Choosing the right exterior cladding material for your Waterbeach property is a decision that will affect how the building looks, how much maintenance it needs, and how well it performs for decades.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Exterior cladding is not a single product. It is a category that covers timber boards, composite panels, fibre cement sheets, and metal systems - each with a genuinely different performance profile, maintenance requirement, and price point. We fit all of these systems to homes and commercial buildings in Waterbeach and neighbouring villages. This page sets out what each material actually involves, what it does well, and where it falls short.
There is no universally correct answer. The right material depends on the building type, the budget, how much ongoing maintenance the owner wants to do, and what the finished appearance needs to be. What follows is an honest assessment of each option.
Timber is the most traditional exterior cladding material and remains one of the most widely specified. The most common profiles are featheredge (tapered boards overlapped horizontally), shiplap (square-edged boards with a rebated joint), and square-edged sawn boards used vertically. Species range from locally available softwoods like Scots pine and larch to imported hardwoods and western red cedar.
Timber cladding typically costs between £80 and £150 per square metre installed, making it one of the more affordable starting points. Larch and cedar are at the upper end of the softwood range but need less frequent maintenance. Treated pine is cheaper upfront but requires more regular refinishing to stay watertight.
Honest pros: natural appearance that weathers well when maintained, relatively easy to repair on a board-by-board basis, widely available, works well with added external wall insulation behind.
Honest cons: needs inspection and refinishing every few years depending on exposure and species - skip this and boards will split, warp, or rot prematurely. Not all timbers behave equally: pine in an exposed position will need more attention than cedar in a sheltered spot. Incorrect installation, particularly missing back-priming and inadequate ventilation gaps, shortens lifespan significantly.
Composite boards are made from a mixture of wood fibre and polymer resin. They are manufactured to mimic the appearance of timber but with a much reduced maintenance requirement. Most composite systems are pre-coloured through the board rather than surface-coated, so minor surface scratches are less visible than on painted timber.
Installed costs for composite cladding typically run from around £100 to £200 per square metre, depending on the specific product and profile. Premium composite ranges from manufacturers with long track records sit at the top of that range.
Honest pros: very low ongoing maintenance compared with natural timber - generally just periodic cleaning with water. Resistant to splitting, warping, and insect attack. Does not need painting or staining. Good colour retention over the medium term.
Honest cons: more expensive upfront than basic timber. The appearance is good but not identical to real wood - visible to anyone who knows what they are looking at. Quality varies enormously between manufacturers; cheap composite can fade, delaminate, or crack within a few years. Ask what the manufacturer's stated performance life is and check it is a brand with a trading history behind it.
Fibre cement panels are made from Portland cement, cellulose fibre, and sand. They are rigid, non-combustible, and highly resistant to moisture and frost. This makes them suitable for elevations where fire performance is a consideration or where the building is in a particularly exposed position.
Fibre cement cladding generally falls in the range of £90 to £180 per square metre installed. Factory-painted versions sit at the higher end; raw boards that need on-site decoration will be cheaper for supply but add labour cost.
Honest pros: non-combustible, which matters on certain building types and may affect insurance premiums. Dimensionally very stable - does not expand and contract with moisture like timber. Can be factory-finished to a wide range of colours and textures. Low maintenance once painted.
Honest cons: heavier than timber or composite, which affects the specification of fixings and battens. Brittle at the cut edge if not handled correctly during installation - a poorly cut board can crack. The factory-applied colour coat will eventually need repainting; this is a surface coating rather than a through-colour. Joint detailing needs to be done carefully to prevent water entry at panel edges.
Aluminium and steel panel systems are most associated with commercial and industrial buildings but are increasingly used on residential projects, particularly extensions and contemporary new builds. Profiles range from flat cassette panels to standing seam and profiled sheets.
Metal cladding starts at around £100 per square metre for standard profiled steel and rises significantly for aluminium cassette systems with powder-coated or anodised finishes, where costs of £200 per square metre or more are realistic.
Honest pros: very long service life when correctly specified and installed. Non-combustible. Requires minimal maintenance - generally just occasional cleaning. Gives a crisp, modern appearance suited to contemporary architecture. Aluminium in particular is lightweight and does not corrode.
Honest cons: expensive. The aesthetic is specifically contemporary and does not suit all property types. Denting from impact is harder to repair invisibly than replacing a single timber board. Thermal expansion in steel panels needs to be accommodated at the fixing stage or panels can buckle or creak. Colour matching for repairs in older installations can be difficult if the original batch is no longer available.
One of the strongest reasons to reclad an existing building is the opportunity to add external wall insulation (EWI) at the same time. Rigid insulation boards - typically mineral wool or phenolic foam - are fixed to the existing wall before the battens and cladding go on. This can substantially reduce heat loss through solid walls, which are the least efficient part of most older properties.
EWI also eliminates most of the cold bridging that occurs at floor and wall junctions in traditional construction. The added thickness to the wall build-up is worth thinking about at window and door reveals, which will need to be extended to maintain weathertightness at the edges.
When cladding an external wall, the soffits, fascias, and bargeboards at eaves and verge level need to be considered as part of the same job. Replacing these at the same time avoids the need to revisit the top of the elevation shortly afterwards and ensures a consistent finish. uPVC fascias and soffits are the low-maintenance choice; timber versions can be used to match the cladding material where the specification calls for it.
We work on properties in Waterbeach and the surrounding area. If you are weighing up cladding options and want a practical view on what suits your building, call us and we will come and look at it with you before you make any decisions.
No obligation · We'll call you to arrange a free visit
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
