Summary

Cladding re-skins a house — timber, composite, fibre cement or metal boards fixed over a ventilated cavity to change the appearance, upgrade weather protection, or (paired with insulation) improve thermal performance. It sits in the same broad territory as render and external wall insulation but is a mechanically fixed, cavity-ventilated system rather than a bonded, breathable one, which changes both the failure modes and the pricing. Cladding done well lasts decades with minimal maintenance; cladding done cheaply — no ventilated cavity, unsealed end grain, the wrong fixings for the timber species — fails within a few years through cupping, staining, and rot at the base and around openings.

The price is driven by material choice first (uPVC at the bottom of the range through to metal standing seam at the top), then by substructure complexity (battens and counter-battens for ventilation, insulation if it's being upgraded at the same time), then by detailing at openings, corners, eaves and the base — the same junctions that determine whether a render or EWI job lasts, covered in external render pricing guide and external wall insulation pricing guide. Cladding also carries a fire-safety dimension that render doesn't in the same way: combustible timber cladding is common and acceptable on ordinary houses, but the rules tighten hard with boundary distance and building height, and this is the detail that has had the most regulatory change since Grenfell.

This guide covers per-m² pricing by material, the ventilated cavity build-up, fixing and detailing rules, the fire safety position for domestic work, and planning permission. For the insulated render alternative see render insulation systems; for the post-Grenfell fire regime in more depth see cladding fire safety.

Key Facts

Quick Reference Table

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Material £/m² Installed Maintenance Typical Lifespan Combustibility
uPVC £40-£70 Very low (occasional wash) 20-30 years Low melting point, not classed as readily combustible in normal use
Treated softwood £70-£120 Re-stain/oil every 3-5 years 25-40 years (maintained) Combustible
Cedar/larch (natural finish) £100-£160 Low if left to weather; oiling optional 30-50+ years Combustible
Composite (WPC) £90-£320 Very low 25-30 years Combustible (varies by product)
Fibre cement £100-£170 Low; repaint if factory-finish degrades 30-50 years Non-combustible (A1/A2 typical)
Metal (standing seam/profiled) £150-£250 Very low 40-60+ years Non-combustible
Elevation Size uPVC Timber (treated) Fibre Cement Metal
Small (20m²) £800-£1,400 £1,400-£2,400 £2,000-£3,400 £3,000-£5,000
Medium (40m²) £1,600-£2,800 £2,800-£4,800 £4,000-£6,800 £6,000-£10,000
Large elevation/full house (100m²) £4,000-£7,000 £7,000-£12,000 £10,000-£17,000 £15,000-£25,000

Detailed Guidance

The system, not just the boards

Cladding is a layered build-up, and the price reflects the whole system, not just the visible boards:

  1. Substrate preparation — wall inspected, defects made good, existing render or pebbledash removed if unsound
  2. Insulation (optional) — if the job doubles as a thermal upgrade, insulation boards are fixed to the wall first, similar to the EWI build-up in render insulation systems
  3. Breather membrane — fixed over the wall or insulation, laps taped, to BS EN 13859-1
  4. Battens and counter-battens — vertical battens create the ventilated cavity; counter-battens run over insulation where used
  5. Cladding boards/panels — fixed with the correct stainless fixings, gapped for thermal movement, starting from a level, plumb setting-out line
  6. Trims and detailing — corner trims, cill/head details at openings, base ventilation and insect mesh, top ventilation at the eaves

Skipping the cavity and membrane to save a day's labour is the single most common cause of failed cladding — boards fixed direct to a solid wall with no airflow behind them trap moisture, cup, and rot from the back where it isn't visible until the damage is advanced.

Material selection — matching cost to expectation

uPVC is the budget option: cheap, essentially maintenance-free, but looks and ages like plastic, and colour can fade under UV over 15-20 years. It's a legitimate choice for a rear elevation or a low-visibility extension where cost matters more than aesthetics.

Timber is the most requested material for its appearance, and the price spread within timber is wide. Treated softwood (tanalised featheredge or shiplap) is affordable but needs re-coating every 3-5 years to hold its colour, or is left to weather grey. Naturally durable species — cedar, larch — cost more upfront but can be left unfinished to silver naturally, which many customers want, or oiled periodically to retain the original tone. Either way, the timber needs a durability class suited to full weather exposure (commonly Use Class 3 under BS 8417) — confirm the specific class for the species and location before ordering, since under-specified timber will fail early regardless of how well it's fitted.

Composite (WPC) boards are a wood-plastic blend marketed as a low-maintenance alternative to timber cladding, holding colour better than painted timber but costing more than treated softwood.

Fibre cement boards and panels are non-combustible, dimensionally stable, and increasingly specified where fire performance matters or where a flat, modern panel look is wanted. They cost more than timber but need very little maintenance.

Metal (standing seam or profiled aluminium, zinc, or steel) is the premium, longest-lifespan option, non-combustible, and increasingly used on contemporary extensions — see zinc roofing for the standing-seam fixing principles, which are broadly similar when used on a wall.

Fixings — why stainless steel isn't optional

Cladding fixings are visible, structural, and exposed to the weather for decades, so the fixing spec matters more than on almost any other exterior job. Galvanised fixings corrode over time, especially on cedar and oak, where the tannins in the wood accelerate corrosion and cause black staining streaks running down the board from every fixing point. Stainless steel (grade A2 as a minimum, A4 for coastal or high-exposure sites) avoids this and is worth specifying as standard rather than as an upgrade — the fixing cost difference is small relative to the whole job, and staining is one of the most common cladding complaints raised after the first wet winter.

Fire safety — get the boundary distance and building height right

For an ordinary domestic house, timber and other combustible cladding is widely used and generally acceptable under Building Regulations Part B, but the permitted proportion of combustible, unprotected external wall area reduces the closer the wall is to a relevant boundary — the same principle covered for bin stores in wheelie bin storage regulations and for outbuildings generally.

The regulatory picture is entirely different for taller and multi-occupancy buildings. Since Grenfell, Regulation 7(2) of the Building Regulations 2010 (introduced via the 2018 Approved Document B amendment, extended in December 2022 to certain residential buildings with balconies from 11m) bans combustible materials in the external walls of buildings 18m and above, and the separate Building Safety Act 2022 layered on the Building Safety Regulator, the higher-risk building (HRB) regime and leaseholder protections for the same height bracket — see cladding fire safety for the A1/A2 classification system, the 18m/11m thresholds, and the EWS1 assessment process. This regime is not generally relevant to a standard two- or three-storey house, but flag it immediately if the property is a converted block of flats, an HMO, or anything approaching the height thresholds — quoting standard domestic timber cladding on a building that falls within this regime is a serious compliance failure, not a minor detail.

Planning permission

Cladding changes the external appearance of the building, so — unlike a straightforward like-for-like re-clad — it is not automatically permitted development, in the same way EWI isn't (see external wall insulation pricing guide). The principal (street-facing) elevation, conservation areas, and listed buildings are the situations most likely to need planning permission, and in a conservation area the choice of cladding material may itself be restricted or refused if it doesn't match the area's character. Always check with the Local Planning Authority before quoting a material change on a visible elevation. See permitted development householder and conservation areas.

Pricing Example (40m² rear extension elevation, treated softwood shiplap cladding, regional)

Item Cost
Breather membrane (40m²) £120
Treated battens + counter-battens £280
Stainless steel fixings £160
Treated softwood shiplap cladding (40m²) £1,600
Corner trims, cill details, insect mesh £220
Labour (2-person crew, 4 days) £1,600
Waste disposal £120
Margin 20% £820
Total £4,920

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does external wall cladding cost per m²?

From roughly £40-£70/m² for uPVC up to £150-£250/m² for metal standing seam, all installed. Timber sits in the middle at £70-£160/m² depending on species and treatment, fibre cement at £100-£170/m², and composite at £90-£320/m² depending on elevation complexity. The price includes the breather membrane, battens for the ventilated cavity, fixings, and detailing — not just the boards.

Do I need planning permission for external wall cladding?

Often yes, because cladding changes the external appearance of the house, so it isn't automatically permitted development. The principal (front) elevation, conservation areas and listed buildings are the situations most likely to require planning permission, and conservation areas may restrict which materials are acceptable. Always check with the Local Planning Authority before quoting.

Is timber cladding a fire risk on a house?

For an ordinary domestic house, timber cladding is widely used and generally acceptable under Building Regulations Part B, though the permitted amount of combustible material reduces the closer the wall is to a relevant boundary. The picture changes sharply for taller or multi-occupancy buildings: Regulation 7(2) of the Building Regulations 2010 bans combustible materials in external walls of buildings 18m and above (with tighter rules from 11m in some cases for residential buildings with balconies), and the Building Safety Act 2022 adds a separate higher-risk building regulatory regime on top. Flag building height and occupancy type before assuming standard domestic cladding rules apply.

Why does cladding need a ventilated cavity behind it?

Without an airspace behind the boards, any moisture that gets past the cladding — through joints, end grain, or condensation — has nowhere to dry out, and sits against the wall or the back of the boards. A minimum 25mm ventilated cavity, open at the base and top for airflow and protected by insect mesh, lets the assembly dry rather than rot. This is the single most common corner cut on cheap cladding jobs and the most common cause of premature failure.

Can cladding be combined with insulation?

Yes — cladding is frequently used as the finish over an external wall insulation upgrade, in which case the battens are fixed over the insulation as counter-battens rather than directly to the wall. This is a larger, more expensive job than cladding alone (see render insulation systems for the insulated build-up) but combines the appearance change with a genuine thermal improvement in one project.

Regulations & Standards