladding, particularly on north-facing elevations or areas shaded by trees. This is normal and does not mean the cladding is failing, but it should be removed periodically.
A soft brush and a diluted proprietary cleaner designed for the cladding material is the right approach. Pressure washers should be used with caution - a high-pressure jet directed at board joints or upward under board laps can force water behind the cladding and into the cavity. If you use a pressure washer, keep the nozzle at low pressure and direct it downward along the boards, not into the joints.
On composite and fibre cement cladding, cleaning is relatively straightforward because the surface does not need recoating after. On painted or stained timber, plan to clean and then inspect the coating condition before deciding whether a fresh application is needed that season.
Painted softwood cladding typically needs recoating every five to eight years, depending on the paint system used and the degree of exposure. Stained timber, which allows the wood to breathe more freely, often needs attention more frequently - every three to five years in many cases.
When recoating, preparation is more important than the product. Remove loose or flaking paint back to a stable edge, clean the surface thoroughly, allow it to dry completely, and then apply the finish according to the manufacturer's instructions. Applying a new coat over a damp or poorly prepared surface will result in the new coat failing much earlier than it should.
If you are unsure whether a full repaint or just a top coat is needed, run a thumbnail along a painted section. If the paint is soft and comes away easily, the adhesion has gone and the surface needs stripping back further before any new coat is applied.
Sealant at window and door junctions should be checked and, if necessary, replaced before it fully fails. Once a gap opens up at a window reveal, water can track along the sill or frame and into the wall cavity within a single rainy period.
Removing old sealant, cleaning the joint surfaces back to bare material and applying fresh sealant with a proper backing rod is a task a careful homeowner can do. Use a sealant rated for external use and compatible with your cladding material - some sealants react with certain composite or painted surfaces. A tube of appropriate sealant costs a few pounds and an afternoon's careful work can prevent a repair bill many times larger.
Not everything is a DIY maintenance task. Call a cladding contractor when you find any of the following:
These signs indicate that water has already penetrated the outer layer and the cavity or wall beneath needs investigation. Attempting to patch the surface without checking what is behind it is not a reliable repair.
The simplest approach is to build cladding checks into something you already do annually. A spring walk around the property, before the growing season makes access harder and before summer repairs are possible, catches most problems while they are still minor. Keep a note of what you find and what was done - this is useful information when you come to sell the property or when a contractor is assessing the condition years later.
Newmarket Roofers fit and maintain exterior cladding in Cottenham, Newmarket, Ely, Cambridge and neighbouring villages. If your annual check turns up something you are not sure about, call us for a survey and we will tell you plainly what needs attention and what can wait.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
