Cladding: vertical or horizontal - does it matter?

[ToughButterCup]

Here's a screen grab of our architect's design: look at the orientation of the cladding......

 

 

If I want to change the orientation (of the cladding)  on any face , do I have to ask anyone? 

The reason I want to change the orientation is to help make the East face ( image rhs above the green flat roof) more resistant to driving rain. I want to change it from vertical to horizontal.

 

As some will have read, the east face is sometimes subjected to turbulent gales

[ProDave]

Horizontal cladding will men you have to shape all the edges so they are not square, to give a chamfer for water to run off.

 

Hit and miss vertical won't let water in. I would not do vertical with gaps.

[Jeremy Harris]

I found it interesting that the normal way to fit timber cladding in Scotland was vertical, with overlapping planks over the joints, whilst the normal way to fit cladding in England seems to be horizontal, with weatherboard, overlapping planks (like our waney edge) or tongue and groove, fitted with the grooves pointing down.

 

I first came across this when I bought a locally made shed kit when living in Scotland.  The walls were close planked with 6" x 1" vertical planks, with a nail's width between boards to allow for movement, then these vertical joints were covered by 3" x 2" planks nailed on the outside, only down the centre line, into the frame beneath.  I have to say it makes for a very weathertight structure, and given the weather in Scotland perhaps this is why the vertical plank system has become normal.

[Ferdinand]

I think you can do either, but it s just a matter of doing it well for that orientation.

 

Do you have an indication of orientation on your plans, and might the Planners flap?

 

(Imo approx zero chance of them making you change it after the fact, though.)

[ToughButterCup]

3 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

[...]

(Imo approx zero chance of them making you change it after the fact, though.)

 

That's enough for me, then.

I'll refer the planners to your secretary then..... what was the phone number again?

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

That's enough for me, then.

I'll refer the planners to your secretary then..... what was the phone number again?

 

Darrowby 85, Which will get Mrs Harbottle.

 

Perhaps a phone call might be wise, and I was being a shoot-from-the-hip-y.

 

I would not expect my LA to enforce on something like that if already in place, unless there was a VERY good reason, and iirc you are not in a heavily designated area.

 

Minor amendment, perhaps, or does your PP not actually specify cladding orientation? And after all, it is a good reason to change it, you are not changing the material, and the claddin* is already a mixture of orientations.

 

F

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Ferdinand

[ToughButterCup]

34 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

[...]

 does your PP not actually specify cladding orientation?

[...]

 

Thats the one. Good enough for you, it's good enough for me.

[ToughButterCup]

22 hours ago, ProDave said:

[...]

Hit and miss vertical won't let water in. I would not do vertical with gaps.

 

Really? 

I suppose  'taint what ya do , it's the way that ya do it.... that's what its all about

 

Any public guidance for  cladding anywhere?

[Ian]

49 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

Any public guidance for  cladding anywhere?

@recoveringacademic

This Scottish Gov document is good on timber cladding:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2002/03/15098/8731

 

It's important to get the spec of your timber cladding right before buying it to avoid disappointment eg amount of knots, finish etc. Also, it's a natural material and will move so make sure you allow for shrinkage when designing the way the joints between individual lengths of timber board work. EG if you have a long length of wall it might be worth considering cutting all the planks to the same max length so that all the joints line up at regular intervals and you can install a cover strip or flashing over the common joint line. Longer planks of timber will shrink more than short ones and that's one reason why I think the Scottish system of vertically boarded cladding can work really well on single storey buildings as you end up with shortish (circa 2.5m) lengths of timber so shrinkage is well controlled compared to the alternative of running it horizontally in longer lengths. It allows the use of cheaper freshly sawn timber which will shrink a lot more than timber that has had time to dry before going onto the building.

[mvincentd]

A technical consideration regarding orientation - vertical cladding needs horizontal batons but these need to go onto vertical batons to achieve a clear vertical void.....so you’ll double the depth of baton off your wall face, which might throw off any carefully planned dimensioning.