What is the best wood for cladding

Many wood species can be used for cladding but deciding on the best solution for your construction project depends on several factors such as your budget, desired appearance and climate.

Cedar and redwood are all excellent choices because they are weather-resistant and durable. They also deliver a stunning natural finish that will enhance the appearance of your building. That said, if you're looking to combine outstanding strength with plenty of character, freshly sawn oak cladding is the most popular type, offering additional stability as well as long-lasting protection from the elements.

How can you reduce costs?

Most cladding projects that are undertaken with larch usually come in at a lower price than those with cedar or oak. For example, our Tanalised Softwood Featheredge Cladding is our most economical option for cladding large areas. We also supply Siberian Larch Featheredge Cladding, which is priced in between English Larch and Oak.

Deciding on the right profile

For outstanding strength, we recommend using waney edge or featheredge boards. Waney edge refers to a rustic style of timber cladding, overlapping rough sawn timber boards to ensure the characterful natural edge is exposed. Feather edge cladding is a traditional cladding style renowned for its popularity and cost-effectiveness, created by overlapping sawn and tapered timber planks.

Is it true that softwood cladding has more advantages than hardwood?

Aside from generally being more cost-effective, softwood cladding does provide greater resistance to bacteria, fungi, termites and weather, however, hardwood cladding is denser, darker in colour, closer grained, heavier and stronger, warranting a higher price. Therefore, it’s not always easy to decide on the best wood for cladding. It's important to look at the merits of hardwood and softwood species and consider the level of performance, strength and durability you need. You can then begin to narrow down your options in line with your budget.

That said, both hardwood and softwood cladding can give your home, summerhouse, shed or garage a beautiful finish, but it's important to select the right type of wood for the job. You should also think about your locality and climate. For example, if you live by the sea where wet conditions are common, Western red cedar, European Larch, European Oak and Douglas Fir may be ideal because they do not necessitate preservative treatment – because they're naturally resistant to insects, moisture and rot.

How can we help?

If you're unsure of the material that's right for your project, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team today. You can explore the many options we have available on our website, including Oak Featheredge Cladding, Siberian Cedar Cladding, Ends Matched Cladding, Featheredge Cladding, Rebated Featheredge Cladding, Machined and Profiled Cladding and Fresh Cut Waney Edged Weatherboarding. We also have additional cladding products like Trim Boards, samples and treatments.

At UK Oak, we provide the highest quality European oak products at the most competitive prices. We also aim to hold stocks of all our listed sizes in large quantities – suitable for even the largest construction project, garden redesign or internal house reconstruction.

For further information, please call 01536 267107 or join our live chat support to tell us more about your requirements.