Recladding your house is a significant undertaking that not only improves the appearance of your home but also enhances its durability and value.
While the focus is often on the cladding itself, there are several other essential tasks that homeowners should consider undertaking while recladding their house to ensure a complete and cohesive renovation.
In this guide, we'll explore some key work that homeowners should consider alongside recladding their house.
1. Inspecting and Repairing the Substructure:
It goes without saying that while cladding is removed framing and structural elements of your house are inspected to ensure that it remains in good condition.
Any issues such as rot, borer damage, or structural weaknesses are usually easily dealt with as it is discovered. Applying some structural upgrades such as Rigid Air Barrier is generally seen as a good idea.
2. Replacing or Upgrading Insulation:
While your walls are exposed during the recladding process, it's an ideal time to upgrade your insulation. Old insulation often sags and leaves gaps which render the insulation pointless so installing new more durable and effective insulation significantly improves the thermal comfort of your home, reduce heating and cooling costs.
Consider adding or upgrading insulation in conjunction with recladding your house.
3. Replacing Windows and Doors:
Aside from the obvious that old or inefficient windows and doors can compromise the performance of your home's thermal and weather tightness envelope. New cladding systems often require the window reveals to be a bigger size. There are three ways to address this but it is highly recommended clients consider replacing outdated windows and doors with updated energy-efficient joinery. This will not only improve the overall aesthetics of your home but also enhance its energy efficiency and security.
4. Addressing Exterior Trim and Finishes:
Alongside recladding your house, consider updating or repairing exterior trim and finishes such as fascia, soffits, and gutters. Definately if you have an internal gutter or integrated fascia system.
These elements play a crucial role in protecting your home from water damage and will complement the overall look of your new cladding. Ensuring that these components are in good condition and properly integrated with your new cladding is critical to a successful reclad.
5. Hide those ugly services:
We’ve all adapted our houses over time with new power connections, gas connections, heat pumps, fibre installs, satellite dish’s, lights, cameras, speakers etc. Often these are managed with cables fixed to the exterior or conduits installed like a maze over our cladding.
Use the opportunity to hide these services within the exterior walls and tidy up your exterior surfaces.
6. Landscaping and Exterior Lighting:
Often decks and structures attached to the house are impacted by the reclad. So while trades are onsite and you are deconstructing elements, you can enhance the street appeal of your home by considering landscaping upgrades and exterior lighting as part of your project.
By considering these additional tasks alongside recladding your house, you can ensure a comprehensive and successful home renovation that enhances both the aesthetics and functionality of your property. Prioritise thorough planning, professional assistance, and quality materials to achieve a long-lasting and visually appealing result.
To find out more about how we go about our Recladding projects read our Investment Guide to Recladding.
