Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 29, 2014 9:47 pm Hi all, first time poster hoping somebody can help shed some light on what the best timbre to use for external cladding is? Our builder suggested western red cedar, however we visited a timbre yard that specialise in timbre cladding and the gentleman shook his head saying western red cedar is too soft and suggested black butt as better option. I've been doing some online research and keep reading conflicting information. I would like to know if anybody has had any first hand experience? Any Opinions? There was a thread on here about somebody having problems with birds pecking at their cladding and causing damage and the discussion went on about problematic timbres to avoid etc. Unfortunately no luck at finding that thread again. Re: External timbre cladding 2Aug 30, 2014 8:23 am Hi indigobe, Have you tried having a look at the Wood Solutions website? They have a lot of information about woods and their characteristics. http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/ We just have pine cladding but it does have a lot of knots and imperfections. I do notice that Western Red Cedar is used for cladding but having lived with a Western Red Cedar front door for two years now I would have to agree with the gentleman at the timber yard - it is a very soft wood and is easily damaged. Our front door is varnished so I don't know whether painting Western Red Cedar makes it hardier. A lot of people also seem to have Western Red Cedar windows but I don't know how they manage not to damage those as well. We had so many nicks in our kiln-dried hardwood windows left by the builder that I shudder to think what he would have done with a soft wood. I must say I have never noticed birds pecking at the cladding either on this house or my mother's weatherboard house in Tasmania. The cat does like to sharpen his claws on wood though! Re: External timbre cladding 3Aug 30, 2014 8:27 am I think this is the thread you are looking for. Stewie's post at the bottom of page 3: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=69474&p=1134966&hilit=styrofoam#p1134966 Re: External timbre cladding 4Aug 30, 2014 9:05 am I think it depends on what look you are after too. I've seen a couple of houses clad with either WRC shiplap ( vertical boards ) or shingles that the owners had left raw and after a few years they has gone that lovely weathered silver colour which is what they were after. The houses looked like they were thirty years old and quite magnificent. One was set amongst a lot of trees and looked like it was straight out of Canada. If you are looking for a Hamptons style painted look then I'd go for a harder timber as the timberyard guy said. One of the reasons WRC gets used for windows and doors is that it has a natural oil which resists decay. If I was doing timber doors and frames I'd probably specify Merbau as it is a lot harder and can cope with knocks better. Stewie Re my second point – yes exactly. And often it may take additional time if the manufacturer recommends no more than X meters… 3 5643 Standard uninsulated double brick has an R value of around 0.7. An insulated standard 90mm stud timber frame can have an R value of around 2.7. Even if you insulate a… 17 12045 The spacing of the studs looks pretty large especially for a load bearing wall. 3 11116 |