cladding systems

The latest Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) survey highlights significant progress in tackling unsafe cladding across the social housing sector, yet more than a quarter of buildings identified with life-critical external wall defects still have remediation plans that are incomplete or unclear. The challenge now is not identifying the problem but moving projects from uncertainty to delivery.

Eight years after Grenfell, the direction of travel on social housing remediation is clear. Across the sector, landlords, consultants, contractors and manufacturers have worked together to make substantial progress. The latest figures from the RSH published on 24 September 2026, demonstrate that momentum.

How OCL Reclad and its trusted supplier – Valcan, combined specialist delivery and product expertise to improve facade fire performance while preserving the character of an occupied residential building, in the heart of London.

For housing providers, a recladding project brings responsibilities that reach well beyond the external walls. Residents need to continue living in their homes, existing defects may only become apparent once work starts, and replacement materials must suit the building as well as the brief. At Inglewood Mews, these challenges made collaboration between OCL Reclad, Valcan and the wider project team central to delivery and project success.

As the built environment faces increasing scrutiny over its environmental impact, one tool is becoming indispensable - the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). But what exactly is it, and why does it matter?

For too long, material choices have relied on claims rather than comparable, verified data. EPDs are helping to change that.

In today’s regulatory environment, façade design demands more than compliance - it demands certainty, particularly for building owners and housing providers responsible and accountable for resident safety.

As a manufacturer of classified A1, high-performance cladding systems, Valcan recognises that façade safety cannot be achieved through individual products alone. It requires a fully integrated, system-led approach, where every design is reviewed holistically as a system to ensure compatibility. 

The Birchett Road project in Aldershot involved the recladding of an existing building, delivering a high-performance, non-combustible aluminium cladding solution to upgrade fire safety, durability, and longterm façade performance. Situated within a prominent town centre location, the scheme required an external wall solution that would meet current regulatory expectations while also improving the visual coherence and consistency of the building elevations.

As with many refurbishment projects, the replacement of the existing external materials presented an opportunity not only to enhance aesthetics, but also to significantly improve the safety and resilience of the building envelope. The recladding strategy was therefore driven by a requirement for a compliant, robust and low-maintenance system capable of delivering demonstrable improvements in reaction to fire performance and longterm durability.

Located in Camberwell, South London, this residential refurbishment project focused on upgrading the building façade to support longterm performance, durability and visual renewal. As part of a wider external improvements programme, façade materials were carefully selected to meet modern expectations around safety, longevity and architectural quality, while remaining appropriate to the surrounding urban context.

Selecting the right rainscreen cladding for housing, public buildings, schools and regeneration projects has never been more important. With rising expectations around safety, durability and longterm performance, specifiers and local authorities need confidence that façade materials will stand up to real world use.

One of the most effective ways to demonstrate this confidence is through impact testing, which assesses how a cladding system behaves when subjected to sudden force under realistic installation conditions.