Timber claddings such as Western Red Cedar, Siberian Larch or Thermowood are popular finishes for the exterior of a garden room. The thing is, unless these wood claddings are protected with a UV-oil as they are installed, and the oil is topped up every couple of years, they do weather to a silvery grey as they age.
This change in colour does not affect the durability of the cladding, but it does change the appearance of the garden room. From an aesthetic standpoint, a timber-clad garden room can go from its newly built look to looking weathered and aged in less than a handful of years.
Composite claddings maintain their appearance in the longterm
If you want your garden room to maintain its new appearance in the longterm, then you'll want to consider a composite cladding board.
There are several composite claddings used in garden room design. Some are a mix of cement and strengthening fibres. These boards are pigmented during the manufacturing process giving them the look of painted cladding - a painted look that never needs repainting.
Composite wood cladding is another popular option. Real wood fibres are mixed with polymers to create a highly durable board. Like cement fibre boards, they are pigmented during the manufacturing process, and composite woods come in a range of natural wood shades alongside a palette of contemporary colours.
Composite wood claddings vary in quality
In our experience, we have found that composite wood claddings vary significantly in quality. One of the best we have found is Dura Cladding. Their composite cladding is made from 78% recycled materials, making it one of the most eco-friendly cladding options too.
Dura composite wood claddings come in two profiles. There is the Dura Cladding Weatherboard Resist which has a realistic wood grain texture and comes in six realistic wood grain colours including Larch, Cedar and Weathered Cedar.
The weatherboard profile creates a wall with texture and depth - think the cladding on traditional English barns. If you are looking for something more contemporary in style Dura Cladding Flush Resist is for you. The boards lock together to create a flush finish.
The new Dura Cladding Flush Resist option has a 360 degree outer armour which has been engineered to improve weather resistance as well as making the boards resilient against chips and warping.
Dura Cladding Flush Resist has a wood grain surface and comes in three contemporary finishes: Cedar, Grey and Charcoal.
Both ranges of Dura Cladding have a secret fixing system, so there are no fixings on the surface of the board.
The performance of Dura Cladding is backed up with a 15-year warranty.
Class B fire resistance
As well as being rot resistant, fade resistant and expansion resistant, it also has a Class B fire rating, tested in accordance with BS EN 13501. The Dura Cladding team tell us it is the most fire-resistant composite cladding on the market, with only their Dura Aluminium Cladding exceeding it.
The Class B fire rating makes Dura Cladding Resist the ideal choice as part of the multilayer build-up needed when designing a Building Regulation compliant garden room.
