You might have already considered applying a few coats of protective paint, but that won’t be enough to protect your walls from weathering in the long term. What you’ll need is exterior cladding that’s strong enough to last for the years to come and will provide all-around weather protection to the exterior walls.

At the same time, it can be made to match the exterior design of your house so that its visual appeal remains intact. That’s why you should consider getting high-quality house cladding installed for your home.

There are several factors to bear in mind while purchasing cladding material and executing the plan. Today, we curated this comprehensive guide to help you.

What Is House Cladding

Understanding House Cladding

Cladding a house refers to putting up a facing material such as fiber cement, timber, stone, render, or brick on the exterior part of any house. It mainly serves to protect the internal structural walls from natural elements.

Though house cladding has a significant practical application, many homeowners are primarily concerned about its effect on the ultimate appearance of the house. Profiles, colors, material, and even the fixing procedures will play a significant role in this regard.

There are also certain forms of house cladding that are designed to include insulation or may be combined with external insulation when an existing home is retrofitted.

The Purpose of Exterior House Cladding

In earlier times, houses were built using solid walls, and locally available exterior cladding materials like brick or stone were applied for the process. As the 20th century set in, the industry witnessed a change in the standard practice, where cavities between the outer and inner walls were used for wall building. These were often referred to by the terms “skins” or “leaves.”

The load-bearing responsibilities were carried out by the internal leaf, while the outer leaf took care of the weatherproofing requirements. Note that the heat in such homes was retained by inserting insulation between the leaves.

Since the external wall didn’t have to rest on the ground anymore and could be hung off the internal skin instead, it could be designed using much thinner parts. The external wall is built primarily to prevent weathering of the internal wall.

 

Read the original article here:  https://www.architecturelab.net/what-is-house-cladding/