What Should I Look For When Buying A Cladding Board?

Composite cladding is a structural material that you can apply to the exterior of your building. The essence of adding a cladding is to reinforce the structure and insulate it.

Cladding prevents moisture from infiltrating the wall. Also, cladding materials increase the aesthetics value of your house. This feature depends on the cladding material that you fix on your home.

There are different cladding materials out there in the market. You can get wood cladding, stone cladding, vinyl cladding, and composite cladding.

The kind of material used to make a cladding affects its durability. So, this means that a cladding made of wood will not last as long as a cladding made of stone. 

Also, a cladding made of pressure-treated wood will not last as long as a cladding made of composite decking. Again, the kind of material used to create the cladding affects the aesthetic value. 

Composite cladding, for example, is more beautiful than the wood cladding. Homeowners prefer it to other cladding types because it looks just like wood.

What Should I Look For When Buying A Cladding Board? This write-up will address that question.

Consider the Cladding Durability 

The durability of the cladding is one thing that you must consider when you are contemplating purchasing a composite cladding. 

What exactly is durability? Durability is simply the ability of a material to gain permanence because of the strength to resist stress or force. 

So, a durable cladding material is one that can resist stress or force of nature. It merely means that a durable cladding material is one that will last long.

How do the materials use to make a cladding affect its durability? Let us consider the various cladding types to know the answer to the question.

Wood Cladding

Wood cladding is made of wood. This timber has been pressure-treated with chemicals so that it will last long. Note that you must treat the wood to make it last longer. 

Untreated wood like cedar will also last for some time. Wood cladding is beautiful and cost-effective. But the setback of wood cladding is that over time, they lose their resistance. The insect will attack a wood cladding when it is old. 

Also, wood cladding will absorb water and rot if exposed to water for a long time. Again, wood cladding will splinter or warp when exposed to fluctuations in temperature. This setback makes wood cladding less durable.

Stone Cladding

Stone is another material used to clad a building. Stone, as you know, is a solid material, so there is no need to debate its durability. One thing about stone cladding is the weight it adds to the structure.

Also, fixing stone cladding to a house requires an expert and must be done with care, else, it will crack and leave a dent that might serve as a breeding ground for mould.

 Vinyl Cladding

Vinyl is a cladding material. Its durability is high compared to wood cladding. It is because it is resistant to insects, UV rays of the sun, and rot.

Composite Cladding

Composite cladding is another type of cladding and a better alternative to wood cladding. First, the synthetic material makes the cladding boards stronger than wood.

 Second, composite cladding looks like wood. This feature of composite cladding makes it valuable and makes it preferable to other cladding types.

It is rot-resistant, insect resistant, mould and mildew resistant, and it will not absorb water when exposed to it.

Consider Its Aesthetic Value

The aesthetic value of a structural material will increase the worth of the structure. What this implies is that if you install a beautiful cladding material, your building wall will be beautiful. 

Composite Cladding

The composite cladding has a high aesthetic value compared to wood cladding, stone cladding, and vinyl cladding. The reason is that it can be customised to look like wood.

Other cladding types are suitable, but most homeowners preferred the traditional wood look, so they go for composite cladding.

Aside from the wood grain finish of composite cladding, you can get grey, brown, and red composite cladding. 

This variety of colours ensures that you have a beautiful finish after installing the cladding material.

Conclusion

There are things to look for when buying a cladding board. These are the durability and aesthetic value of the cladding material.