Claddings
may not seem like an interesting blog subject but brace yourself, we're gonna get 'funky'...
I'm guessing when you think claddings (or siding for our North American readers) that fibre cement, brickwork, render and horizotal timber claddings come to mind. Well that's all fine but lets not be boring.
Cladding can be fun, durable and classic; you just need to be careful in your selection. Take a drive around expensive coastal neighbourhoods and take a look specifically at claddings and don't focus on anything else. You will find if you go cruising and looking at every detail on houses you won't focus enough on claddings. So when your husband says: "Oh darls look at those doors!", you say "No! We're here to look at cladding we’ll come back later for that take a picture".
Many crazy items can be used as claddings but it's the waterproofing and longevity factors that will limit your choices, not your imagination.
Corrugated iron cladding:
Corrugated iron or "Colorbond" in the "commercial metallic range" can be an interesting, appropriate and a low maintenance cladding option. The Australian bush is littered with this product on sheds, silos and residential roofs.
When used as cladding the corrugated iron sheeting is laid in a horizontal format and great care needs to be taken where the sheets join one another. Where sheets join vertically a timber batten is used and a waterproofing membrane is inserted between these. Horizontally the sheets are overlapped by about two or three ridges. It is important to note that although rainwater does not sit on the cladding for long it is still a good practice to fix securing top-hat screws with rubber washers on the corrugated ridges, not the troughs. This is essential in roof construction where water can sit - if the screws are located in the trough of the corrugation, water will penetrate through the sheeting.
For more information on the history of corrugated iron I recommend you read this web article:
CORRUGATED IRON: Materiality and PlacednessMatrix & Axon Cladding
Some time ago James Hardie launched a product call Exo-Tech for commercial use. Designers started to use this cladding in residential developments and it become very popular. However the product is very heavy and designers were installing it unsealed because the raw grey underneath the sealing was visually appealing. Because of this James Hardie went on to develop a residential application that was lighter and preprimed, thus solving the main problems of the Exo Tech product.
Matrix and Axon are high density fibre cement sheetings. When cut they have an edge as smooth as cut-glass when compared to regular fibre cement which is brittle and rough at cut edges.
These products can be cut to size and are joined by a black rubber seal base for waterproofing. The product is easily painted and used in combination with other products can look stunning.
Plywood
Marine grade plywood is another option but like any timber product it requires recoating about every two years - if not maintained the plywood will delaminate. "Shadowclad" is manufactured by
Colter Holt Harvey.
Fixing can be secured with hat-screws with rubber washers. Sheet joins require a rubber seal similar to the Matrix and Axon products or by
secret nailing and regular nailing methods.
Cor-ten weathered steel
This is a beautiful product when used correctly and in conjunction with products such as sandstone and timber.
"Weather steel" is the metal form name, and Cor-ten is a brand name. This cladding has a visually striking rusted steel look, but you need to be aware of weathering and staining of other closely located products and items.
The product rusts to a depth of around 5mm, and then stops. This occurs due to the rust acting as a sealing barrier between the steel and oxygen in the air, which causes rusting.
Terracade by Astral
This is my favourite product at the moment and I am still waiting to use it on a building. Terracade consists of terracotta wall tiles that fits onto a a channel system that is secured to timber or steel stud wall. Unfortunately there are only three of the seven colours advertised available in Australia and they are a little expensive if used in a small residential application, but the product is as low maintenance as brickwork and classic in style. Atsral has devised a sealing product that provides excellent waterproofing between the tiles.
So you see...??
Why be boring and uninspired when with a little research you could have a home that really has a "wow factor" and that will date well.
