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Charred timber cladding - anyone used it?


goatcarrot

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Depending on planning will accept it, I’m looking at charred timber cladding as I love the look of timber cladding but don’t want any maintenance issues or possibility of rot on the back of the boards after particularly damp spells. 
Probably to be used in smaller sections as a contrast to the glazing and stone/render.


something like this https://permachar.co.uk/shop/

 

anyone used it and could give an opinion on performance/durability? 

 

 

 

 

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We was planning to use this . However we know of an architectural practice near Wizbeach which has been constructed for about 6 years I think now. We went to go see it to see how it was weathering. Short answer was not very good. There was many places the charred wood had cracked off to expose the wood underneath. It looked a mess and would only get worse. Given the cost etc. 
we decided on Matt black barn paint in the end , miles cheaper , both sides can be painted before putting on and can be refreshed whenever it needs to be at not much cost to keep it looking sharp. 
 

 

110FE565-AACD-42B2-957E-2631CCCBF7CA.jpeg

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We're planning on using this - reuse the cladding boards already on one if the barns and char them ourselves. The end result, if diy, is going to be quite user-dependent I suppose, and definitely less forgiving than paint. But get it right and I think the charred wood is supposed to be far longer lasting.

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The deeper the char the longer it will last. Eventually it will weather back to the timber beneath, how long that takes will depend on exposure afaik. I’ve seen buildings in Japan that are around 80 - 100 years old with original shou sugi ban, some is almost back to wood colour and others still pretty black depending on location. It often seems to fade from the top of the timber to the bottom. Be aware that in Japan they use a specific timber for this, it’s a soft wood and I understand that hardwoods are less suitable. Apparently you can also prolong the life significantly with oiling every few years.

 

We’ll be using this on our project with a very deep char, but the site is not very exposed and most of it will be under eaves etc so I expect it to last quite well. Fingers crossed!

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16 hours ago, goatcarrot said:

Depending on planning will accept it, I’m looking at charred timber cladding as I love the look of timber cladding but don’t want any maintenance issues or possibility of rot on the back of the boards after particularly damp spells. 
Probably to be used in smaller sections as a contrast to the glazing and stone/render.


something like this https://permachar.co.uk/shop/

 

anyone used it and could give an opinion on performance/durability? 

 

 

 

 

My dad has been making his own for about a year now, just for his own cladding and fences (Lockdown no doubt played a part in this).

 

It seems very water resistant, easy to work with, can be done in various ways, lacquered or not lacquerer etc. 

 

I am going to use it for my shed.

 

 

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4 hours ago, PeterStarck said:

Is it sealed or like charcoal so if you lean against it comes off on your clothes.


It’s strange - the stuff I’m using doesn’t look or feel like it’s sealed but it also does not rub off on your hands or clothes at all, char is about 2mm deep. I’ve seen quite a few other samples and some of them have a very soft char layer that feels very delicate and can be picked off easily and will rub off to a degree. 

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16 minutes ago, rbw said:


It’s strange - the stuff I’m using doesn’t look or feel like it’s sealed but it also does not rub off on your hands or clothes at all, char is about 2mm deep. I’ve seen quite a few other samples and some of them have a very soft char layer that feels very delicate and can be picked off easily and will rub off to a degree. 

we're also planning on using this. where did you get your samples from?

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1 hour ago, Thorfun said:

we're also planning on using this. where did you get your samples from?


A Dutch company called zwart hout, some other place in the uk that I forget the name of and permachar that are linked above. Ended up going with permachar as they were helpful, had the nicest looking samples for the type of char and face width we wanted. That said, we don’t have it on site yet so can’t vouch for the delivered product. 

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23 minutes ago, rbw said:


A Dutch company called zwart hout, some other place in the uk that I forget the name of and permachar that are linked above. Ended up going with permachar as they were helpful, had the nicest looking samples for the type of char and face width we wanted. That said, we don’t have it on site yet so can’t vouch for the delivered product. 

Cheers. We got a quote and samples from https://shousugiban.co.uk and quality seems good. But trying to find other decent sources to get quality and price alternatives. 

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https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachment/forests/forests-11-01373/article_deploy/forests-11-01373-v2.pdf
 

There is very little info out there how well it will weather. You can’t compare it to the original as different wood is used in Europe.

 

tread carefully.

 

there is a shop in NYC which has it now for about 15 years and it looks very different - I can’t find the link to though. 

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2 hours ago, gc100 said:

https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachment/forests/forests-11-01373/article_deploy/forests-11-01373-v2.pdf
 

There is very little info out there how well it will weather. You can’t compare it to the original as different wood is used in Europe.

 

tread carefully.

 

there is a shop in NYC which has it now for about 15 years and it looks very different - I can’t find the link to though. 

 

I didn't read that article in detail but it is about Spruce. we're looking at Larch. I wonder how that differs? if I can find the time I'll read the article thoroughly to see if something is in there about other types of wood.

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1 hour ago, Thorfun said:

 

I didn't read that article in detail but it is about Spruce. we're looking at Larch. I wonder how that differs? if I can find the time I'll read the article thoroughly to see if something is in there about other types of wood.

 

Larch (Siberian more so than Scottish) is one of most durable softwood trees varieties, therefore better suited for cladding.

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1 minute ago, Thedreamer said:

 

Larch (Siberian more so than Scottish) is one of most durable softwood trees varieties, therefore better suited for cladding.

indeed and we are having a combination of normal larch and charred larch. my curiosity was more to the longevity of the charring of Larch compared to the results of the charred Spruce in the article that was posted.

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5 hours ago, Thorfun said:

indeed and we are having a combination of normal larch and charred larch. my curiosity was more to the longevity of the charring of Larch compared to the results of the charred Spruce in the article that was posted.

 

The article is about the charing process and how much of a difference it makes to the longevity depending how its done. No matter what the sales guys tell you , you don;t really know how well they are doing the job. Either way is will weather and charcoal will  come off over time. Think about how it will look in 15 years or so and make sure you're happy with the weathered look thats all. I spent ages researching it as I really wanted it but after seeing it 5-6 year weathered and already looking a bit tired we decided against it.  

 

Just trying to help, not put you off per se. Go see it for yourself and make your mind up if not too far.  https://goo.gl/maps/DxhBAynTLegUJeDA8

 

 

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1 hour ago, gc100 said:

Go see it for yourself and make your mind up if not too far.  https://goo.gl/maps/DxhBAynTLegUJeDA8

Only 2h45m according to Maps! ?

 

1 hour ago, gc100 said:

Just trying to help, not put you off per se

Yeah, I get that and I appreciate your input. It’s still on the cards for us but I will definitely do more research. 

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  • 2 years later...
2 hours ago, Andehh said:

Just a gentle bump to see how people got on with it? Thanks

well, we've not finished the house yet but the cladding is done and we love how it looks. it is pretty fragile though so unless your chippie is extremely careful with moving boards etc some of the blackness comes off. that's on the really charred stuff btw.

 

here's a blog I wrote on the subject

 

 

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13 hours ago, Andehh said:

Just a gentle bump to see how people got on with it? Thanks

 

I went for it on my house. Ended up overordering by about 25%. I gave some cuts to people I knew, and it kind of caught on in the way that I started selling it. 

 

Lovely stuff! But as @Thorfun said, it is so fragile that just by looking at it you are risking damaging it.

 

But if I were to do it again... I defo wooooood ;)

 

 

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We used to put a char on the saunas we made.

It was more for looks than weather proofing.

We soon abandoned it.

Saunas get there own charing that looks very different.

We did notice that there seemed to be no difference in weathering. Commercial saunas, which get hosed down daily, still rotted out at the base. Pointed out that they should be cleaned when hot as that dries the water off. But pool cleaners tend to do the early shift.

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We used  siberian larch with a heavy charred  from inflamed.eu it was cheaper than buying from the uk. I didn't find it hard to work and not too flakey. We nailed gunned it with stainless pin nails It's been up 4months and looks good so far. We have lots of trees around so it may weather overtime but we like a bit of character :)

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3 minutes ago, Elton said:

but we like a bit of character

I like that as well.

But when you get home on a moonless night, turn the car headlights off, can you find your house by starlight along.

Shall call it 'The Stealth House'.

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