Installers looking for the next big home improvement trend should consider cladding as an upsell or stand-alone product, says Colin St John, Commercial Director at Freefoam. It’s going bananas.
The past 12 months have been financially difficult for some people, but for many householders it’s been an unexpected bonanza. With holidays, eating out and entertainment put on ice, the Bank of England estimates we as a nation have accumulated £200 billion in our savings, and we’re keen to get spending. Jes Staley, Barclay’s CEO, expects a ‘spectacular recovery’ with tremendous pent-up demand.
Having gazed at the same four walls for months on end, it’s no surprise that the number one place people want to spend their money is on improving their home. According to the Renovation Nation Report by mortgage comparison site money.co.uk, British homeowners spent an impressive £55 billion on home improvements between March and September 2020 alone.
With the trend for home improvements looking set to continue into 2021 and beyond, the biggest uplift in demand is at the top end of the market where typical buyers of aspirational products – such as the over 45s and retired homeowners - have been largely unaffected financially by the pandemic.
Most window installers have experienced this first-hand, having seen an increase in sales of premium products such as foiled windows and doors, aluminium bi-folds and orangeries. Freefoam has also seen a strong sustained uplift in sales of coloured roofline products, which are complementary to coloured windows and doors.
However, our biggest growth area has been in cladding where sales have skyrocketed. Our top customers have recorded a 38% spike in sales over the past two years for this easy to install, low maintenance and durable home improvement product.
Cladding is both an aspirational choice that transforms the look of a home and a practical solution for dealing with façade defects. Here are just some of the reasons why cladding is fast becoming the ‘ultimate’ home improvement product and a great addition for installers to add to their range.
Transforming properties
Driven by the New England colonial design trend, cladding can transform the exterior of a property. Quality windows and doors also improve the look of a property, but with cladding it’s on a much larger scale, and the results can be spectacular, particularly when done in tandem with other home improvements.
Light and durable, PVC cladding is also straightforward to install as it doesn’t require any surface preparation or treatment. That means fewer site visits, less time for scaffold hire and less time on the job for installers. PVC cladding - such as our premium Fortex and premium plus X-Wood brands – comes in a range of finishes and colours. With long lasting results and a 10-year guarantee, it’s an easy sell to homeowners looking to improve the outer façade of their home or to add the finishing touches to a new garden office or studio.
While some customers want cladding specifically to make their house look like a New England style-property, many people choose it as a way of covering over something they don’t like about their house. This could be anything from unlovely hanging tiles to dilapidated pebble dashing, both very costly to remove or replace. With modern low-maintenance cladding, the boards are simply laid over batons affixed on top of the existing structure, so there is no need for extensive building work to remove the offending features.
Our ‘Misty Grey’ Fortex weatherboard cladding was recently used on the front elevation of a detached property in Cheshire, belonging to a social media influencer. Used in conjunction with a render finish, the grey cladding at Grey Goose House perfectly matches the new garage door and general colour theme throughout the house. Homeowner Katrina hated the way the front of the house looked and had asked her husband if they could move. But with the new cladding and render, the house is completely transformed and the whole family is delighted with the results.
It was a similar story in Cornwall where a couple in Falmouth wanted to upgrade their three-storey house, which was covered in a grey pebble dash that had become stained and discoloured over the years. Located on a sloping site, the back of the house was very high, bumping up the cost of repainting the pebble dash. So the homeowners decided to go with ‘Colonial Blue’ Fortex cladding on the top storey and to paint the lower half of the house cream, to great effect.
As well as cost effectively covering unsightly flaws, cladding can also be used to replace existing timber cladding and to upgrade existing white PVC cladding, perhaps with a bold new colour choice.
Cladding may not be on every installer’s radar, but it’s a great way to add value and help installers stand out from the competition by creating stunning home transformations either as a standalone project or as part of a window and door installation.
Not sure where to start? Take a visit to your local Freefoam supplier where you’ll be able to pick up brochures to share with your clients. Our stockist customers are also on hand to help calculate how much cladding board and trim is needed for each job. Installers who join Freefoam’s free Registered Installer scheme also benefit from a clever product visual and genuine sales leads through our consumer-facing website www.mycladding.com. In addition, we offer comprehensive marketing support including brochures, flyers and cladding samples. If you’re new to cladding, our dedicated FAQ page (www.freefoam.com/professional/technical-faqs) gives useful hints and tips, and our technical advisors are always happy to help with any queries.
We are showcasing the best cladding makeovers through our ‘Home Transformation’ photography competition. Installers are invited to share pictures of properties they’ve helped to transform, with a range of prizes up for grabs each month. You can enter by visiting www.facebook.com/FreefoamUK or emailing ukmarketing@freefoam.com. Visit www.freefoam.com/news for beautiful ‘before and after’ winners and follow @Freefoam for further inspiration and the latest Freefoam updates.
Do you need a sample of Freefoam cladding?
Order a FREEE sample here
Want to find out how many cladding boards you need for your project?
Use our handy cladding calculator
Want to experiment with colour cladding option for your project?
Go to our Cladding Visualiser and have a play!
Want to find a trusted local installation company to fit cladding to your property?
Go to mycladding.com and we'll put you in touch
Want to find out the cost of cladding from a local Freefoam stockist?
User our handy Stockist Finder to contact a supplier in your area – who will be happy to advise on price and availability.