If you are planning to use composite cladding for your next external cladding project, then you are probably wondering how much it will cost you to buy, install and maintain this cladding material properly.
In this guide, we will walk you through the material and labour costs involved as well as any additional costs you can expect that might arise when installing house cladding made of composite.
What is Composite Cladding?
Composite cladding is a layer of panels, boards, or even slats, made from plastic and wood components to protect your property against the elements and provide some energy-efficient insulation.
Our composite cladding is made from 95% recycled materials, such as polyethene from plastic bags or bottles and reclaimed wood fibres from FSC-certified timber sources.
Composite is a more contemporary alternative to other cladding materials such as timber cladding, UPVC cladding or aluminium cladding and has extreme durability and weather-resistant properties that set it apart from many of these house cladding materials.
Composite cladding is not the cheapest option on the market, based on its manufacturing process, but also on the high quality of the material, which will usually last much longer than many of the other house cladding options.
What Factors Impact the Price of Composite Cladding?
When trying to understand the total cost of your future house cladding, it is important to look at a variety of influencing factors. For instance:
- Property Size
- Cladding Materials
- Manual Labour costs
- Your property’s location
- The complexity of your structure
- The maintenance costs of your cladding materials
In the following, we will take a closer look at each of these factors so that you can get a good understanding of how much cladding your home will cost you.
Property Size
The house cladding cost will usually be proportionate to the size of your home. A house with a larger square metre size will require more material but also require more time, i.e. more labour, which will drive the labour costs up as well.
Generally, you can expect to pay about £3500 to £4500 for a single-storey building, also known as a single-floor home in the UK. Material costs by themselves will probably lie around £2000 with a one-storey single-bedroom bungalow, plus whatever labour costs and additional costs may arise.
A larger house, such as a two-storey house, will likely set you back by approx £5000. The material required for a double-storey home with two bedrooms will lie at about £3500, without additional labour or rental costs.
Material and Labour Costs
When it comes to looking at the material price, composite cladding materials usually range from about £40 to £80 per square metre.
Our Ecoscape composite cladding ranges come in various colours ranging from black over light grey to wood-inspired brown, and cost either £55.88 for our panel cladding boards or £76.27 for our slatted cladding boards.
When it comes to installing cladding boards to the exterior walls of your home, you can try and test your DIY skills, as our composite ranges are very easy to install, but if you would rather rely on an experienced tradesman to help you with your cladding project than this is totally understandable.
Make sure you hire a tradesman that has the correct set of skills and is familiar with composite materials. Our customer team at Ecoscape is happy to assist you with finding the right person to hire for the job.
Generally, to install cladding boards, you can look at a price in the region between £300 and £600, with a small single-storey bungalow being on the lower end of the scale, and potentially take around two days to install a wall on an average gable roof house, while a larger building complex being potentially even higher.
Here is a precise breakdown of what you can expect to pay for differently experienced labourers:
- Specialist: approx. £150- £200 per day
- Builder: approx. £100 – £150 a day
- Carpenter: approx £120 per day
- Labourers: approx £40 – £60 per day
It is important to note that hiring a specialist or a carpenter that is skilled in composite material is highly advised if you do not have any building experience yourself and are planning to complete this project yourself.
If you want to save money on the cost of labour, it might end up costing you more in the end because materials might get damaged or installed incorrectly.
Maintenance Costs
Thankfully, composite cladding is very cost-effective when it comes to the maintenance of the material. Basically, you will only need some elbow grease (or a high-pressure hose), mild soap and warm water to clean your cladding boards about two times annually.
Depending on the weather your home is being exposed to, you might have to clean your boards more often, but at least composite does not require extensive sanding, varnishing and sealing as timber cladding does.
The maintenance is probably where you will be saving most of the money for your house cladding cost, as composite is a very low-maintenance material that will last you for at least 25 years.
Additional Costs
Any additional costs you would need to factor into your house cladding cost plan are:
- Scaffolding: If your home has several stories, you will need to hire scaffolding in order to reach up to your roof. However, with a single-storey property, you will likely just need a tall ladder.
- Gutters: If you already have people up to the roof, why not consider checking or replacing your gutters? A new guttering kit will likely cost you around £250.
- Trims and Fixings: Make sure to factor in starter strips, screws, or corner trims for your cladding boards, as these will likely cost you quite a bit if you have to additionally purchase them as well.
- Our Ecoscape composite boards come with a handy tongue and groove mechanism that will make not only the instalment easier but will also not require any additional screws or drills to be purchased, i.e. no more associated costs involved.
FAQs
What are the benefits of composite cladding?
Composite cladding comes with the following benefits:
- Low maintenance
- High-quality cladding with long durability
- Variety of colours and finishes
- Does not rot, warp or splinter
- Sound and temperature insulating
- UV resistant
- Does not stain
- Easy to install and replace
Can I install external cladding myself?
That depends on your skill level, the size of the project and the kind of material you will be using. If you are going for timber cladding, you might want to ask a tradesman that is well-versed in working with timber cladding because you can easily damage the wood and make it less durable or susceptible to water.
If you are going for some easier external house cladding, such as UPVC cladding, aluminium cladding or composite, then you might be able to DIY the project, especially if you are only planning on a single wall to get some cladding.
Do I need planning permission for installing external cladding?
You usually do not require planning permission when planning a house cladding project; however, it is always better to educate yourself on your local building regulations, especially if you are planning to add some external cladding in an AONB or a nature reserve or if you live in a listed house.
On top of that, consulting your neighbours when changing or adding external cladding should be advised as well. It is likely that your external cladding project will influence their homes as well, and it’s always best to be friendly with the neighbours!
Final Thoughts
External cladding costs are not just based on the external cladding materials you are going to buy per square metre.
On top of that, your house cladding prices are also strongly influenced by the time and money spent on maintenance, hiring experts who know how to install cladding correctly, and additional materials you will need to hire for your wall cladding project.
Here at Ecoscape, we are happy to help you evaluate the cladding cost if you are asking yourself, “how much does house cladding cost in my area?” on top of that, you will be able to get free samples in order to have an up close and personal look at how our high-quality cladding boards will look as wall cladding on your home!
