Types of Timber Cladding

A timber cladding exterior of a home acts as a form of protection from moisture and air penetration.

Builders have been utilising wood cladding since the late eighteenth-century until they began implementing modern construction techniques.

There are few styles of timber claddings, but those that are offer unique character:

Tapered Lap Timber Cladding

Tapered Lap Timber Cladding has a certain tapered thickness at the very top of the cladding with a widened bottom.
Cladding is installed horizontally with a 30mm overlap on each of the pieces.
It is then nailed to the walls just above the overlap.

Notched Lap

This particular cladding has the same taper to it as lap cladding, however the top and bottom are notched, thus allowing the pieces to fit together when they are installed.
The overlap will be approximately 15mm and again, the cladding will be nailed to the wall just above the cladding overlap.

Shiplap Timber Cladding

Shiplap Timber Cladding has a notched overlap and a slight angle after the notch for that extra touch of character.
This siding would be nailed directly through the face of the siding with two nails with a 25mm overlap.

Chamferbaord Timber Cladding

Also known as Dutchlap, the installation design is notched with the top shaped at a long angle of about 10 degrees.
An overlap of approximately 12mm will be integrated into the design and will be nailed through the face of the of the siding ensuring it's secured into the walls.

For more information about Shiplap Timber Cladding, please visit our website!

Timber cladding properties

Timber cladding can be manipulated to match all of your consumer needs!

Choosing timber as a cladding material is a popular choice and for good reason.
Timber cladding possesses many properties that make timber appealing, and we can see why; it’s natural, isn’t a heavy material, environmentally friendly and incredibly durable. You can find out more below!
Natural insulator: Timber has a cellular structure meaning it provides natural insulation. Even during the winter, heat will be retained inside the structure.
Lightweight: The fact that timber isn’t a heavy material is what makes it attractive. It’s light nature makes the transportation process simpler and when hiring a professional to install your cladding, the cost will be notably cheaper.
Environmentally friendly: Another attractive property of timber cladding is that it is a natural material. Timber cladding is a renewable source and biodegradable, thus the environmentally friendly nature. There is considerably more energy that is used up when manufacturing and producing any other cladding, such as metal or concrete.
Durability: Timber, specifically cedar, is very durable. If the cladding is installed properly and treated often it will have a long life. The wood is resistant to pollution, corrosion, heat and frost – the only factor that will need to be controlled is moisture.
Please visit our loglap website for further information about timber cladding and our cladding services!

What are the benefits of timber cladding?

We know that timber cladding has many benefits, but which are best for your home?

Cladding is a material that is used worldwide, but mostly in Europe. It’s a material that can be attached to the outside of a building or home, providing a whole range of benefits from functional to decorative properties. It’s made from what’s in its name: timber! Its cladding made from trees and most commonly made in long, narrow boards, yet it’s possible to buy cladding that’s in panel form. A massive benefit of timber cladding is the flexibility the design holds, so you’ll be safe to know that not only is the material an environmentally friendly one, it can help lower your building costs and even save you money on your energy bills!

Lowering building costs!

Due to its amazing flexibility and design, timber cladding holds a low weight, whilst offering fantasticly high insulation properties. Given that you were to build a structure that utilises similar properties as timber, i.e. other materials that can insulate heat, you could completely eliminate the need for masonry walls in your build. Given that masonry foundation walls are eliminated from your build, you can save up to a massive 40% on the cost of your build! The home, being adept at insulating heat, will lower energy bills in the process, as minimal levels of heat are lost, so you’ll be saving money in more areas than one!

The benefits to the environment

Timber cladding is much better for use in building choices, simply because it’s commonly cheaper and better for the environment. As the cladding is timber, it’s coming straight from nature, which means production costs are lowered drastically. As it takes a lot smaller amounts of energy to produce timber cladding, you can make higher amounts of the building material for less compared to other materials used. The timber making process only requires the use of 1,000 kilowatts of energy per hour, compared to 2,500 for concrete, 4,500 for steel works and a whopping 20,000 kilowatts an hour for the production of aluminium. That’s an incredibly increase of 2,000% from timber making to aluminium!

Timber cladding can be changed to match all of your consumer needs!

As timber is taking from tress, lower amounts of chemicals are required to make the material, along with reducing the processes required to prepare the materials and the fossil fuels required to make the building material (fossil fuels are used in all man-made building materials). When the trees for the timber are growing, they actively take in carbon dioxide, whilst giving out oxygen. This process, as we all know, helps reduce global warming, as the oxygen levels go up and the carbon dioxide levels go down. When the trees absorb the carbon dioxide, elements in the air, such as pollution and smog, are also consumed by the tree, which results in cleaner levels of breathing air for human and animal life, as well as providing a healthier environment to live in for all! The final benefit of timber cladding in this aspect is that when it reaches the end of its life in the home, it can be recycled, turning into other useful substances like wood pulp. Wood pulp is incredibly important, as it’s used in the manufacturing process of paper products, like newspapers, paper and paper towels!

The flexibility of design

Timber cladding is a classic building material, being one of the first to be widely used across Europe for homes and villages. The aesthetically pleasing element of the material is not its only benefit: the versatility of its visual elements gives it the opportunity to be used in both contemporary and traditional styles of homes. Timber cladding can be produced from a variety of woods, offering different colours and finishes in this aspect. Amazingly, you can also paint or stain timber, which shows further levels of usability in the material.

So, do you see why you should be using timber cladding?

For more on the material and a number of builds, please visit our website to see more!