“Cladding is the one to watch this spring,” according to Colin St John, Freefoam’s commercial director. “It sounds crazy but as we clear the snow from our paths and driveways, our customers’ thoughts will swing towards all the little maintenance jobs that need doing to the outside of their houses and gardens. For some, the focus will be on larger home improvement projects.”
Research published by Rated People suggests that ‘cladding is king’ when it comes to home improvement. Though the trend has existed for years, it has been accelerated by the impact of Covid lockdowns and the shift to working from home, which created a ‘race for space’ that meant building more extensions, garden rooms and home offices, according to Freefoam’s representative. Rated People’s report analysed 1.1m home improvement jobs that had been posted on the Rated People website. It also included the results of a nationally representative survey of 2,003 homeowners and a separate survey of 315 UK-based tradespeople.
Among the top 20 most popular home improvements, door replacement came in at number 13 with +29% growth over the previous year. Electric car charging point installation was sixth, even though its popularity grew by +169%. But at number one, interest in cladding grew by +743%.
“This was certainly confirmed by our own experience,” Freefoam’s representative explained, “as demand for our cladding ranges has soared in the last two years. Cladding is the one to watch.
“As we move into 2023, research suggests that the demand for smaller repairs and maintenance work may get kicked into the long grass. The appetite for transformational home improvement products will continue.”
So what is behind this ongoing trend? “Essentially, the report finds that as the pandemic effect comes to an end and the housing market calms down, many homeowners’ priorities have shifted from maximising space to optimising budgets to mitigate the effects of the cost of living crisis.
“However, it is reported that one in six homeowners intend to improve their existing home, and one in seven homeowner, who missed out on buying their ‘ideal’ home last year, are looking at purchasing a property with a renovation project instead. So whether homeowners are improving not moving, or creating their ideal home instead of buying, it will result in more opportunities for manufacturers and more work for tradespeople in the home improvement market. And here at Freefoam, we believe that cladding is the ideal transformation product.”
Colin, Freefoam’s commercial director, added: “We’ve always had a traditional shiplap cladding board as part of our core fascia and gutter range in the UK. Looking at trends in Europe we could see that a retrofit cladding product was the next big thing, and over the years have successfully developed a range of claddings for the continental European markets.
“With the growing trend in the UK towards replacing old, cracked render or tired hanging tiles, PVC cladding has become the ultimate visual makeover, offering a ‘quick fix’ transformative solution. Benefiting from long life and low maintenance credentials, PVC cladding is a cost-efficient choice, allowing homeowners to maximise the investment potential and add value to a property. Freefoam has developed and manufactures an extensive range of attractive cladding products, maintaining our tradition of providing homeowners with choice, and giving our installers and stockists the opportunity to win business.”
