You can’t beat the natural look of timber cladding and some hardwood timber cladding is now treated in a way to reduce the issues that come with a natural product such as termite resistance and bushfire resistance up to BAL 29. Timber is a great choice that allows your house to breath keeping the interior fresh.

On the downside, maintenance is a major drawback for timber cladding and long-term performance is reliant on regular painting or staining ideally every 5 years

There are several ways to clad a house using timber:

Board & Batten Cladding – alternating wideboards and narrow wooden strips called battens. The battens would be placed over a seam between two wide boards to add strength and insulation. It has a casual country look but can be used aloingside traditional horizontal or stone cladding to give a more contemporary look.

Feathered Edge Cladding – Timber cladding fitted horizontally with overlapping, wedge shaped boards. The most cost effective way of installing timber cladding.

Shiplap Cladding – The boards have an overlapping joint producing clean, uninterrupted timber lines. Shiplap is cheaper than Tongue and Groove cladding, but it is harder to install and is more likely to warp and leak if not installed properly.

Tongue & Groove Shiplap Cladding – the interlocking timber creates a strong, durable, waterproof panel.

This is timber cladding made from Australian Hardwood & natural wax. If the environment is high on your priority list when sourcing building materials, this Weathertex product is the stand out. It’s made from PEFC certified state forest or private hardwoods from controlled sources. The logs are chipped, pulped and pressed with 3% natural wax so it is a completely natural product with zero chemical additives. It is the first manufactured product globally to receive a GreenTag Platinum accreditation. It can be left to weather or stained to achieve the colour you want for your design choices.

Natural stone external wall cladding is aesthetically high impact with its natural beauty and will add value to your home. It is an excellent choice around pools, water features, fireplaces, feature walls and retaining walls. It is aesthetically high impact with its natural beaty and will add value to your home. Be careful with the lighter colours as they can stain and may need to be treated to prevent this from happening.  It is very durable, fire resistant, withstands scratches and scuffing, is weather resistant and acts as a great insulator.

However, it is more expensive than other cladding options and installation is labour intensive adding to the expense.

Metal / Colorbond cladding is very durable & long lasting and is resistant to chipping & flaking. It is fire resistant and easy to maintain. Installation costs are low as it is lightweight and easy to install. There is a wide range of colours to choose from – 22 standard & 5 matt finish colours.

Made from cement, sand, cellulose fibre and water, fibre cement panels are lightweight, durable, low maintenance & easy to install. They are weather resistant, resist damage from flood & fire and are a long lasting cladding option. However, they usually require painting or sealing and offer little in the way of insulation.

Vinyl cladding comes in a large range of colours with both smooth and wood grain finishes. It is extremely durable lasting up to 50 years but some may warp, crack, fade and become brittle. It is therefore important to choose a high quality product. The pigmentation is baked-in so it has through body colour meaning scratches and scuffs are not easily noticed and it will not require painting. While it is generally the cheaper cladding option, be careful to check the price – with all the new options and choices, the price can sneak up.

Steel options are highly durable, long lasting, very low maintenance and are virtually waterproof. They are also great in fire-affected areas. However, you will need to add insulation.

Like steel, zinc and aluminium options are extremely durable, very low maintenance and virtually waterproof.  They are great in coastal areas as they resist corrosion from salty sea air. However, like steel, insulation is required and they promote condensation which will need to be addressed.