Accoya Cladding

[canalsiderenovation]

We are looking at ideas for wood cladding. We are looking to have Tata metal cladding and then wooden cladding underneath the balcony as per the pic (we will also have skylights in the balcony which aren't shown on our plans), and also wood cladding on the underneath of our porch which will be partly flat roof. 

 

We are next to the canal and we want a wood that will be hard wearing given the damp conditions in winter close to the canal and Accoya has cropped up twice. 

 

Has anyone had any experience of using it, good, bad, alternatives? 

 

It won't be a particularly large area and won't have direct exposure as will be undercover but still want something fairly maintenance free. 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2019 by canalsiderenovation

[canalsiderenovation]

[lizzie]

Have you looked at Thermowood I beleive that is maintenance free

[Pete]

On 16/11/2018 at 14:38, canalsiderenovation said:

We are looking at ideas for wood cladding. We are looking to have Tata metal cladding and then wooden cladding underneath the balcony as per the pic (we will also have skylights in the balcony which aren't shown on our plans), and also wood cladding on the underneath of our porch which will be partly flat roof. 

 

We are next to the canal and we want a wood that will be hard wearing given the damp conditions in winter close to the canal and Accoya has cropped up twice. 

 

Has anyone had any experience of using it, good, bad, alternatives? 

 

It won't be a particularly large area and won't have direct exposure as will be undercover but still want something fairly maintenance free. 

 

We have used Trespa wood panels

[canalsiderenovation]

That looks great, did you stain or treat the wood? 

[Pete]

Google Trespa Pura. It is a man made product which does not need any treatment except a wash down now and then. We do not like it when the wood silver's as we think it would spoil the look of the house. 25sq m cost about £3000 and I fitted it myself.

[canalsiderenovation]

Thanks, I've sent off for samples. 

[D Walter]

Interesting as we are also using Tata for the roof (also cladding some of the walls in Tata) and are concerned that the timber clad walls going naturally grey may make the whole house grey and lose the contrast between metal and timber.

[Pete]

11 hours ago, D Walter said:

Interesting as we are also using Tata for the roof (also cladding some of the walls in Tata) and are concerned that the timber clad walls going naturally grey may make the whole house grey and lose the contrast between metal and timber.

Hence why we used Trespa so it will not change colour

[Square Feet]

I hate it when untreated wood goes grey too.  They always say on Grand Designs "and it will weather off to a beautiful silvery grey" but in reality it just goes manky and looks like a garden shed.

[canalsiderenovation]

I've had samples of both. The guarantees are different, Trespa10 year but Accoya is guaranteed for 50 years against rot. 

[joe90]

3 hours ago, canalsiderenovation said:

but Accoya is guaranteed for 50 years against rot

 

But any guarantee against fading?. I have heard Accoya is very long lasting but UV seems to bleach almost anything .

[D Walter]

I now have more cladding samples than I can shake a stick at, ranging from TrespaPura/Formica, through various composites (Dura and Enviro have almost identical products which look good and some of the composite decking products look ok for cladding), to the wood products (Larch, Accoya, Cedar), most treated and some untreated.  The cost difference is significant, ranging from around £25 per sqM for untreated cheaper timber to £35-£40 ish for some of the composites to around £100+ per sqM for Accoya and some of the more engineered products.  I am concerned that some of the timber treatments, though prolonging lift expectancy, may result in early/differential blackening and I have been given some horror stories regarding treatments. 

 

Accoya seems to get a good rating generally if given a Teknos coating though it is at the expensive end of the spectrum and will be very pale unless stained.  It does have a broad spectrum of colours and wood shades available.  It also has the best warranty and a good reputation as regards resisting blackening mould.  I would be wary of some of the other technical woods (heat treatments etc..) which do not have the acetylation treatment of Accoya.

 

To my mind the composites look best in greys where they are not trying too hard to mimic timber colours.  They are also at the cheaper end, only beaten by the cheaper timbers like untreated Larch.

 

TrespaPura and Formica are printed so the range of effects and colours is limitless and the smooth surfaced products should be easy to clean. 

 

I have not been given any information on how quickly and to what extent the more synthetic products are likely to be effected by UV bleaching, though the darker composite benches I have seen seem to have survived well. 

 

Natural timber seems to suffer more from differntial weathering/bleaching and will require regular treatment if you want to delay the bleaching (2-5 years depending on the orientation and conditions) and as I mentioned earlier, the treatments themselves can cause problems.  The timber can be pre-weathered to avoid differential weathering with e.g. Sioox, at a cost of something like £15 per sqM.  The Sioox should also extend the life of the timber.

 

Lots to choose from and I have no experience in this area but the above is what I have gleaned from talking and reading up....  Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ferdinand]

On 16/11/2018 at 14:38, canalsiderenovation said:

We are next to the canal and we want a wood that will be hard wearing given the damp conditions in winter close to the canal and Accoya has cropped up twice. 

 

What are boats made from?

Is there anything that might make an interesting cladding ... presumably we can exclude Teak and Oak.

 

Can you repurpose a former boat, or boat deck?

 

/tangent

 

If HMS Victory suddenly vanishes, we know where to look...

Edited January 13, 2019 by Ferdinand

[canalsiderenovation]

Like @D Walter I have so much cladding I could probably clad our whole area from samples!

 

One thing I'd say that is proving interesting is to leave the cladding outside, all samples have been outside now for a while in various weathers, albeit untreated. Accoya is like it was when we put it outside initially and looks great. The only thing is it would have to be stained to match the colour of our wood front door, and Accoya was too expensive to have a door made from it!

 

Other wood alternatives like Rockpanel etc just don't look right...

 

Boats erm, is it oak or some kind of Japanese cypress?

 

[canalsiderenovation]

@D Walter did you come across any wood effect cladding that you thought looked particularly good? I'd got samples of Trepsa but didn't like any of those? 

 

I'm just worried about the natural greying on Accoya and other natural woods .....

[Alex C]

Accoya is not a very attractive timber and is normally painted or stained with quite an opaque finish. Any paint or stain is always going to need re-applying with 7 years being about the max between coatings. I have had samples of all wood effect claddings going and didn't like any of them but plenty of people don't seem to mind them.

[D Walter]

Hi Canalsiderenovation.  

 

The TrespaPura and Vivixlap products which are basically printed formica give a very realistic wood look from a distance in various colours including greys, browns and red-browns as you have what is basically a printed photo of wood.  They are expensive at £100+ per sq metre.  The surface is formica smooth which will be good for cleaning but will mean it looks less like real wood the closer you get to it.  These products carry a 10 year guarantee and will resist but not prevent bleaching. 

 

The extruded/pultruded upvc and other composites are much cheaper, carry similar warranties and again come in greys, browns and red/browns and are around £30-40 per sq metre depending on quantity and supplier.  Some have a shiny surface and some a roughned matt surface.   If you look at any campsite with chalets you will see numerous examples of these materials.  I have not seen any of the shiny surfaced variety or indeed any of the brown or red/brown examples which look anything other than plastic, either close to or from a distance.  I much prefer the look of the grey samples, particularly the roughened matt ones which do not appear to be imitating wood.  If like me, you are looking for a synthetic alternative to wood which will contrast with the grey theme of the rest of the house it is not good news.  As for quality, I could not see much to choose between the Dura Composites, the Specialised Timber and the Envirobuild products, all of which look good to me.

[D Walter]

One correction, the Vivix Lap Formica product is significantly cheaper than I thought at £50+ per sq metre.

[canalsiderenovation]

Thanks, you are right as we will have corrugated anthracite plastisol on the roof and top half, the bottom will be render in a white/limestone.

 

The wood under the balcony and porch will be a contrast but I want like you say a synthetic alternative that will contrast with the rest of the house so don't want it to grey.... We also are having a solid front double door made (wood to be decided yet).

 

I found the TrespaPura just a bit odd looking if I'm honest and less like real wood and given you will be pretty close to it under the porch and balcony that's a bit of an issue.

 

I'm also waiting for samples from Vulcan, Teckwood and Vivixlap as well. 

[Nick1c]

I spoke to Russwood before Christmas about Sioox, they were keen to emphasise that it was for getting a rapid, uniform, greying rather than acting as a preservative, which is at odds to my interpretation of the Sioox website.

[D Walter]

3 hours ago, canalsiderenovation said:

Thanks, you are right as we will have corrugated anthracite plastisol on the roof and top half, the bottom will be render in a white/limestone.

 

The wood under the balcony and porch will be a contrast but I want like you say a synthetic alternative that will contrast with the rest of the house so don't want it to grey.... We also are having a solid front double door made (wood to be decided yet).

 

I found the TrespaPura just a bit odd looking if I'm honest and less like real wood and given you will be pretty close to it under the porch and balcony that's a bit of an issue.

 

I'm also waiting for samples from Vulcan, Teckwood and Vivixlap as well. 

I don't know Vulcan or Teckwood.   Bear in mind that Vivix Lap is only "lap" or "weatherboard" at this stage and not "flush", though they say they are bringing out a flush product in the middle of the year but they may have issues with patents etc..

[D Walter]

4 minutes ago, Nick1c said:

I spoke to Russwood before Christmas about Sioox, they were keen to emphasise that it was for getting a rapid, uniform, greying rather than acting as a preservative, which is at odds to my interpretation of the Sioox website.

I also understood that SiOO:X acted as a preservative.

[Cheib]

On 15/12/2018 at 14:29, joe90 said:

 

But any guarantee against fading?. I have heard Accoya is very long lasting but UV seems to bleach almost anything .

According to their own material it fades, Page 20 of the pdf I ave linked to below.

 

https://www.ribaproductselector.com/Docs/1/26501/external/COL712751.pdf

 

We’re in the early stages of planning a new build and will likely want some form of cladding for the first floor. I have zero interest in something that will need maintenance/treatment to maintain its appearance. We had a Juliet balcony on a previous home which was a contemporary addition to the back of a Victorian house...was made of teak and looked great but needed regular treatment. That was a pain and tiny compared to the area of a whole house. The expense of maintaining/treating wood cladding is a non starter! 

[Nick1c]

@D Walter, so did I, there is a section on decking on the Sioox site which seems pretty definite on the preservation aspect. Maybe it would be worth giving Russwood a call to see if you are told anything different?