Costs & Guides

Are you thinking of adding wood cladding to your home?
Timber cladding comes in a variety of styles and price points. We’ll look at all of the costs associated with installing timber cladding in this article, including labour and material costs.
Take a look at the list below.

How Much Does It Cost to Install Timber Cladding?

The cost of installing timber cladding varies depending on a number of factors, including the type of cladding used, the size of your home, and your location in the United Kingdom. People who live in the London area might expect to pay more than those who live in the North or elsewhere in the UK.

Oak, larch, and red cedar are the most prevalent types of timber cladding. Oak cladding costs between £20-£50 per square metre, larch costs between £10-£40 per square metre, and red cedar costs between £10-£65 per square metre.

Different profiles of timber cladding can be fitted, and these profiles will effect the costs.

Shiplap and tongue and groove are two of the most common options, and they each cost from £20 to £60 per square metre. Waney lap and feather edge profiles are less prevalent, with prices ranging from £10 to £40 per square metre.

The time it takes to install the cladding has an impact on the job’s final cost. Because each task is unique, estimating total labour expenses can be tricky. However, most contractors would charge between £150 and £200 per day, with an assistant costing between £80 and £100.

Because installing timber cladding takes about three days on average, you can expect the labour to cost around £600-£900 in total.

Timber Cladding Prices

The pricing for various types of timber cladding in various styles are listed in the table below.

These are anticipated costs per square metre, based on the cladding being installed in a three-bedroom home in two to five days.

Profile Type	Oak Cladding	Red Cedar Cladding	Larch Cladding	Labour Costs
Shiplap	£45-£55	£30-£65	£20-£30	£400-£1500
Tongue & groove	£40-£55	£35-£60	£20-£40	£400-£1500
Feather edge	£30-£30	£10-£60	£15-£20	£400-£1500
Waney lap	£20-£40	£15-£30	£10-£25	£400-£1500

What are the Supply Costs of Timber Cladding?

When it comes to wooden cladding supply costs, prices vary based on the type of wood used. Oak, red cedar, and larch are the three most prevalent materials for timber cladding.

The costs of supplying timber cladding are listed below. These are merely material expenses, not labour charges.

• £20-£50 per square metre for oak timber cladding
• £10-£65 per square metre for Red Cedar Timber Cladding
• £10-£40 per square metre for Larch Timber Cladding

Because these costs are calculated per square metre, you can see how the final expenditures might vary greatly depending on the size of your property. The more supplies you require, the more resources you’ll need, and hence the greater the materials cost.

What are the Additional Costs of Fitting Timber Cladding?

When it comes to placing timber cladding on your home, there are a number of additional expenditures to consider. The following is a list of additional costs that you should factor into your budget for this type of work:

Painting House Exterior

If you don’t want to go with timber cladding but still want to brighten up the outside of your house, consider painting the outside walls.

The cost of painting a house exterior is determined by a number of factors, including the type of paint job, the size of your home, and your location in the United Kingdom.

Render painting costs between £600 and £1200, whereas merely painting the exterior of your property costs between £500 and £1500.

Please see our exterior painting cost guide for more information on the costs associated with painting the exterior of your home.

Scaffolding

When it comes to installing external cladding on your home, scaffolding is frequently required. As part of the job, some contractors may provide their own scaffolding.

However, this is something you should negotiate with the contractors ahead of time. If you need to hire scaffolding for the job, you may expect to pay between £300 and £700.

Check out our scaffolding cost guide for more information on the costs of hiring scaffolding.

Skip Hire

If you’re fully redoing the exterior of your home, you’ll likely generate a lot of waste, especially if you’re removing old cladding and replacing it with new cladding. The rubbish removal is sometimes handled by the contractors.

On other situations, though, you may need to handle the waste removal yourself. The best option for removing a large amount of rubbish is to hire a skip.

The price of renting a skip is determined by the size of the skip. A 2-yard skip, for example, will cost roughly £70-£100, while a 10-yard skip will cost around £220-£450.

Please see our skip hire cost guide for more information on the pricing that you can expect when hiring a skip.

Cost Affecting Factors

The cost of placing timber cladding on your home is influenced by a number of factors. The following is a summary of the major aspects that may influence the job’s overall cost:

Size of Home

The amount of cladding you’ll need is determined by the size of your house and the area you wish to cover with cladding. Some individuals choose to have cladding installed on the entire exterior of their property, while others prefer to have it installed on just one wall or a small part.

Nonetheless, the amount of cladding you require will have an impact on the project’s final cost.

Materials Used

One of the most major cost influencing elements will be the sort of timber you chose for your timber cladding. Softwood is more affordable than hardwood. This is owing to the fact that softwood is far more abundant than hardwood.

Oak cladding costs around £20-£50 per square metre, whereas softwoods like larch cost around £10-£40 per square metre.

Location of Property

The cost of having cladding built on your home may be influenced by its location. Homeowners in and around London should expect to spend more for labour than those in the north or elsewhere in the UK. Companies in London and the South East of England have greater overheads, which will show up in their costs.

Tradesmen Costs for Installing Timber Cladding

The cost of labour for installing timber cladding varies depending on the job’s intricacy, the size and shape of the property, and your location in the UK.

If you hire expert cladding installers to do the job, you’ll most likely pay a single price for the supply and installation. If you purchase the cladding separately, you will need to negotiate rates with local professionals who can install it.

The average cost of labour for this job is around £150-£200 per day for the main installation and around £80-£100 per day for any extra labourers required.

The work will normally take between 2 and 5 days. However, this will vary depending on the job’s intricacy, the size of your home, and the number of contractors involved.

Types of Timber Cladding

Oak, red cedar, and larch are the three most common types of timber cladding. The following is a list of the benefits and drawbacks of each type of timber cladding, as well as some information about their characteristics:

Oak Timber Cladding

Oak is a hardwood that is used for exterior cladding and is one of the most durable forms of wood. There are several grades to pick from, and it is both resilient and long-lasting. The exquisite aspect of this sort of wood, however, comes at a higher cost than other varieties of cladding.

Pros
+ Very strong and durable
+ Resistant to fungal attacks
+ Beautiful appearance with a prominent grain
Cons
– High price point
– The original colour will fade due to weather if left untreated
– Heavier than other types of cladding

Red Cedar Timber Cladding

This sort of cladding can be made from trees cultivated in the United Kingdom and Canada. The cost of this sort of wood varies. Because the pricing reflects the costs of importing the wood, the UK variety is substantially less expensive than the Canadian variety.

Pros
+ Very durable
+ Beautiful appearance with fine grain
+ Lighter than oak
+ Weather-resistant
Cons
– It can be expensive if imported
– The colour will fade to silver if left untreated
– British red cedar can be more knotty and may appear more brownish in colour than red

Larch Timber Cladding

Larch is another softwood that is commonly used for cladding. This type of wood can be cultivated in the United Kingdom or imported from countries like Siberia.

Due to transportation costs, the imported type is more expensive than the UK-grown version.

Pros
+ Robust and hardwearing
+ Relatively cheap in comparison to other cladding materials
+ Choice of homegrown or imported varieties
+ Various grades to choose from
Cons
– British larch can be quite knotty compared to imported varieties
– May split so drilled pilot holes are needed
– Knots may become loose, and this can cause problems over time

Benefits of Timber Cladding

There are numerous advantages to using timber cladding on your home. The following is a list of the primary benefits of this type of work:

Weather Protection

Cladding is an excellent way to protect your home from the elements. Timber cladding has been utilised in many designs and forms for ages, and it has only become better over time. Modern cladding is extremely durable and sturdy.

The water runoff form of shiplap cladding serves to keep water away from the main building. With interlocking connections, tongue and groove cladding creates an extremely strong and sturdy protective surface. Both forms of cladding are ideal for properties that are subjected to extreme weather.

Long-Lasting

The longevity of timber cladding varies depending on the type of wood used. Cladding made of oak or cedar can last for fifty years or longer if properly maintained.

Because oak is a hardwood, it is naturally sturdy and long-lasting. Both cedar and larch have a natural resistance to water and can be used as cladding materials that, with good care, can last for many years.

Natural Product

Timber is an environmentally friendly solution to protect your property from the elements because it is a renewable resource. The majority of manufacturers will provide a source certification for their wood cladding, ensuring that it came from a sustainable source.

If you decide to remove your wood cladding, the wood products are 100% recyclable.

Aesthetic Appearance

The aesthetic attractiveness of timber cladding is one of its most enticing features. You can choose from a variety of colours and tones, as well as have your cladding installed vertically or horizontally. This means you have a wide range of options for improving your home’s external appearance.

Insulation

Additional insulation can be added to your home with timber cladding. This is due to the fact that wood has natural insulating characteristics. Timber cladding can provide excellent sound insulation in addition to thermal insulation.

How much Does It Cost to Remove Timber Cladding?

If the timber cladding of your home is old or damaged, you may need to have it removed so that you can replace it or remodel the exterior.

Alternatively, you may have purchased a home with timber cladding, which may or may not be to your liking. In such scenario, you’ll very certainly want it deleted.

You might not need to hire a cladding expert to remove your wood cladding. A general contractor will most likely be able to complete this task for you.

However, you should make sure that the contractor has experience removing timber cladding, as it is critical that your property’s outside walls are not damaged in the process.

For this task, a general builder will typically charge between £100-£200 per day.

The majority of the time, builders will work in pairs or with an assistant to assist them with the project. Additional labourers typically cost between £80 and £100 per day.

The cost of removing timber cladding is determined by the amount of cladding to be removed, the time it takes to remove it, and the number of people working on the project.

FAQs

Q: How long does timber cladding last?
A: The longevity of wood cladding varies depending on the type of wood cladding used and how well it is maintained. The average lifespan of well-treated and well-maintained timber cladding is 40-60 years.

This, however, will depend on the location of the property and how exposed it is. Houses near the shore or in a mountainous terrain may be more vulnerable to severe weather events. The cladding may need to be changed or updated more often in these circumstances.

Q: Which timber cladding is best?
A: Timber cladding comes in a variety of styles. Oak is regarded as the best choice for timber cladding since it is a very sturdy wood that offers excellent weather resistance.

Oak is also the most durable timber cladding material. As a result, despite its larger price tag, it may prove to be a much superior long-term investment.

Q: How do hardwood and softwood timber cladding differ?
A: The phrases hardwood and softwood can be confusing because they do not refer to the strength of the wood. Hardwood trees, like a chestnut or an acorn, generate seeds that are protected by a strong outer shell. Softwood trees, such as red cedar, generate seeds that are not covered.

Hardwood cladding is usually more heavier than softwood cladding because it is denser. Because both types of wood are extremely durable and weather resistant, the choice between the two is usually a matter of personal preference.

Q: Do I need to treat my wood cladding before installing it?
A: You can buy pre-treated wood, which will make the maintenance process much easier. If you buy untreated wood, though, you have various possibilities. You have three options: let it weather naturally, paint it, or stain it.

If you wish to paint or stain the wood, you should do it before installing it to guarantee even and complete covering. When the boards are set flat rather than affixed to the property, it is also easier to apply treatments such as paint or stain.