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Cedar cladding - hassle in future??

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  • 18-07-2014 11:22pm
    #1
    Bluesky008
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭


    Hi
    I was wondering if anyone has cedar wood cladding to the exterior of their house that's been there a few years - I'm wondering how it's weathered. We are considering this with an overhang to protect it to some degree. But we don't want huge maintenance. We don't mind the natural silvery gray timber goes ... But some cladding on apartments looks awful dirty after a few years.

    Any advice welcome


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    #2
    no1murray
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭no1murray


    I have used cedar alot, from dormers, cladding, fasia and soffit. The silver grey goes really well with other natural products like natural slate. I think when the building consists of more man made materials like fiber cement slates, it never seems to quite hang together right. Only my personal preferance. But as for maintance, it dosent need alot. Just a cleaning every now and then. Natural oils in cedar protect it from insect infestation and rot. The more exposed the area it is used the faster it will silver so some areas of the house may be in diffrent stages of silvering.


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    #3
    Bluesky008
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭Bluesky008


    Thanks No1murray ... It will be high up in places .. But I guess a clean is no more maintenance than wall that requires painting now and again


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    #4
    no1murray
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭no1murray


    If you decide to use the cedar, make sure all fixings are stainless steel. This is a must for longevity.


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    #5
    no1murray
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭no1murray


    If you decide to use the cedar, make sure all fixings are stainless steel. This is a must for longevity.


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    #6
    touchdown77
    Registered Users Posts: 208 ✭✭touchdown77


    I had a cedar deck and it lasted about 5 years before it rotted from the underneath. That was despite treatment every year (but only on the top)
    I'd never use cedar again, in my opinion its not suitable for our damp climate.


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    #7
    PROJECT K
    Registered Users Posts: 192 ✭✭PROJECT K


    Cedar is a very durable softwood but success is entirely down to the detailing and how it is fitted - any timber needs adequate ventilation and protection from being constantly saturated. Decks are difficult as you need to ensure plenty of ventilation to the underside of the deck (means open sides or purpose vent holes) and should only be installed in south facing areas to allow adequate drying out. For facades, an open joint system is better (with insect mesh membrane immediately behind) as this allows maximum ventilation. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, timber is a natural material and will therefore change aesthetically with weather, exposure, maintenance, orientation etc etc. If you want a pristine, uniform appearance timber is not for you - unless you want high maintenance. It is true that the damp Irish climate is hard on timber and you rarely get the true silver/grey aging that you might expect in dryer climates (mainly because the timber will go dark after heavy rain until it dries out again, and it rains quite a bit here!) but it still has a natural beauty thats hard to beat. I would encourage you to visit the UCD Virus Lab which is entirely clad in timber, completed a few years ago, to get a better understanding and appreciation for aged cedar. To be honest, it will either encourage you or put you right off but thats a decision best made sooner rather than later! (i have no commercial interest, just researched a bit for my own house where i am using ~100sqm on three facades).

    +1 for stainless steel fixings, small additional cost but wont stain timber - also if using open joint cladding i would recommend using a hex or square socket countersunk screw - looks a much more premium installation for very little extra.

    Good luck with the build!


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    #8
    Bluesky008
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭Bluesky008


    Thanks Project K ... Haven't made it over to UCD but will do that this week


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