There is a list of questions we will ask you when ordering cladding:
What style of board?
This is a purely stylistic consideration, take a look at our gallery for some inspiration!
- square cut boards have all straight edges and give a crisp visual effect
- wane edged boards are cut square on three sides but retain one ‘live’ edge giving a more rustic visual effect
How do you intend to apply the boards?
What thickness of cladding do you require?
We supply straight cut and wane edged cladding at thicknesses of 20mm and 25mm. Thicker boards will last longer and give rigidity to a structure, thinner boards are more cost effective. We do not supply edged cladding below 20mm thickness as we find the wider boards become too fragile.
What width of board do you require?
As standard we supply square cut boards at 150mm and 200m as these are dimensions we find we can consistently cut with good efficiency. If you require alternate sizes (eg for a restoration project or to achieve a specific visual effect) please get in touch and we will see what we can do.
For wane edged cladding we generally supply boards that are an average of 250mm wide (expect +/- 50mm variation)
What length(s) of boards do you require?
This will be dictated by the size of your building (though for very long runs you made need to use more than one length)
You can either order by the board or by the square meter – for this we will calculate the overlap for you (25mm for square cut cladding and 50mm for wane edged cladding
For advice on applying your cladding take a look at our guide here
A Guide to Applying Timber Cladding
You will need:
- tape measure
- saw – a chop-saw is the ideal tool for this but a circular saw or handsaw will also work well.
- pencil
- spacer block
- hammer
- depending on height, a ladder/scaffold
- sawhorse or work bench
- spirit level
- a friend to hold and lift boards with you *if you can equip your friend with a hammer of their own the job will go faster **if you don’t have a friend you can substitute a ladder to prop your boards on, the conversation will be less lively though
- nails – we advise the use of stainless steel fixings, as steel fixings are likely to corrode and potentially stain the timber. We favour annular ring shank nails as these won’t pull out.
The cladding boards will require cutting to length before you start, measure carefully and try to cut an amount off each end of each board to achieve neat, split-free edges. When working up under a gable you will need to angle cut the boards for a neat finish.
If applying horizontally start at the bottom and work your way up – in this way rain hitting the face will drip away from the wall.
Allow 25mm overlap for square cut boards and 50mm for wane edged boards (if you order by the square meter this is the calculation the number of boards we supply will be based on). To keep your spacings consistent we highly recommend you take the time to make yourself a spacer – this will make the job go much quicker!
When applying the boards ensure that they are ‘heart-out’ – this way as they dry boards will flatten against the wall rather than cupping outwards.
Attach the boards at every batton/studwork. Position the nails close to the top of the board (ideally so that they are hidden by the board above) It is good practice to pre-drill the end fixing points to avoid the board splitting at the edges, but the rest can be driven direct.
We usually advise the use of a weatherproof membrane.
To give a neat finish we advise adding simple cover strips to the corners.