Step back several decades and the vast majority of builders will have been taking advantage of traditional means of construction. In simple terms, this involved creating either a solid or cavity wall and building from the foundations upwards. Nowadays, this is anything but a foregone conclusion and the emergence of steel and timber framed homes means that developers have many more options available at their disposal.
One such option is to clad the external walls of the building. Most people immediately assume that this effect will make a home look very commercial – just like all of those industrial buildings that you see dotted around the motorways. However, building technology has progressed to a level where basic metal profile sheets don’t have to be used and there are now countless alternatives that can provide a different, and sometimes more homely, appearance. Furthermore, the nature of cladding means that most of these options are applied exactly the same and by sourcing a standard roofing cladding and refurbishment company you will most probably be able to get the job done relatively easily.
Of course, the following solutions are only going to be applicable for those buildings that have been built via a frame. If you’ve yet to decide how you’re new home should be constructed, it’s probably worth taking a look at the pros and cons of framed buildings before reading on. For those that have decided, here are some of the common cladding options that are used in the industry today.
Steel Profile Sheets
As we mentioned previously, this is a type of cladding which is practically always seen on the big, commercial buildings. It arrives in hefty metal sheets and this means that it can be installed exceptionally quickly. While it can be purchased in numerous styles, there are probably few houses that will suit this type of profile. Nevertheless, it is very durable and this is the main reason why so many big businesses take advantage of it.
Glass
If you’ve recently constructed a modern dwelling, glass could very well be the answer for you. In terms of contemporary themes, nothing beats those big, gaping glass walls and these are almost always achieved by glass cladding panels. As you may have gathered, these can prove to be very expensive to install and this is probably the reason why such an option is only reserved for those pricy, modern Sandbanks-style homes.
Brickwork Cladding
This is probably one of the more popular solutions over recent times and nowadays, rather than finish a framed building in a full wall of bricks, ‘fake’ ones are used which are much thinner and simply attach to the frame. This means that it’s much quicker to complete the finish, while you’ll still have all of the rendering options that the standard brick presents.
Stone Cladding
This is very similar to the previous option although unsurprisingly, stone is the chosen material instead. Everyone knows that stone can be one of the most costly materials on a building site, so the fact that you will only be using thin portions of it will drive your costs down substantially. It creates a terrific, elegant effect and if you wish to cut costs even more, you could even turn to a simulated version. Unfortunately, it can prove to take much longer to erect, as it’s not simply a case of hoisting large cladding sheets into position and each piece of stone has to be attached individually.
Weatherboard Cladding
The final one is another popular option and focusses around wood. This is something that a lot of prefabs take advantage of, with weatherboard cladding regarded as one of the most flexible options in terms of finishing. It can also be cheap to purchase although if you opt for natural timber, you will have to regularly keep on top of the maintenance tasks to avoid issues such as rot and other wood-related defects.
