Staining Wood Cladding to Get Similar Effect to Charred Cladding?

blobert

Hello there,

We're cladding 200m2+ of garden rooms (a big office/guest accomodation and large shed) as part of a new build house. The 2 structures are built out of SIPS and are ready for cladding.

As the price of everything has continued to rise throughout the build we're looking to cut costs where possible.

I had been very keen to clad these in charred larch cladding, basically like this: https://www.woodoffire.pl/silesia-2/?lang=en

But it's really expensive. Even bringing the cladding in from Eastern Europe (it's more expensive here) it's €13k for the boards which seems nuts to me so I'm looking at cheaper options.

I'd been looking to just get some cheaper shiplap cladding (I found this for more like €4k for the same area): https://tjomahony.ie/0415002248st.html

My plan would be to clad the buildings in this and then give them multiple coats of a black wood stain (using a sprayer as it's a big area) to hopefully achieve a look not a million miles off the charred cladding for 1/3 to 1/2 of the price.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this, how feasible it is or if there is anything I should be aware of?

I was thinking a stain would be better than black wood paint in that I'd like to wood to be very dark (very dark grey to black) but still be able to see some of the grain of the wood, as when it's charred.

If anyone had any suggestions of a good stain to use, ideally somthing that is cheap in bulk as I'll need a lot of it that would be great.

I got a sample of this and some of the shiplap cladding today: https://clarkesalbany.ie/Bondex-Matt-Wood-Protection-Ebony-2.5-Litre-Paint-36538-product/

There is talk of that needing an undercoat which would not be ideal, I'm looking for somthing I can just spray a couple of coats on easily enough.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

RainInSummer

I've used ebony Osmo in the past to good effect.

Cheap it ain't though.

Whatever you do a avoid Ronseal black wood stain. It's not stain, it's just paint that completely obliterates any grain.

The Continental Op

I use that shiplap for making garden sheds and chicken runs. Its really not great quality. That said we have a 30ft by 10ft flat roofed extension covered in it. The only thing I'd put on it is Textrol https://www.owatrol.ie/product/textrol/ .

From experience I'd recommend securing with stainless steel screws. This is because you may need to remove some boards later if you have problems with shrinkage. If your shiplap isn't dry when installed you will get about 50mm shrinkage or more over 2 meters. That isn't a problem if the boards go in really tight but you will have gaps of 3 and 4 mm behind on the backs of each board. That makes your 10mm overlap more like 5mm allowing for planks not be 100% straight. If the timber has got really wet before installation you'll actually see between some boards when they dry out. OK so screwing the boards is very slow but its reversible, put them in with a nail gun and your stuck with it. Also the nails and staples often used rust so choose carefully. Don't screw or nail anywhere near that overlap only fix well into the thick part of the timber. You can't do a hidden fixing job on this shiplap outdoors. If you try you'll find a few boards that warp will split where they are fixed on the hidden tongue.

Obviously there will be a membrane under the shiplap.

Now the colour? As I said I'd only use Textrol which at best is grey but I see Owatrol have a new product in Aquadecks which is available in Ebony. I would definitely get a small pot and try it to see if it suits.

It was while back— and is hugely environmentally unfriendly I'd imagine— but well used (borderline burnt) engine oil has a nice visual effect. Obviously you would need to be sure of it having time to soak in properly.

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119568591#Comment_119568591

Thanks very much for the detailed reply, I really appreciate it.

Was planning the stainless steel screws, the cladding guys said they were needed. You can get ones with black heads but they are mega pricey, the screws were coming in at €800+ in the original quote. I think I'll just go with plain ones and hope spraying on the stain will maybe darken them a bit.

I did a test with the Bondex stain I bought and it looks ok. This was just one coat (I think it needs 3) but it's already looking not far off the charred cladding (on top)

So now I'm just looking to find the best value stain and ideally somthing that does not need 3 coats as I'd imagine labour would be the main cost here.

According to their calculator I'd need 20l of Aquadeck per application, which is €800 for 2 layers. The Bondex stuff is a bit less for 3 layers.

If anyone had any suggestions of what would be most economical that would be great. Ideally a black stain as opposed to Ebony which is often more dark brown.

Also looking for opinions on whether oil or water finish is better in terms of what is hardiest.

I get that the oil one is less polluting but ideally I want whatever is going to stay black for longest.

Thanks again!

The Continental Op

What I suggest you include in your calculations is how long a finish lasts and how easy it is to reapply. My understanding of the Aquadeck is that you just wash/brush the surface down and do another coat. Check if its that easy with the Bondex.

I will say that the Owatrol products often need fairly regular application, on the plus side thats an easy job to do.

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119570983#Comment_119570983

Thanks, any idea how often the Owatrol wound need to be reapplied? Ideally looking for somthing that will last as long as possible.

Leaning towards water based as less likely to poisoning myself while spraying it!

The Continental Op

Depends on exposure. Its mainly UV that does the damage but wind and rain also have an effect. The textrol needs doing in exposed location every 2 years but the it does keep the timber well. I would suspect the Aquadeck would be the same so 2 years exposed site and 4 years sheltered. I find our south sea facing side needs doing when the sides out of the weather are still fine.

I'm being honest about the textrol - some people might do it yearly in our location - but I doubt there are any treatments that soak in like it does would last longer. The great thing about it is its a very quick job to reapply it because there is no stripping to do.

jimbobdl23

Char it with roofing torch with fast flow regulator on yellow gas bottle ,then give it a rub with a floor scrubbing push ,this reveals the grain ,then you will have a dark brown board ,you could stain it darker then ,

many type wood works ,I built a whole deck it of tanalised 9x1 ,burned it and I then sanded it using a power tool called the restorer ( imported from America ) it turned out amazing ,

GreeBo

As above, have you tried just burning the shiplap?

If not then I would recommend spraying the boards before installation.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119693976#Comment_119693976

I thought that myself, but I'm not sure on the treatment method of that shiplap, so burning it might release formaldehyde or other concerning by-products.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119701109#Comment_119701109

Hadn't thought of that, but the OP did state

We're cladding 200m2+ of garden rooms

which would be a lot of burning.