Trying to find accurate information online can be difficult. Two good sources of information are the Department of Building and Housing website www.building.govt.nz and the Auckland Council website www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. It is important to be aware that there is a lot of inaccurate information and misconstrued advice out there which can lead people down the wrong track, wasting time and money.

It is always best to seek information and advice from reclad specialists working within the industry. At licensed reclads we offer homeowners a free no obligation consultation. We will come out to look at your property and go through the reclad process with you.

We see a lot of people receive inaccurate advice on how much their reclad project will cost. It is very important you are fully informed of the true costs involved in recladding your home before you commit to the process. It can be a disaster if the homeowner or builder have not allowed enough money within the budget to see the project through to completion and obtaining code of compliance certificate.

Every property is different, which is why it is not possible to apply a simple square meter cost to reclad your home. For example, does your home require an eaves extension and a new roof? or does it have wide eaves with no roof work is required? Do you have decks over the living area? Is the property single, double or three-story? This will implicate the scaffolding cost of your project. To find out an accurate cost for recladding your property please consult with experts that have experience within the reclad industry.

If you would like to know how much your reclad project will cost, please call us for a consultation. Please also see our Recladding Costs FAQ page for more help.

Before investing money into recladding your home you will need to know how much to budget for the project, a good idea is to get an estimate done from a reclad specialist.

At Licensed Reclads we use the original drawings from your Council Property File to put together an accurate estimate for you. We also come out to meet with you and view your property. Viewing your property enables us to see if any high risk design features need to be re-designed. It also gives us the opportunity to identify areas that are likely to have failed so that we can have an educated guess at what your timber remediation costs are likely to be. At this point you can also discuss with us if there are any additions or alterations you would like to do at the same time as recladding your home and we can include these in the estimate.

In addition to providing you with an estimate, we also provide a full consultation on the reclad process so that you are fully informed.

Once you have your estimate you can decide whether recladding your property is a good investment.

Licensed Reclads base your estimate on years of experience and a large number of completed projects. We use this experience to factor in all of the stages and components that we know will be required to complete your project.

Once you have your estimate in place and your funding sorted it is time to get your plans drawn up. Licensed reclads can organise this on your behalf and provide a design build package, or you can engage an architect of your choice.

If you choose to use your own architect, we advise that you use an architect that is familiar with the reclad process and has experience to back this up. The reclad process for direct fix plaster homes built between 1992 and 2004 is a completely different process to standard residential alterations and additions. The process and stages are not the same and there is even a different council inspection team, which can make it costly for the inexperienced.

An inexperienced architect can cost more in council processing fees and take longer to gain consent as their plans may generate an increased volume of requests for information from council. If they do not know exactly what is required they can often over specify, which in turn increases your build cost.

The biggest cost, however, is missing essential information on the plans. This results in cheaper quotes from builders if they don’t spot the deficiencies and can generate large variation costs during the build process. When you hear stories of peoples budgets being completely blown, variations due to deficiencies in the architectural plans is often the cause.

Licensed reclads are happy to recommend reclad architects if you would like to approach them directly. We have worked with a number of different architects and will be able to recommend the right fit for you project.

At Licensed Reclads, we pride ourselves in providing our clients with professional, detailed and competitive quotes.

Once your architectural drawings are complete you are now in the position to get your quote (not estimate). At this point everything your architect has specified on the plans is broken down and priced for the tender process.

Most items are fixed costs, however, there are some unknown costs and these will be listed as provisional sums. Your quote will be a mix of fixed costs and provisional sums which together will make up your total cost.

Unknown costs include items such as timber remediation and the replacement of interior wall linings/stopping. This is because the extent of timber decay is not truly known until the cladding is removed. At Licensed reclads, whilst we cannot give you a fixed price for timber remediation, we have removed the cladding from so many plaster homes that we have a very good idea of the amount of timber remediation that will be involved just by looking at the design features of your property. We use this experience to provide provisional sums that are as accurate as possible.

At Licensed reclads we believe in providing accurate provisional sums to make up our quotes. These are listed as an open book system with scheduled rates applied. We do not believe in providing unrealistically low provisional sums as this could affect your project funding. Please remember when comparing provisional sums that they should always be accompanied with agreed rates. Please also remember that provisional sums are exactly that, they work both ways. If less timber remediation is required than expected then you pay less, this is why agreed rates are so important.

If you have already had architectural plans drawn for you project, please get in contact and we can provide you with a detailed quote.

Once you have selected your contractor it is important to get a contract in place and signed. This secures your spot with a chosen builder and shows commitment from both parties. The contract should be fair to both parties and defines the payment regime, retentions and rules for dealing with any issues should they arise. For the majority of reclad project’s, the homeowner will need to find alternative accommodation for the duration of the project which is typically 12 to 16 weeks.

We understand that this is another added cost but the works are extensive. The house is normally pulled apart which creates a lot of dust and debris from the cutting of timber. It is not only very stressful for the owner but can also take the contractor longer if the home is occupied. In many cases, it is simply not advisable for safety reasons. Depending on the degree of timber decay, beams may require propping during the timber remediation process.

Each case if different though so we are more than happy to show potential clients around one of our sites while under construction so they have a full understanding of what is involved.

Once you have received council consent and selected your contractor, you are ready to book in a start date that works for you both.

Licensed Reclads have a number of experienced teams and we will endeavour to work around you as best as possible, however, we do not subcontract out our work, reputation is everything to us. We only allow our experienced contractors to work on your property, therefore, one of our experienced teams will need to finish the project they are on before they can start work on your property. Your property is your biggest investment, so waiting for a good contractor is worth while. Our teams are not only experienced in reclads and the timber remediation process, their finishing work is also of a very high standard.

For a stand alone home, most reclads take 12 to 16 weeks.

Once works begin, the first stage is the internal protection of your interior surfaces and flooring. Once this is complete, the monolithic cladding is removed and the timber frame is exposed. An independent qualified timber surveyor will then come out to test the timber and identify any structural defects caused by moisture ingress.

The timber deemed for removal is sprayed with highly visible spray paint to identify that it needs to be removed. A council inspection is required to check the timber mark up. Once it has been checked the timber can be carefully cut out and replaced with new treated timber. Whilst every care is taken, the timber remediation process can cause damage to the internal linings of your property, however, every care is taken to keep this to a minimum.

Once timber remediation is complete, the existing untreated framing is treated and insulation is fitted in accordance with the current building code.

The completion of timber remediation process signifies two important stages in the reclad process.

Firstly, that the structural integrity of your property is now restored. We are now ready to put your home back together!

Secondly, it signifies that you are past the biggest unknown cost area of your reclad. At Licensed Reclads we provide a detailed payment summary which is run along side our progress claims and quote. This enables you to track exactly where your reclad project is in relation to your budget at all times. This is a useful tool as it enables you to see whether you can afford additional items that you weren’t sure whether you should add to the initial scope of works.

Yes it will. We have extensive experience in the reclad industry and have never failed to obtain a new Code of Compliance Certificate (CCC) for a property we have reclad.

We have, however, heard of people that have been unable to obtain a new Code of Compliance Certificate for their home because they did not receive adequate professional advice initially. It is important to be aware that there is some homework to be done before you start spending money to ensure that a new Code of Compliance Certificate can be issued at the end of your project. We are happy to discuss this further with you.

With the new building wrap and cavity in place, we then fit your new double glazed joinery. Once the joinery has been installed we can start to fit the new cladding and the finished product starts to take shape! We only use the best products and materials on the market to ensure the longevity of the building as well as peace of mind in having good product warranties from reputable companies.

Licensed Reclads has extensive experience in exterior cladding and our team’s pride

With the cladding finished, the scaffold can be removed to show your home with its new cladding. There are likely to be some works inside to do such as repairs to linings and internal paint work which will have been completed concurrently.

The house is thoroughly cleaned inside and out to give it that ‘new home’ feeling and then you can move back in!

Once you take possession of the property, practical completion is then achieved and final retention period will start, usually 12 weeks. The final portion of the total retention of the contract sum is held for this 12-week period and then released at the end.

The purpose of this period is to give you time to identify any defects or blemishes that you didn’t notice when you first moved back in. For example, a mark in the paintwork which is only visible in some lights.

At the end of the 12-week period, we will have fix any outstanding items and complete the contract.

We also apply for your new Code of Compliance Certificate (CCC) during the retention period which takes around 6 weeks for council to process.

Once the reclad is complete and CCC has been issued you will have peace of mind knowing that both structural integrity and value has been restored to your property. You can now enjoy your home as it was intended.