COST GUIDES
House cladding cost UK: 2026 price guide
Updated 08/26
House cladding costs an average of £8,000 for a two-storey home, or around £80 per m² for uPVC cladding including installation. Read on, and we'll go into more detail about what it may cost for your home.
Fast Facts
Average uPVC cladding cost: £80 per m²
Average timber cladding cost (larch): £115 per m²
Average two-storey house cladding cost: £8,000
If you’re looking to weatherproof your home, or add an outer layer of insulation, you might want to install (or replace) cladding.
In this house cladding cost guide, we’ll talk you through the average costs for the different types you can get in the UK.
How much does house cladding cost in 2026?
| Cost provided item | Unit | Price range - Low | Price range - High | Average UK cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uPVC - including labour | Per m² | £60 | £100 | £80 |
| Timber (larch) - including labour | Per m² | £100 | £130 | £115 |
| Timber (cedar) - including labour | Per m² | £150 | £180 | £165 |
| Aluminium cladding panels - including labour | Per m² | £200 | £230 | £215 |
| Zinc - including labour | Per m² | £300 | £350 | £325 |
| Cedral - including labour | Per m² | £70 | £90 | £80 |
| Rubber - including labour | Per m² | £70 | £90 | £80 |
| Scaffolding | Per m² | £15 | £25 | £20 |
| Scaffolding | Per job (typical) | £500 | £1,500 | £1,000 |
| Skip Hire | £200 | £600 | £400 | |
| Last updated: August 2026 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | ||||
uPVC cladding costs an average of £80 per m² including installation, while timber is a little more expensive at £165 per m2 (for cedar).
That means the average two-storey house costs around £8,000 for cladding overall.
How much does it cost to clad a house in the UK?
The cost of house cladding in the UK varies depending on the material you choose and the size of the property.
Single-storey bungalow cladding
For a small single-storey bungalow, house cladding will cost approximately £5,000, which covers materials and labour.
Two-storey home cladding
If you have a two-storey house, you'll be looking at an average house cladding cost of £8,000, which again covers materials and labour.
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Cladding cost per m2 by material
The cost of house cladding in the UK also depends on the material you choose. Let's look at the most popular options.
uPVC cladding
uPVC is nearly always the cheapest cladding option. The average uPVC cladding cost is around £80 per m², including labour.
Cedral cladding
Another manmade alternative is cedral (a fibre cement cladding). The average cedral cladding cost including labour comes in at around £80 per m².
Read our cement board siding cost guide for a comparison.
Timber cladding
The average timber (larch) cladding cost starts at around £115 per m², including labour.
If you're after a more premium wood like cedar cladding, the average cost with labour included is about £165 per m².
For a premium treated timber option, see our thermowood cladding cost guide.
You might also consider brick slips installation cost as a brick-style alternative.
Zinc cladding
The average zinc cladding cost is around £325 per m², including labour.
Zinc is a great option if you're after a more contemporary look that's super durable.
Aluminium cladding
Aluminium cladding is becoming increasingly popular and comes in at around £215 per m², including labour.
Rubber cladding
Rubber house cladding costs an average of £80 per m², again including labour.
Rubber is considered an eco-friendly material, and can look very slick and modern.
Cheapest house cladding options
uPVC is the cheapest cladding material for most UK homes, costing between around £60 and £100 per m² including labour.
Cedral and rubber cladding are close runners-up, between around £70 and £90 per m².
If budget is the main driver, start your quotes with these three materials before looking at timber, aluminium, or zinc.
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Factors affecting the cost of house cladding
The total cost of your house cladding will depend on a variety of factors, including:
Size and shape of the property
Type of cladding
Quality of cladding
Any prep work needed
Where you live
The bigger your property, the more the cladding will cost.
It will also be more expensive if you have an unusually shaped or extended property with a more complex structure.
Hidden costs to watch out for
Guttering and drainage system costs
If your drainpipe system needs fixing or replacing, it makes sense to do it at the same time as the cladding.
Plastic guttering is the most affordable option. If you want metal guttering, you'll pay more: cast iron guttering costs more per metre, while aluminium guttering sits somewhere in between.
Our gutter replacement cost guide has lots more information to help you budget.
House cladding installation costs
Most house cladding tradespeople will quote for the job in full rather than by the day. As a general steer, the average cladding installation cost is around £1,500 - £2,000 based on a two-day job.
While most of the cladding costs above include labour, it's good to know what the going rate is for installation, especially if you're sourcing the cladding yourself but need a tradesperson to complete the job.
The exact cost of your cladding installation will depend on the amount of cladding, the materials used, the complexity of the installation, and the experience of the tradesperson.
Cost of hiring a house cladding tradesperson vs DIY
If you're an accomplished DIY enthusiast with a good eye for detail, you may want to give it a go yourself. Read our step-by-step guide to installing cladding yourself before you start.
However, if you want the job done right, you're best off hiring a cladding tradesperson.
Installing or replacing cladding is a complex job, and hiring an experienced tradesperson will help you avoid costly mistakes or invalidating your home insurance.
House cladding: job estimator tool
Use our job estimator tool below to help calculate how much you should pay for house cladding near you. Just type in a few details to get a quick approximate quote.
Job Estimate Calculator
Benefits of house cladding
Cladding your house does more than refresh the exterior of your home. Here's a quick summary of the main benefits:
Added protection: Cladding strengthens the structure of your building and protects against fungal growths and mould, sunlight, wind and rain
Low maintenance: It requires a lot less upkeep than painting the exterior of your home, for example
Insulation: It improves the energy efficiency of the building and can reduce your energy bills. You might also want to explore our external wall insulation cost guide for a complementary upgrade
Added style (and value): New cladding can transform tired exteriors and, in turn, improve the house value
How to find a house cladding specialist
Why not speed up your search by hiring a checked company through Checkatrade?
Just enter your postcode to view a tradesperson's profile, read reviews from real people, and contact them directly.
Find trusted cladding installers near you
Or use our quick and easy request a quote feature and we'll get experienced local cladding specialists to contact you directly. To get accurate quotes, be as detailed as you can:
The size of the wall area you want clad, in m²
Which material you're leaning towards (uPVC, timber, composite, etc.)
Whether any old cladding, render or pebbledash needs removing first
Access details, such as scaffolding requirements or difficult-to-reach walls
Your rough timeline for the work
House cladding cost checklist
Before contacting a tradesperson, here's what to check:
Your house cladding checklist
House cladding cost FAQs
Yes, cladding is worth it for most homeowners. It protects your walls, cuts your maintenance workload, and can improve your home's energy efficiency and value.
Generally speaking, rendering works out cheaper than cladding a home. But remember, rendering requires more regular upkeep, such as painting and cleaning, which can add to the cost. Find out the average cost to render a wall in our cost guide.
No, you normally won't need planning permission to install cladding. It's an aesthetic change tends to fall under your permitted development rights.
However, there are some exceptions. For example, if you live in a listed building or conservation area, you'll likely need to get planning permission before forging ahead.
As a general steer, the average house cladding cost is around £8,000 (for materials + labour) for a two-storey house. The exact cost of your cladding installation will depend on the amount of cladding, the materials used, the complexity of the installation, and the experience of the cladding tradesperson.
Installing or replacing cladding is a complex job, best left to experienced installers. If you're an accomplished DIY enthusiast with an excellent eye for detail, then you may want to give it a go yourself. However, hiring a cladding tradesperson is usually the best option.
Steer clear of cladding that isn't rated for the local weather exposure, or fitted without the right cavity and ventilation gap behind it.
Poor-quality timber cladding without proper treatment can rot within a few years, and combustible cladding types are restricted on certain building heights under UK building regulations.
Always ask your tradesperson what fire and weather rating a product carries before you commit.
Whether you're looking for ways to boost kerb appeal, help pricing up a home extension, or are searching for specialist trades such as cladding installers, we're here to help.
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