January 18, 2023 7:19 am
Published by Summit Cladding
Summit Cladding is about more than just maintenance-free composite boards – brilliant though they are. Sometimes only natural timber will do. This was the case with our latest job, to replace the cladding on our client’s Georgian house situated within a conservation area in leafy Loughton, Essex. Summit Cladding had already installed new cedar shingles on his outbuilding, and he was so pleased with the result that he asked us to replace the softwood cladding at the back of the main house with bespoke hardwood cladding. As we have written many times on here, softwood cladding just doesn’t stand the test of time. It looks lovely when first installed, but nature and the weather will eventually take its toll, leaving... View Article
August 22, 2019 9:11 am
Published by Summit Cladding
There’s nothing quite like genuine cedarwood cladding to make a house stand out from the crowd. We’ve written before on here about the importance of getting the right materials, when there is such a wide choice available. Summit Cladding were called to a stunning property in the heart of Epping Forest, not far from Waltham Abbey, Essex. Our clients had employed general builders to do most of the conversion work, but they felt let down when the builders failed to deliver the finished quality demanded by their architect. As a company specialising in cladding, Summit were able to advise on the best choice of timber cladding to suit the look of the property. And, as with every other building material,... View Article
July 23, 2019 11:17 am
Published by Summit Cladding
Here’s a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of fitting seamless guttering on their house: make sure the fascia boards can take the weight! Seamless gutters can look great but supporting them properly is a challenging task. Summit Cladding was contacted by clients in Hadley Wood, who’d been living in their lovely home for over 20 years. They had a large extension built five years ago, when the seamless aluminium guttering was recommended by their builders. When we viewed the property, we saw that the single piece of guttering was over 12 metres long – or about 36 feet – and was hanging off the fascia board at one end, threatening to come right off. Summit’s solution The builders had also... View Article
January 25, 2019 11:35 am
Published by Summit Cladding
Summit Cladding travelled to the leafy lanes of Surrey for this latest job – to rescue a client in distress! Chrissy had moved from London to Dorking to be closer to her parents and had found the ideal property, in need of a complete refurbishment. But unfortunately, the contractors who had been commissioned to do the job had made a complete hash of it. We became involved after Chrissy’s project manager called us, on the recommendation of her London-based interior designers. Terrible finish When I arrived to meet my new client, I was appalled at the finish of the job left by the contractors. The house originally had cedar cladding, but the builders used cheap softwood to match it. I... View Article
January 16, 2018 6:46 pm
Published by Summit Cladding
Summit Cladding loves a challenge. Especially when we get the chance to work with beautiful, natural timber. Our client, David, invited us to quote for work at his house in St Albans, where he wanted all the old wooden bargeboards and fascia boards removed and replaced with a maintenance-free alternative. David said he always prided himself on being a hands-on “Mr Fixit,” but as he was getting older, the thought of getting his ladders out again and doing the job himself was out of the question. Synthetic or natural? When I first met David he was sold on the idea of pvc replacements that had the look of timber. He was even more impressed when he saw a rosewood pvc... View Article
December 9, 2016 10:28 am
Published by Summit Cladding
Our latest clients contacted Summit Cladding by visiting our showroom in Crews Hill, Enfield. Their property in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire had an infestation of squirrels which were nesting in their porch loft and water was also leaking into the house. We arranged an appointment to visit their property to identify what was causing these issues. After specialising in roofline solutions for nearly thirty years, finding the problem was relatively straightforward for the Summit Cladding team. The original wooden fascias of the porch were rotting away above the guttering and consequently, the squirrels could gain easy access, to create a home in the loft. Installation A quote was agreed and we started work almost immediately. First, we removed all the original timber fascias,... View Article
December 19, 2014 3:39 pm
Published by Summit Cladding
We receive a lot of questions about cladding and our professional opinion of over cladding. Read on to find out about our thoughts on over cladding. Why Does Cladding Need to be Replaced? Cladding that is made from timber will eventually rot over time, even with expert installation and diligent maintenance. PVC cladding lasts 10-20 years depending on the colour you choose. Eventually it will also need replacement. What is Over Cladding? Over cladding is the process of covering existing cladding with thin plastic. Potential Problems With Over Cladding Over cladding may seem like a clever solution when compared to replacing existing soffits and fascia completely. Home owners are sometimes persuaded to purchase over cladding because it costs less than... View Article
December 5, 2014 3:38 pm
Published by Summit Cladding
PVC- What is it? PVC is an acronym for Poly(vinyl chloride). It was created accidentally by French chemist Henri Victor Regnault, and later by German chemist Eugen Baumann. It was refined over the following decades to use for commercial applications. By 1926 it was more flexible and its use was prevalent. Today it is applied in a variety of fields such as construction, clothing and furniture, healthcare, signage, and roofing. It is a superior material in many of these fields because it does not erode or leak, the way in which metal and wood can. PVC: What To Know PVC cladding will never rot or need to be repainted. It requires little maintenance. It is available in a variety of... View Article
