The final appearance of a garden studio can be significantly affected by the style of cladding chosen – shiplap gives a building a traditional feel, log lap the rustic feel of a snow covered lodge and tongue & groove gives a garden studio a modern look.
This article is by no means exhaustive but explains the popular styles of garden studio cladding and gives examples of garden studios that feature the cladding.
Shiplap
Ship lap cladding is normally fixed horizontally and gives a garden studio a traditional look. Shiplap takes its name from its past use in ship building, the boarding has a rebate at the bottom of the plank and a scalloped profile at the top, and these are designed so the scalloped top of one plank fits snugly into the rebate of the next plank. Fixings are normally made through the face of the shiplap board. Garden studio suppliers who use shiplap cladding include: Booths Garden Studios, Warwick Garden Offices, Extra Rooms and Chameleon Garden Rooms.
Board & Batten
With batten & board cladding wide boards are fixed vertically to the walls of the garden studio, the joint between these boards is then covered with a narrower piece of wood. This type of cladding has a stepped appearance and gives the impression of a substantial, thick cladding. Board and batten cladding is fixed through the face of the board. Garden studio suppliers who use board & batten cladding include Masion d’être Properties.
Open Joint Cladding
As the name suggests open joint cladding has an open joint between each piece of cladding. Planed boards say 75mm wide have a spacing of say 10mm between them. Because of the open space between the joint which moisture can obviously penetrate the garden studio is normally wrapped in a waterproof membrane such as EPDM before the cladding is added. Open joint cladding gives a garden studio a modern, contemporary feel and can be fixed either vertically or horizontally, if fixed horizontally there should be a space behind the board to allow moisture to escape behind the board. Garden studio suppliers who use open joint cladding include Atelier.
Log Lap
If you are looking for a more rustic look for your garden studio you should consider log lap. Log Lap has a curved profile like a log whilst the reverse is flat for secure fixing to the garden studio wall. Log lap comes in various interlocking styles – log lap can be fixed over battens and the top of one board slots into a rebate on the bottom of the next. A thicker log lap can be used to create the whole wall structure removing the need for a separate frame, here a thick board is created by laminating wood together, an interlocking profile is then machined into the board and when the boards are put together an incredibly strong joint is created. Garden studio suppliers who use log lap cladding include Croatian Cabin.
Tongue & Groove
Tongue & groove boarding is popular in contemporary garden studios and can be fixed vertically or horizontally. Tongue & Groove boards used as cladding normally have a ‘v’ groove which defines the joint between adjoining boards. Tongue & groove can be fixed through the face of the board but it is widely accepted that a more professional finish will be achieved with a secret nailing technique – here a nail is driven at an angle through the tongue of the board, a nail press is used to sink the head of the nail flush with the tongue and the next piece of wood slots over the tongue to hide the nail, meaning that no nails are visible on the face of the cladding. Garden studio suppliers who use tongue & groove cladding include Inhus, O-Pod, Court & Hunt, Cotsmill Garden Offices, Decorated Shed, Garenberg, Garden Spaces, Pod Space, Eco Space Studios and Alternative Space
Featheredge
Featheredge cladding is a tapered board that layered thick end over narrow end, meaning that at any point on the wall there is at least two layers of cladding. Featheredge is normally fixed horizontally on garden studios but can be fixed vertically, fixings are made through the face of the boards. Featheredge boards and normally roughly sawn and give a rustic textured feel to a garden studio. Garden studio suppliers who use featheredge cladding include Courtyard Designs and GD Timber Designs
Flush Cladding
If a smooth cladding profile is required external grade plywood can be used, this would normally be painted to give a good decorative finish. Another alternative for a smooth cladding is metal which normally has a powder coated paint finish and is a low maintenance form of cladding. If you are looking for a garden studio with plywood cladding you should consider Smart Garden Offices and for metal cladding The Home Office Company and Garden Haze will be able to assist you.
