Timber cladding (Scotland) what would you use and where to source

[Grian]

Finally embarking on a long planned shepherd's hut, lots of expense just to get permissions in place, now doing final costing. We are considering timber as an alternative to tin cladding, I get the feeling it will be a lot more expensive though? Also, I've no idea as to a suitable spec.

 

Aesthetically I need it to be fairly smart - planners are conservative here as in an NSA (coastal Argyll), we have permission for tin but have had a positive conversation about putting in a non-material amendment to change to timber. Our adjacent house has horizontal larch shiplap. I prefer the look of feather edge for a hut but cannot find a source, waney edge too rustic. Needs to be really photogenic as it is for holiday accommodation!

 

Any help at all very much appreciated. 

 

Hut photo just an example.

 

 

[Grian]

Whatever I use it needs to sit well in it's surroundings, discreet, yet eye-catching in a good way... Also needs to withstand endless rain and constant gale force winds!

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Grian

[ToughButterCup]

And midge resistant  eh @Grian....?

[SteamyTea]

17 hours ago, ToughButterCup said:

And midge resistant  eh @Grian....?

 

https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/

[eandg]

For the relatively small quantity you'll need I'd be inclined to just get the best of gear (Russwood) rather than economise. 

[Grian]

On 20/06/2023 at 11:24, eandg said:

For the relatively small quantity you'll need I'd be inclined to just get the best of gear (Russwood) rather than economise. 

 

Thanks, I've asked for a quote so we will see what they say. Given I will be painting it perhaps it doesn't need to be top notch.

[saveasteading]

Russwood is beautiful. It slso has a sort of cedar pencil smell when new. Rather expensive. They will not provide specific lengths so you get a random mix of lengths, albeit all multiples of 300mm.

 

You can use any spruce or larch from a local mill or bm.

Scottish timber isn't specially strong due to the fast growth.

Out local mill said they could only compete commercially on special sizes.

 

So I would buy from the local bm, fix it to board rather than battens so that there is zero warping, and stain it to choice with the best stain.

Use oak colur for protection and gloss and to retain the original colour. Any other colour to your taste.

If you don't stain it, it will turn grey, which the planners may favour, and not kast do long.

[Crofter]

I went to my nearest sawmill and they made up planks to my spec (100x20mm from memory). It was very cheap, about 75p/m but that was about six years ago.

At that time, it was quite a bit cheaper than the wriggly tin, per m², that I ordered around the same time. The tin wasn't the cheapest possible, it was 0.7mm plastisol coated and the m² price included fixings and flashings. So you could possibly get tin a little cheaper if you went for 0.5mm galv finish without the extras. And I believe wood has shot up in price too.

[markharro]

We got some nice Douglas Fir from Logie Timber last year.

[saveasteading]

Despit

13 hours ago, markharro said:

Douglas Fir from Logie Timber last year.

As it happens, our team is cladding the garage now. Using larch in standard sizes, vertical board on board. They bought this from a local bm, who buy in rhe timber, comfortably beating direct purchase from the mill. But fair to say it was part of a large timber order.

I love the colour an would prevent it, bug they prefer the grey ageing and gradual decay.

[Crofter]

2 hours ago, saveasteading said:

They bought this from a local bm, who buy in rhe timber, comfortably beating direct purchase from the mill.

Interesting, when I bought direct it was less than half the cost of the BM stock. And I didn't want to use the BM stuff anyway because it was (aesthetically) too chunky for my small build.

Always shop around.

[Kelvin]

We are going board on board Scot Larch from Russwood treated with Sioo:x to get that driftwood silver look uniformly as quickly as possible. It’s the thing I am most looking forward to doing in the next few weeks. It’s not cheap but it is lovely. 

[Grian]

Thank you for responses. I had a quote from a 'big company' and it was 3.2k for Douglas Fir to cover 35m2 plus corner posts. This is way over budget. I'm wondering what spec I actually need if I opt to paint the cladding? I discovered this style of cladding (pictures) which I think looks pretty charming. One producer describes it as 'matchboard', maybe that is the profile rather than the type or quality of wood?

 

[SimonD]

On 19/06/2023 at 15:13, Grian said:

Whatever I use it needs to sit well in it's surroundings, discreet, yet eye-catching in a good way... Also needs to withstand endless rain and constant gale force winds!

 

 

 

 

Beautiful location. Strange as it may seem, take a look at Falu Red - an original paint from the copper mines in Falun Sweden. In several regions, it's the only colour you're allowed to use in rural settings and it strangely blends in very well. It also protect the timber in harsh conditions but lets it breathe. With Falu red you can use softwood.

 

We've used locally grown Cedar for our current house due to planning (it's silvering very nicely) but I would definitely build a timber frame house finished board on board with Falu red one day - reminds me of my second home and upbringing.

 

Here's a gallery: https://falurodfarg.com/inspiration/bildgalleri/

Edited June 24, 2023 by SimonD

[Grian]

It looks as though 0.7 polyester finished (not plastisol) wriggly tin is much cheaper and we will need to man-up and deal with our concerns about painting, cutting and bending it around the hut corners (don't want to use corner pieces).

[saveasteading]

Look at wickes website ( I suggest it because it delays does prices)  and you see shiplap at £34/m2. That is per small bubble  before discount incl vat. 

 

Your quote is3 x that despite thd quantity being decent. Try someone else. You could go to wickes and save £2,000  of another merchant amd save more.

Remember that the overlaps require extra material.

For value, I would choose tanalised pine.

[Grian]

6 minutes ago, SimonD said:

 

Beautiful location. Strange as it may seem, take a look at Falu Red - an original paint from the copper mines in Falun Sweden. In several regions, it's the only colour you're allowed to use in rural settings and it strangely blends in very well. It also protect the timber in harsh conditions but lets it breathe. With Falu red you can use softwood.

 

We've used locally grown Cedar for our current house due to planning (it's silvering very nicely) but I would definitely build a timber frame house finished board on board with Falu red one day - reminds me of my second home and upbringing.

 

Here's a gallery: https://falurodfarg.com/inspiration/bildgalleri/

 

I reckon we have a softwood budget. Planners would have a canary if we went for that red but I can see it looks well in the right context! I've been impressed with the performance of linseed oil paint, which seems to protect for a very long time.

[Grian]

Just now, saveasteading said:

Look at wickes website ( I suggest it because it delays does prices)  and you see shiplap at £34/m2. That is per small bubble  before discount incl vat. 

 

Your quote is3 x that despite thd quantity being decent. Try someone else. You could go to wickes and save £2,000  of another merchant amd save more.

Remember that the overlaps require extra material.

For value, I would choose tanalised pine.

 

Phew, good to hear! Thank you. Knowing nothing I can't tell whether some of these timber types would be very short lived, or whether I'm unnecessarily over specifying for this purpose.

Our house is clad in Siberian Larch but we can't afford it for this project.

[saveasteading]

Get it in preservative treated quality and it won't rot or be eaten.

Then look at detailing to protect the sawn ends.

[Crofter]

If you want the painted look, you don't really want an oily wood.

Definitely have a decent overhang and gutters on the roof to protect those walls as much as possible.

If you go with tin on the walls, I would definitely use a 90⁰ angle strip up the corner. Just keep it neat, e.g. 50x50 rather than the chunky stuff you'd use on a roof. There will be a drainage void and breather membrane behind it anyway so a little driving rain getting through won't be the end of the world.

[Grian]

1 hour ago, Crofter said:

If you want the painted look, you don't really want an oily wood.

Definitely have a decent overhang and gutters on the roof to protect those walls as much as possible.

If you go with tin on the walls, I would definitely use a 90⁰ angle strip up the corner. Just keep it neat, e.g. 50x50 rather than the chunky stuff you'd use on a roof. There will be a drainage void and breather membrane behind it anyway so a little driving rain getting through won't be the end of the world.

 

Thank you - on the next island up I know you know what driving rain is!! 

Hmmm, by drainage void, do you mean the tin should be on battens? Seems the hut-making norm to attach to OSB. Or is the wriggle in the tin the drainage void?

[Crofter]

1 hour ago, Grian said:

 

Thank you - on the next island up I know you know what driving rain is!! 

Hmmm, by drainage void, do you mean the tin should be on battens? Seems the hut-making norm to attach to OSB. Or is the wriggle in the tin the drainage void?

Must admit I only know about house building, nothing specific to huts etc. But they are facing the same conditions so I'd be wary of diverging too far from what works on a house, unless the space and weight cannot be tolerated.

 

You absolutely will need a drainage void behind the outer cladding. Even if no rain penetrates, you will have condensation. I suppose vertical tin straight on to the OSB could work but it's not ideal. I take it you'll have a breather membrane in there too? If you can afford another 50mm of wall thickness, you then want vertical and horizontal battens to provide a fully drained void.

[saveasteading]

You want to avoid any dampness hanging about. Even galvanised steel will rust to nothing if constantly damp. So yes, fix to battens with an air gap