James Hardie composite cladding installation in Cuffley, Hertfordshire

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A stunning transformation with James Hardie Cladding

Pebbledash, love it or loathe it, has been a widely used exterior wall finish that was especially popular during the housing boom of the 1920s and 30s. In fact, in its original form, pebbledash dates back to Roman times, and in the middle ages was known as roughcast, so it has a long pedigree.

These days, a lot of homeowners are not so keen on the look of pebbledash, which is made of mortar “dashed” with small stones to make a weather-proof covering for brick walls – and that was certainly the case with this client from Cuffley, Hertfordshire.

Contemporary new look

Some of his neighbours had already opted to give their homes an ultra-modern look, but our client wanted to preserve the period character of his house while giving it a new, more contemporary appearance.

The pebbledash around the front bay window area was uneven, so it wouldn’t have worked simply to cover it up with another material. Summit’s suggestion, with an eye on keeping costs down, was to clad the front and rear elevations and return the cladding part way onto the side walls.

We began the task by erecting scaffolding to give our fitters clear and safe access to remove the old pebbledash and prepare the walls by attaching treated timber battens. On to those we fitted James Hardie composite cladding in pearl grey, with the James Hardie ventilation system to ensure a constant flow of air.

New soffits, fascias and gutters

To compliment the new cladding, we removed all the timber fascias and soffits and swapped them for white maintenance-free replacements, including deep flow guttering and downpipes. The original door canopy was removed and a replacement installed with sturdy and attractive side brackets, new lead flashing and new plain tiles to match the roof.

Finally, our specialist team of painters matched the standardized RAL number of the James Hardie cladding with new paint on the exposed side walls to give a perfect finish. The result is a complete transformation of what the house looked like before Summit Cladding got to work – and not a patch of pebbledash in sight!

Categorised in: Guttering, James Hardie Cladding, Soffits & Fascias

This post was written by Summit Cladding