Recladding your home: a homeowner's guide

What a cladding job actually involves

A full reclad starts with stripping the old cladding and inspecting the frame underneath — this is the moment rot, water damage and dodgy old repairs get found and fixed. Then comes sarking (the protective wrap), any insulation upgrades while the walls are open, and finally the new cladding with flashings carefully detailed around every window, door and corner. Those flashings are what keep water out for the next few decades, and they're where cheap jobs fail.

Smaller versions of the job exist too: cladding a single facade or entry feature, or cladding over an existing wall where it's sound. Cladding installers, carpenters and builders all do this work; for a whole-house reclad you want someone who treats it as a building envelope job, not just a covering job.

What moves the price

Cladding is priced per square metre of wall, supplied and installed, and material is the biggest lever — vinyl and basic fibre cement at the budget end, quality fibre cement and metal in the middle, hardwood and composite systems at the top. Indicatively, a feature wall sits in the low thousands while a full single-storey reclad runs well into five figures; the calculator on this page gives a live feel for your wall area and material.

Beyond material, the multipliers are height and demolition. Two-storey homes roughly double the wall area and add scaffolding, which can be thousands on its own. Stripping and disposing of the old cladding is a real line item, and if your home pre-dates 1990 the old sheeting may be asbestos cement — which legally requires licensed removal and must be priced in from the start, not discovered mid-job.

Choosing the right installer

Recladding is building work, and licensing depends on your state and the job's value — many states require a building licence above a threshold that a whole-house reclad will easily clear. Check what applies locally, and always verify ABN and insurance regardless. If asbestos removal is involved, that contractor must hold an asbestos removal licence — no exceptions.

The quality signals are in the details they volunteer. A good cladding quote specifies the exact product and profile, includes sarking and flashings as line items, covers old cladding disposal, and states whether scaffolding is included. Ask to see a recent job in the same material — corners, window reveals and junctions tell you everything about the installer that a brochure can't.

Mistakes to avoid

The costly cladding mistakes are the invisible ones. A beautiful board over skipped sarking and rushed flashings looks identical to a proper job on day one and very different after a few winters. Slow down on anything that trims the layers you can't see.

• Skipping the asbestos check on a pre-1990 home and hitting a mid-job shutdown
• Comparing quotes without confirming sarking, flashings and disposal are all included
• Forgetting scaffolding on a two-storey home and treating it as a surprise extra
• Cladding over a frame nobody inspected — recladding is your one cheap chance to fix rot
• Missing the chance to add wall insulation while the frame is open
• Choosing material on looks alone without weighing maintenance — timber needs ongoing care that fibre cement doesn't