If your walls are showing signs of moisture damage, crumbling render or tired-looking boards, exterior cladding fitted by Mildenhall Roofers could be the practical fix your Burwell home needs.
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Exterior cladding gives your walls a second skin. It keeps wind-driven rain away from the structural wall beneath, cuts heat loss and, done properly, transforms the appearance of a house that has seen better days. We fit timber, composite, fibre cement and metal cladding systems to homes across Burwell and the wider area, including properties in Mildenhall, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds.
Cladding problems rarely appear overnight. They build up over months or years, and by the time most homeowners notice something is wrong, the underlying wall may already have suffered damage. Knowing what to look for early saves money and prevents the kind of repair bills that come from leaving things too long.
A damp patch appearing on an internal wall, particularly after heavy rain or a spell of wet weather, is one of the clearest signs that the external wall envelope has failed somewhere. The moisture may be tracking through cracked render, a failed sealant joint or a cladding board that has split or bowed. The patch itself is not always directly behind the point of entry - water travels sideways and downward before it soaks through, which is why finding the source matters before any repair work starts.
Render that sounds hollow when you tap it has lost its bond with the masonry behind. This is a common problem on older properties where the original sand-and-cement mix has been applied too thickly, or where movement in the building has caused fine hairline cracks over time. Water gets into those cracks, freezes in cold weather and widens them further. Once render is blown in multiple areas, patching tends to be a short-term fix - cladding over the wall with a ventilated system is often a more permanent answer.
Timber cladding that has not been maintained will eventually split along the grain or cup across its width as moisture content changes with the seasons. Boards that begin to pull away from their fixings are a structural concern - they create gaps that let water track behind the cladding line and sit against the wall sheathing. Left in place, a few failing boards can lead to rot spreading to the battens and the wall itself.
Composite and fibre cement boards do not behave the same way as natural timber, which is one reason many homeowners choose them when replacing failed timber cladding. They are dimensionally stable across a much wider temperature range.
Green or black staining on cladding boards is a sign that moisture is sitting on or behind the surface longer than it should. This can result from blocked or damaged cavity drainage, insufficient overhang from soffits and gutters, or boards that have been fixed too close to the ground. Algae growth is not just cosmetic - the root structures of algae and moss can physically break down surface coatings and, over time, penetrate into the board material itself.
Metal cladding panels do not support biological growth in the same way, which is one advantage worth considering if a north-facing or shaded wall is causing persistent problems.
Understanding why cladding fails helps you ask the right questions before choosing a replacement system.
We work with four main cladding types, each suited to different budgets, aesthetics and performance requirements.
Good exterior cladding is not simply boards fixed to a wall. A correctly installed ventilated rainscreen system includes a breather membrane against the wall, a batten framework that creates an air gap, the cladding boards or panels fixed to the battens, and correctly detailed flashings at all openings, junctions and the base of the wall.
The flashings are critical. Poor detailing at window reveals, sills and roof-wall junctions is where most long-term water ingress problems begin. Ask any contractor you speak to how they handle these junctions - a vague answer is a warning sign in itself.
Exterior cladding in this area typically costs between £80 and £200 per square metre installed, depending on the material chosen, the complexity of the wall (number of openings, junctions and detailing points) and the access required. Timber sits toward the lower end of that range; metal panel systems toward the upper end. Fibre cement and composite generally fall between the two.
Those figures cover supply and installation of a properly ventilated system. If existing failed cladding or blown render needs stripping first, allow for additional cost.
If you have noticed any of the warning signs above, or if your external walls simply look tired and you want to know what your options are, call Mildenhall Roofers for a straightforward conversation about what the job involves and what it is likely to cost.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
