Thorfun Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 another choice on our long list of things to decide is the width of boards for our timber cladding. and this one really is doing my head in! first, some background. I have ordered 145mm Deep Char charred Siberian Larch boards in a shadow gap profile https://permachar.co.uk/product/charred-timber-cladding-deep-char/ (this gives 130mm cover including a 10mm shadow gap). so that's ordered and decision made. this is going to cover the main house. We also have a double garage and a garden room protrusion at the back of the house and the inside of the 'porch' at the front door which we want to do in contrasting wood. We want Western Red Cedar and have managed to find the cash to stretch to them but now we have to make a decision as to which width of board to go for. I've found it really hard to find pictures comparing 145mm and 120mm boards side by side and I'm worried that the wider board might look like a barn whereas the 120mm board will look more modern. but, it is a big area and so believe it can take the 145mm boards. Plus, we need more 120mm boards to cover the area so the cost just keeps going up if we choose those! but then if the 120mm boards do look better we could go down to the less expensive Siberian Larch and use 120mm boards. does anyone have any pictures of 145mm and 120mm Western Red Cedar vertical timber cladding? or has anyone been through this dilemma themselves? if thinking with the head it's a no-brainer and the savings by going 145mm is enough to not spend any more time on the question. but it seems that as I get older I tend to listen to the heart a bit more and the voices in the back of my head pop up with things like 'what if it looks s**t?' and 'what if you regret not going for the narrower boards?' and then the other voices say 'but think of the money you'll save' and 'it'll look good either way'. etc. so, I'm basically torn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Pick something cheaper than the cedar, I’ve just fitted mine and I cannot for the life of me work out why I didn’t have larch and save £4-5 grand, it looks ok now but in a few years time I think it could look like any old timber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said: Pick something cheaper than the cedar, I’ve just fitted mine and I cannot for the life of me work out why I didn’t have larch and save £4-5 grand, it looks ok now but in a few years time I think it could look like any old timber. looks fabulous now though! and I know it'll silver like any other timber but there are much fewer knots in WRC so should look better as it ages, at least that's how I'm justifying it to myself. what widths are those boards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 You may be over thinking it, I doubt you will really notice the difference in width once finished. Wester red cedar? Scottish Larch on ours - will be treating with cedar oil. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 24 minutes ago, JohnMo said: You may be over thinking it, I doubt you will really notice the difference in width once finished. Wester red cedar? Scottish Larch on ours - will be treating with cedar oil. yeah, I've seen your cladding before. looks very nice but your picture shows it at sunset/sunrise so the larch has a reddish tint to it that isn't there normally. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @Russell griffiths, that looks fantastic : and perfect for you because I hear you are into wild swimming. I can just imagine it ; skinny dipping at dawn and (this time of year) wild ospreys sitting on your roof waiting their chance for a .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Thorfun said: ... I've found it really hard to find pictures comparing 145mm and 120mm boards side by side and I'm worried that the wider board might look like a barn whereas the 120mm board will look more modern. ... Ours are 144 - 146 ish. Some are down to 120 because thats what we needed to do to make them fit. For the life of me, now, I can't tell the difference unless I'm close up. Not worth worrying about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @Thorfun I think the width depends on the area tobe covered. It might be a good contrast to your Larch boards to have a different width. I fitted locally sourced WRC, knotty compared to imported and about 195mm width. All 200sqm from the same forest in South Devon so does provide real consistency with the boards. The imported timber does vary considerably in colour which I wanted to avoid. My shed below. It has gone silver within in a year. @Russell griffiths Not seen it near completion. Looks great. @JohnMo Another stunning home. @ToughButterCup Swam in the River Dart this morning, 4'C. Sends me to sleep afterwards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, JamesP said: @Thorfun I think the width depends on the area tobe covered. It might be a good contrast to your Larch boards to have a different width. I fitted locally sourced WRC, knotty compared to imported and about 195mm width. All 200sqm from the same forest in South Devon so does provide real consistency with the boards. The imported timber does vary considerably in colour which I wanted to avoid. My shed below. It has gone silver within in a year. @Russell griffiths Not seen it near completion. Looks great. @JohnMo Another stunning home. @ToughButterCup Swam in the River Dart this morning, 4'C. Sends me to sleep afterwards. we have 195m2 of the WRC to fit. it's a large area so I'm not really concerned that the 145mm boards will look too big for the space. in fact after a quick email to the architect who agreed with me that the 20mm difference of cover between the 145mm and 120mm boards won't really be noticeable and so I'm inclined to agree with @ToughButterCup that it's not worth worrying about and also with @JohnMo that I'm overthinking it! stupid brain of mine. thanks for the photos showing the silvered WRC though, it is a beautiful colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @Thorfun That is a large area so the same width will not make any difference. The wider boards are hopefully a little cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, JamesP said: @Thorfun That is a large area so the same width will not make any difference. The wider boards are hopefully a little cheaper. well, the boards are a little more expensive but you need many more of the narrower boards so total cost is substantially cheaper for the wider boards. I think it's decision made although part of me is still with @Russell griffiths in that maybe we should just use the Siberian Larch and put the money saved towards something else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) My experience with boards: Keep the lengths down, perhaps requiring occasional vertical break features. Otherwise the twists in the boards cause a problem with laps (the highest bit of the lower board and the lowest bit of the upper board dictate the spacing, so it is worse with long boards. Get it on site early in case it has some severe shrinking to do. Colours: whatever you pay, they all fade to grey, unless you use the wrong fixings in which case there are nasty stains, esp with cedar. A timber merchant showed me a trade document on red cedar, which stated that red cedar was only weather and pest resistant in colder climes. Britain is too damp and it doesn't get to dry out. He sold lots but never promised it was a good idea. My choice (agreed with clients) has always been to use standard softwood, pre-treated as tanalised or protimised. Left to shrink and twist for the summer, then stained which keeps the same colour for many years, depending on colour and exposure. If stained too early, any shrinkage will show strips of un-stained. A merchant will give or lend you some sections to take home and hold up to the wall. lapping a few together is important to see the effect and coverage. Edited February 28, 2022 by saveasteading 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Thorfun said: yeah, I've seen your cladding before. looks very nice but your picture shows it at sunset/sunrise so the larch has a reddish tint to it that isn't there normally. ? Photo taken just now, no sun, as just about to disappear, it is always red. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 My boards are 143 on the cladding 93 for soffit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @ToughButterCup needs to be a bigger bird than an osprey mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 just as an update, we decided to take @Russell griffiths and @JohnMo's advice and went for the Siberian Larch to save ££££! what swung it for us is a local self-builder has vertical thermowood cladding with WRC shingles above and they've both weathered to the same silver. so, as Russell said, why spend the extra money when they end up the same colour! Their Thermowood is pine which is a lot more knotty than the Siberian Larch and we thought it looked lovely. so we are going to be very happy with the Siberian Larch. But, we did go for the 120mm boards. still saved a lot of money when compared to the WRC. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 9 minutes ago, Thorfun said: just as an update, we decided to take @Russell griffiths and @JohnMo's advice and went for the Siberian Larch to save ££££! what swung it for us is a local self-builder has vertical thermowood cladding with WRC shingles above and they've both weathered to the same silver. so, as Russell said, why spend the extra money when they end up the same colour! Their Thermowood is pine which is a lot more knotty than the Siberian Larch and we thought it looked lovely. so we are going to be very happy with the Siberian Larch. But, we did go for the 120mm boards. still saved a lot of money when compared to the WRC. ? You owe me beer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 Just now, Russell griffiths said: You owe me beer. there's one here for you. just bring your tools with you. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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