Choosing a cladding for your garden room can be difficult especially when there are so many types to chose from. This guide will help you narrow down your search and find out what cladding is the best looking, work ability and most cost effective.
1 ) Canadian Western Red Cedar
Coming in at number one and a personal favourite due to its modern Features, desirable smell and the fact that it just looks awesome.
Canadian western red cedar is a durable soft wood believe it or not grown in Canada hence the name. Cedar is very easy to work with but be careful making wrong cuts or any mistakes in fact can cost you. This cladding is currently up there with some of the most expensive cladding you can buy coming in at just over £6.00 per liner meter compared to pine at only £1.50 per liner meter this cladding is one to take your time with.
Cedar is a very slow grower meaning it comes more Naturally durable and stable in our weather conditions. Light weight due to its fine grain which also makes this cladding much easier to work with and finish. it is classed as a soft wood meaning it can be fixed with screws or cladding nails.
Cladding rating
Looks 10 /10
Workability 10/10
Affordability 6/10
Total 26 / 30
2 ) Siberian Larch Cladding
Another slow grower but up there in second place due to its affordability to look ratio making it one of the best bang for your buck claddings available. Not only to mention its is one of the most durable soft woods in the world due to its high resin content. if any cladding could be joint 1st with cedar this is it but we're not allowing ties.
At almost half the price of cedar around £3.00 per liner meter its a true bargain as its ascetically pleasing easy to work with and very cost effective. we think cedar just has the edge to to its stunning looks then again its affordability over looks or looks over affordability. That's down to you. larch will show signs of knots within its wood depending on its grade.
Siberian larch has a life span of over 50 years, yes 50 years when treated with OSMO clear UV Protector. this is an important factor as its not so much the wind and rain that causes you're cladding to weather its the sun. Like your skin imagine sitting in the sun all day every day with no sun cream. Think of OSMO as sun cream for your building.
Cladding rating
Looks 9 /10
Workability 9/10
Affordability 8/10
Total 26 / 30
3 ) Scandinavian Red Wood Cladding
Taking Third place is Redwood cladding or known as Scotts Pine. Pressure treated with a 10 year anti rot guarantee this is a serious hitter. We know it may not be the better looking out of all claddings but for certain it is a best seller, very durable, cost effective and easy to install.
Scandinavian redwood is also a soft wood and is very common throughout the UK and Europe due to being local grown in Sweden it is very easy to get hold of here in the UK. At Luxury Garden Buildings UK we use this cladding as our standard feature on our garden rooms as it gives our customers the best price and room for upgrades.
Pine is extremely treatable with many types of products due to its open cell structural and moisture content. However when installing in cladding form it will need to be fitted tight and dry due to it shrinking and expanding. if the cladding is to wet in summer months it will open up leaving your building vulnerable to water ingress.
Cladding rating
Looks 7 /10
Workability 8/10
Affordability 10/10
Total 25 / 30
4 ) Envirobuild Composite Cladding
In fourth place is this envirobuild maintenance free cladding. We often offer this cladding to customers who are looking for a 100% maintenance free garden room. envirobuild.com offer a brilliant solutions to an environmentally friendly solution to plastic cladding and decking.
Known as wood polymer composite cladding is made from 60% recycled wood that is (FSC 100% Certified) and 40% recycled High Density Polyethylene, environmentally gentle bonding agent, additives and tint. Saving these materials from landfill, giving them value and recycling them into a long life product. Envirobuild also offer a 15 year limited residential warranty against splits, splinters, rot and fungal decay.
All seems great so far its very nice to look at, environmental friendly! However there are minor down sides when it comes to work ability and cost. the cladding its self comes our at around £5.00 per liner meter. Great ! what's the catch, after you have purchased clips, there special screws require to fit delivery charges you are well on your way to nearly £8.00 per liner meter. almost £2.00 more than cedar. its also quite hard to work with very brittle when cutting and when fixing it has to be pilot drilled at every point. and you will need new saw blades ever 10 cuts but that's for the trades men to worry about.
Cladding rating
Looks 7 /10
Workability 6/10
Affordability 6/10
Total 19 / 30
5 ) Marley Cedral Click
Bottoming out in last place is Marleys fibre cement board. Another 100% maintenance free cladding. Made from dense cement fibres this board is designed to last well over 100 years and will act as an extremely good protection for your garden room.
Not one of the most environmentally friendly products on the market and coming in at a similar price as envirobuilds composite at £8.00 per liner meter its also not the cheapest product on the market.
Once fitted Marleys Cedral Click does look very much like a timber based product with its wood like features and groves. offered in many profiles such as ship lap and over lap gives you freedom to choose a style that suits you.
All though it sounds like a great product we have discontinued it from our market. It is known that cement board is bound to be heavy making fitting very difficult as the boards are very flimsy and crack with the slightest knock or bump. cutting them releases lots of dust that can not be healthy at all and destroys every tool you put to it. As a product that we have experience work it is not a cladding we would recommend to our customers as there are so many other maintenance free claddings around now.
Cladding rating
Looks 6 /10
Workability 4/10
Affordability 6/10
Total 16 / 30