The short answer
Cladding a whole house in the UK typically costs between £5,000 and £25,000, with most three-bed homes landing somewhere around £8,000–£15,000 supplied and fitted. The total is driven by two things: the wall area (which rises with the size and number of storeys) and the material — uPVC at roughly £40–£70/m², fibre-cement and composite at £70–£120/m², and timber from £60/m² for softwood to £150/m²+ for cedar and oak. On top of the per-square-metre rate sit scaffolding, any wall repair and removal of existing cladding or render. A small terrace clad in uPVC could be £5,000; a large detached house in cedar could exceed £25,000. Treat all figures as guide ranges.
The whole-house figure depends on how much wall you have and what you clad it with. Here is how to estimate it and what to add on top.
Whole-house cladding at a glance
- Typical range£5,000–£25,000
- Three-bed semi£8,000–£15,000
- Terraced house£5,000–£12,000
- Detached house£12,000–£25,000+
- ExtrasScaffolding, prep, removal
Estimating from wall area
The cleanest way to estimate a whole-house job is wall area × fitted rate. To find the net wall area, measure the height and width of each elevation, multiply for each wall, add them together, and subtract windows and doors. A typical terraced house might have 60–90m² of cladable wall, a three-bed semi around 90–120m², and a large detached house 130–180m² or more. Multiply that by the fitted rate for your chosen material to get the cladding cost, then add scaffolding and any prep.
| Property | Approx. wall area | uPVC | Fibre-cement / composite | Premium timber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terraced | 60–90 m² | £5,000–£8,000 | £7,000–£11,000 | £9,000–£14,000 |
| 3-bed semi | 90–120 m² | £6,000–£9,000 | £8,000–£14,000 | £11,000–£18,000 |
| Detached | 130–180 m² | £8,000–£13,000 | £12,000–£22,000 | £18,000–£27,000+ |
Indicative whole-house totals for guidance, before scaffolding and prep. Sources: Checkatrade and MyJobQuote cladding cost guides.
The extras on top of the cladding
The per-square-metre cladding rate is the core of the cost, but a whole-house job carries several extras. Scaffolding is a significant fixed cost on a two- or three-storey house — often a four-figure sum — and is unavoidable for upper-floor work. Wall preparation covers making good a damp, uneven or crumbling wall before the cladding goes on. Removing existing cladding or render is a separate job with its own labour and disposal cost. Complexity — bay windows, gables, dormers and lots of detailing — adds labour. And on a full wrap, sundries like moving downpipes, repositioning meter boxes and re-fixing soffits can add up.
What changes the total most
Three things move the whole-house figure most. First, material — the gap between uPVC and premium cedar can more than double the cladding cost on the same house. Second, size and storeys — a three-storey townhouse has far more wall and more demanding access than a bungalow, raising both material and scaffolding cost. Third, condition and complexity — a plain, sound wall is quick and cheap to clad, while a damp, uneven or heavily detailed elevation takes longer and may need remedial work first. A partial job — cladding only the front, a gable or an upper storey — lowers the total but raises the rate per square metre, because scaffolding and setup are still required.
Worked examples
A few realistic examples show how it comes together. A mid-terrace with 75m² of wall clad in uPVC at £55/m² is about £4,100 in cladding, plus scaffolding — call it £5,000–£6,000 all in. A three-bed semi with 100m² of wall in fibre-cement at £90/m² is £9,000 in cladding, plus scaffolding and prep — roughly £11,000–£13,000 all in. A detached house with 160m² of wall in western red cedar at £110/m² is £17,600 in cladding, plus scaffolding — comfortably £20,000+ all in. These illustrate the spread; your own figure depends on the measured area and the material.
When you get the work priced up, ask each contractor to state the wall area they have measured, the material, profile and grade, and exactly what is included — battens, breather membrane, trims, scaffolding, prep and waste removal. Two whole-house quotes can differ by thousands simply because one includes scaffolding and prep and the other quotes the cladding alone, so make sure you are comparing complete jobs.
Phased cladding versus doing it all at once
Not everyone clads the whole house in one go, and the choice between phasing and a single project affects the total. Cladding the whole house at once is usually the most efficient per square metre: the scaffolding, setting out, deliveries and mobilising a team are all shared across the full job, so the fixed costs are spread thinly. Phasing — doing the front this year and the sides later, for example — spreads the spending over time, which can suit a budget, but it pays the scaffolding and setup costs more than once and can make it harder to match boards and colour exactly between phases, especially with timber that weathers or with finishes that are later discontinued.
If cash flow is the main reason to phase, it is worth getting a quote for both approaches so you can see the premium that phasing carries. Often the saving from doing one elevation now is smaller than expected once the repeated scaffolding is counted, and the whole-house job comes with a single, consistent finish. If you do phase, plan the order around access and appearance — typically the most visible or most weather-exposed elevation first — and keep a note of the exact board specification so later phases can match it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to clad a 3-bed semi?
A three-bed semi with around 100m² of wall typically costs £8,000–£15,000 supplied and fitted, depending on the material. uPVC sits at the lower end, fibre-cement and composite in the middle, and premium timber at the upper end, before scaffolding and prep.
Does the whole-house price include scaffolding?
Not always. Scaffolding is a significant fixed cost on a two- or three-storey house and is sometimes quoted separately from the cladding rate. Always confirm whether scaffolding, wall preparation and waste removal are included in a whole-house quote.
Is it cheaper to clad the whole house at once?
Usually, yes, per square metre. Scaffolding and setting out are largely fixed costs, so spreading them across the whole house rather than one elevation at a time gives a lower effective rate. Doing the whole property in one go is generally better value if you plan to clad it all.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific property. They are guidance, not a quotation.