Types of cladding

The term 'cladding' refers to components that are attached to the primary structure of a building to form non-structural, external surfaces. This is as opposed to buildings in which the external surfaces are formed by structural elements, such as masonry walls, or applied surfaces such as render.

Whilst cladding is generally attached to the structure of the building, it typically does not contribute to its stability. However, cladding does play a structural role, transferring wind loads, impact loads, snow loads and its own self-weight back to the structural framework. In particular, wind causes positive and negative pressure on the surface of buildings and cladding must have sufficient strength and stiffness to resist this load, both in terms of the type of cladding selected and its connections back to the structure.

Cladding is often prefabricated in panels that are attached to the structural frame of the building, and some cladding systems can be purchased 'off the shelf'.

Cladding systems may include additional components, such as windows, doors, gutters, roof lights, vents and so on.

Commonly-used types of cladding include:

• Brick cladding
• Ceramic cladding
• Copper strip / sheet coverings / flashings (NBS category H73)
• Curtain walling (NBS category H11)
• Fibre cement profiled sheet cladding / covering (NBS category H30)
• Fibre cement slating (NBS category H61)
• Glass fibre reinforced concrete panel cladding / components (NBS category H40)
• Glass fibre reinforced plastics cladding / features (NBS category H41)
• High Pressure Laminates.
• Lead sheet coverings / flashings (NBS category H71)
• Metal profiled / flat sheet cladding / covering (NBS category H31)
• Metal composite panel cladding / features (NBS category H43)
• Metal single lap roof tiling (NBS category H67)
• Natural slating (NBS category H62)
• Natural stone slab cladding / lining / features (NBS category H51)
• Patent glazing (NBS category H10)
• Plain roof tiling (NBS category H60)
• Plastics profiled sheet cladding / covering (NBS category H32)
• Plastics weatherboarding (NBS category H22)
• Precast concrete and glass lens / paver rooflights / floorlights / pavement lights / securitypanels (NBS category H14)
• Precast concrete panel cladding / features (NBS category H42)
• Rainscreen cladding (NBS category H92)
• Render
• Rigid sheet cladding (NBS category H20)
• Sandwich panels
• Single lap roof tiling (NBS category H65)
• Stainless steel strip / sheet coverings / flashings (NBS category H75)
• Structural glass assemblies (NBS category H13)
• Tensile fabric coverings (NBS category H90)
• Thatch roofing (NBS category H91)
• Tile
• Timber weatherboarding (NBS category H21)
• Vinyl cladding
• Wood shingle and shake roofing (NBS category H64)
• Zinc strip / sheet coverings / flashings (NBS category H74)
• Sub categories tbc:
• Aluminium cassette panels
• Aluminium composite material (ACM) panels
• Aluminium insulating sandwich panels
• Board cladding systems
• Carbon steel insulating sandwich panels
• Ceramic panels
• Chimney systems
• Cladding and lining panels
• Cladding support products
• Cladding support systems
• Composite panel cladding systems
• Concrete cladding systems
• Composite stone panels
• Compressed rock fibre panels
• Faced insulating wall panels
• Framed glazed wall systems
• Framed wall structure systems
• Glass fibre-reinforced concrete (GRC) cladding panels
• Glass fibre-reinforced plastics (GRP) cladding panels
• Glass blocks and panels
• High Pressure Laminate Panels
• Lining and casing systems
• Masonry capping and coping units
• Masonry openings units
• Masonry wall systems
• Masonry walling ancillary products
• Masonry walling units
• Metal capping and coping units
• Metal sheet fully supported wall-covering systems
• Natural stone panels
• Panel enclosure systems
• Plastics sheet wall claddings
• Pre-weathered zinc cassette panels
• Profiled sheet self-supporting cladding systems
• Rainscreen cladding systems
• Rigid sheet fine lining and panelling systems
• Reconstituted stone panels
• Stainless steel cassette panels
• Stone cladding systems
• Unit cladding systems
• Weathering steel cassette panels
• Wood block units
• Zinc cassette panels