Ground clearance (cladding)

Ground clearance is the minimum vertical gap a manufacturer and the NCC require between the bottom of cladding (or the slab edge and weep holes) and the finished ground, so that splashback, soil moisture, and termites cannot bridge into the wall.

The clearance does three jobs at once:

• keeps rain splashback off the bottom edge of the cladding, which is where boards soak up water and rot or delaminate first;
• keeps the cladding and bottom plate above soil moisture and standing water; and
• leaves a visible termite inspection zone, so concealed entry over the slab edge or behind render can be spotted.

Typical figures (always confirm against the product and the NCC for your case) are in the order of 150 mm to finished ground or garden beds, and a smaller clearance, around 50 mm, to a paved or hard surface that drains. Weep holes in masonry and the slab edge have their own minimum clearances for the same reasons.

The most common way this goes wrong is on site after handover: landscaping, paving, or garden beds get built up against the wall and bury the clearance, bridging moisture and termites straight past it. That can also void the termite-management warranty.

For a builder the practical points are to set the floor and slab levels so the cladding starts above the required clearance, to keep weep holes clear, and to warn the client (and any landscaper) in writing not to build soil, paving, or beds up over the clearance later. Protecting the inspection zone and the splash gap is cheap at set-out and expensive to fix once the wall is wet or termites are in.

Also known as: Clearance to ground, slab-edge clearance.

Category: Cladding / Weatherproofing.

Related

• Fibre cement cladding
• Weatherboard cladding

See also

• Sarking

References

• Fibre cement cladding (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-01)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.