External cladding types are important to consider when building or renovating your home. Cladding is the material that covers the external walls of a house, and it can be made from various materials including aluminium, steel, timber, concrete and brick. The type of cladding you choose will depend on factors such as how much maintenance it needs, whether you want to keep costs down or not and what look you’re going for.
Weatherboard cladding
Weatherboard cladding was once a popular choice for houses in Australia, but it’s starting to become less and less common these days. It consists of long sheets of wood that are attached vertically to the walls using nails or screws. Boards should overlap by at least 100mm to ensure proper weatherproofing when installed correctly.
James Hardie Linea Cladding
Linea cladding is made from the same material used to build James Hardie’s fibre cement siding, but it has a grooved surface texture for added visual appeal. It can be painted in any colour you want after installation and it won’t warp or rot like wood.
Scyon Cladding
Scyon cladding is a type of plastic sheeting that’s designed to make your house look like it has wooden weatherboard cladding. It comes in various colours and finishes and can be easily painted with standard exterior paint for an instant aesthetic transformation. Scyon sheets are typically lightweight so they’re easy to install by one person without the need for a crane or cherry picker.
Axon Cladding James Hardie
Axon cladding is a fibre cement panel that’s popular for exterior walls because it has the same light colour and texture as cedar weatherboard, but doesn’t require any painting. It comes in various finishes depending on your preference and can be installed horizontally or vertically with ease thanks to its tongue-and-groove design.
Plywood Sheet Cladding
Plywood sheet cladding is suitable for use on frame buildings. It comes in long, thin sheets which are nailed directly to the building’s studs or frames with an air nailer. The advantage of plywood sheeting is that it can be installed quickly and easily by just one person using basic tools like a pneumatic stapler and a hammer. The cladding can either be finished with a paint or stain once the installation is complete, or it can even be left unpainted to allow it to weather naturally.
PVC Cladding
Pvc cladding doesn’t require painting so has very few maintenance costs associated with it. PVC sheeting comes in standard sizes of 2400mm x 1200mm and is easily cut to size using a handsaw or circular saw. It can be glued directly onto the walls of your house, but it’s easier if you fix it to battens first for extra stability. PVC cladding also has an R-value which means that depending on what material you choose, certain parts of your house will remain cooler in the summer and warmer during winter.
Wood Cladding
Wood cladding is a traditional choice that many homeowners still go with today, but it’s important to choose durable hardwood like northern yellow pine or southern red cedar for exterior use. The boards need to be treated before they’re installed so that rain doesn’t cause them to warp or rot. The boards can be fixed with nails, screws or staples, and they should overlap by about 20mm for extra weather protection.
Steel Cladding Steel
Cladding is becoming increasingly popular thanks to its versatility and low maintenance costs. It’s made from sheets of steel that are welded together using specialized welding equipment like an arc welder or stick welder. The sheets are then painted to protect them from rusting, and they can be installed onto timber studs using galvanized bolts.
Prefabricated Cladding
Prefab cladding is made by industrial manufacturers who use their own proprietary combinations of insulation materials like rockwool, fiberglass wool, cellulose fibers and polystyrene. The sheets are made from one of these materials and come in a variety of standard sizes depending on the manufacturer, which means that it’s easy to find prefabricated cladding for any building project you may have.
Brick Cladding
Mortar or cement is used to attach bricks directly onto your walls using a brick jointer. Brick cladding is typically used for houses with chimneys, fireplaces or other features that need to be clad in bricks rather than wood or steel. The advantage of using this method is that it’s quick and easy to install, but you will have higher maintenance costs due to the constant exposure to rainwater.
Concrete Cladding
Concrete cladding is made by pouring concrete onto a steel mesh that’s attached to the walls or frame of the house. This method is relatively cheap and easy, but it does require specialist tools like power saws and hammers which means you need to hire professionals for installation purposes. Concrete has an R-value of 0.85 which makes it a great insulator.