Timber cladding, commonly referred to as weather boarding, is a popular choice for covering external walls to protect the buildings from the weather.
Cladding is evolving and becoming a more common choice extensively in residential and commercial buildings.
Timber cladding can be seen to form the external facade of buildings.
The inner wall would be separated by a cavity that would be well ventilated so that any moisture that penetrates the cladding will be evaporated and drain away.
Timber cladding may be used this way to protect new buildings, along with improving the aesthetics of the building, its thermal properties, environmental appeal etc.
Timber cladding can be laid down in a variety of ways depending on preference – they can be laid vertically, horizontally and even diagonally.
The cladding is supported by thin beams of wood named battens; if the cladding is being placed horizontally, the battens would be fixed vertically and so on.
Cladding can be fitted together by tongue and groove and shiplap joints, also open joining and overlapping are ways of joining the timber cladding together.
There are two groups of wood that can be used as cladding: softwoods and hardwoods.
Depending on aesthetics, budget, durability, maintenance level and availability, either can be used as cladding.
Consider softwoods, (European redwood, whitewood and Pine) these can be used once they have been treated with preservatives.
Softwoods that do not require any pretreatment are Western red cedar, European Larch and Douglas fir, along with the hardwoods such as European oak and sweet chestnut can be used after the sapwood has been extracted.
We’ve spoken about how environmentally friendly timber cladding is as it is important to consider the whole life cycle cost to the environment when choosing timber cladding.
For further information on shiplap timber cladding, please visit our website!