Timber has something to do. It is as old as time but a custom timber cladding has the power to both age a building and make it modern simultaneously. It is evident on new construction as they attempt to fit in the countryside, or in urban developments where designers desire that natural appearance of warmth as compared to concrete and glass. The material adapts.

What is intriguing is that it is such a personal matter when you are deciding on cladding to do a project. You are not choosing a facade material. You are deciding upon the grain patterns, boards widths, fixings, finishes. Each decision makes the nature of what you are creating change. Others desire broad boards with knots visible and which narrate a tale. Some of them also want a more sanitary appearance featuring tight grain and solid colour. There’s no template answer.

Does It Actually Last?

With timber, people are concerned with the durability. Reasonable enough, it is organic, it is moving, it responds to the weather. But that’s partly the point. An elaborated timber facade can last longer than most of the modern materials when properly specified. This has been demonstrated by the Scandinavians over the centuries. Their structures gray and age, acquiring that silvery patina which everyone attempts to artificially reproduce by now.

It is in knowing how to handle moisture. Timber needs to breathe. It requires to have ventilation behind it, joints properly detailed and care taken regarding the flow of water and around openings. Once such principles are applied in designing custom timber cladding, you are dealing with decades of performance. There are several types of cedar, larch, oak. Naturally decay resistant Cedar. The larch is a fast growing machineable timber. Oak thickens and hardens to his peculiar grey-brown.

The Art of Character by Detail.

This is where the interesting part comes in of those who are interested in buildings. The information you provide is a total difference. Board orientation is not as insignificant as it may seem. Vertical cladding causes the buildings to seem taller and provides them with rhythm. Something can be made to feel wider by using horizontal boards. Then there are diagonal ones, mottled orientations, shady areas between boards.

In other projects, dissimilar profiles are applied in different levels. Perhaps it should be featured clad around the entry, and changed about the side walls to something more restrained. It is about being able to make things interesting without straining. The fixing technique is the only thing that alters everything, concealed fixing of clean lines, or visible screws, which make their own pattern on the facade.

What of Maintenance Requirements?

No one would wish to invest in something that turns to be a liability. Timber is a bit of a bother than render or brick, though not as much as you may think. All of this depends on the type of finish you will be using and the species you are dealing with. Other individuals use oil finishes which require re-application after every few years. Some leave the timber to age naturally, that is, practically none at all except to check fixings occasionally.

Ready to finish custom timber cladding has increased. Finishes sprayed in factories provide you with uniformity and they can be more durable than exterior finishes. You are sacrificing now so that you can save time and hassles down the line. Finishes provided by some manufacturers are now offered with guarantees and this takes some of the risk out of the equation.

There is no need to struggle with the weathering process. It’s part of timber’s appeal. That is the development of centuries, how light and rain soften the surface, you can never have that with artificial materials. Architectures become old with their eyes.

How It Changes Buildings

Walk next to a timber built structure and you feel otherwise. It is a warm place, there is a touchiness which brick cannot possibly give and render attempts in vain. It is instinctively reacted to by the people. Research has revealed that timber in cities does not only positively influence the experience of space by the people. It softens things.

Architecturally, the solution to various issues is achieved through custom timber cladding. It is insulating when elaborated with effective supportive systems. It offers protection against the weather. It creates aesthetic impact. It can be used to coordinate various elements of the building or consciously disrupt mass by various directions or boards profiles.

Dealing with Natural variability.

This is one of the things that misleads people. Timber isn’t uniform. Each batch of colour is different, each board has its own unique grain. It is not a matter of quality, it is the nature of the work with a living material. Good suppliers realise this. They will assist you in setting of expectations, will give you samples that will reflect what you will look at in the final product.

Certain projects embrace such variation and intentionally combine boards that have been cut in various segments of the log in order to create movement across the facade. Some others mitigate it by grading and selection. There’s no wrong approach. It is concerned with what fits your building and your beauty perception. It is not worth being caught off-guard when your cladding comes, and all the pieces are slightly different, but you should know this.

It is exactly that, which makes timber what it is, unpredictable. Standardised materials are the ones that are mass produced. Timber provides uniqueness.