Skip to main content
Back to Glossary
Materials & Specificationsaka: facadeaka: exterior claddingaka: wall cladding

Cladding

In Plain English

The exterior skin of a building that protects the structure from weather and gives it its visual appearance.

Definition

Cladding is the exterior skin or covering applied to a building's structural frame to provide weather protection, thermal performance, and aesthetic appearance. Common cladding materials include fiber cement, metal panels, brick, stucco, and composite panels. Cladding systems must be designed to manage moisture, air, and thermal movement.

Why It Matters in Bidding

Cladding is a major exterior scope that combines material cost, labor, and weatherproofing risk, and the system selected, fiber cement, metal panel, brick, or composite, can shift the envelope budget substantially. Estimators must take off not just the panel area but the supporting substructure, flashing, sealants, and air/water barriers, because the cladding ties directly to weathertightness, warranty, and the schedule's ability to dry in the building before interior work proceeds.

Example

Bidding a commercial facade, the estimator takes off the metal panel area, the subgirt and clip substructure, and the flashing and sealant at every opening, then confirms whose scope includes the air and water barrier behind the panels.

Related Terms

Fiber CementStuccoFlashingSheathing

Frequently Asked Questions

Beyond the panel square footage, include the supporting substructure or rainscreen framing, fasteners and clips, flashing, sealants, the air and water barrier, trim, and corner and opening details. Estimators who price only the visible panel area routinely miss the substructure and detailing labor that often equals or exceeds the panel cost.
Material choice drives both unit cost and installation labor: brick and stone are labor-intensive, metal and composite panels carry higher material cost, and fiber cement sits in between. The chosen system also dictates the substructure and weather barrier requirements, so the decision ripples through the entire envelope portion of the estimate.
Most cladding is a rainscreen that sheds bulk water, while the air and water barrier behind it provides the actual weather seal. Clarifying which trade installs the barrier and the flashing prevents a common scope gap between the cladding sub and the building wrap or waterproofing sub, avoiding finger-pointing and change orders.

Need more than definitions?

Get AI-powered bid alerts, automated form filling, and proposal drafting.

Start Free Trial

© 2026 ConstructionBids.ai — A LaderaLabs Product