What are the advantages of composite cladding over wood?
In the past 15 years, we at NeoTimber® have perfected the design for our highly specialised composite decking range. Drawing upon this extensive experience, we have also launched a high-quality composite cladding range. With uncertainty in the housing market many homeowners have chosen to improve rather than move to add value to their property; building extensions, loft conversions and undertaking improvements to their gardens.
Cladding the exterior is another good example of a way to improve the value of your home and its kerb appeal. A modern alternative to rendering or the stone cladding of yesteryear, cladding gives a more natural, organic feel to your home, helping us feel more connected to the natural world. The trouble is most of us do not have the deep pockets of Grand Design homeowners. As a result, solid timber cladding, together with the maintenance and upkeep, is simply too financially prohibitive. A viable alternative exists however in composite materials. NeoTimber® composite cladding is engineered to perform better than timber. In fact, there are a number of benefits of choosing composite cladding over wood when considering wood or composite cladding.
Here’s the 5 key advantages of composite cladding vs wood:
1
A long-life cladding alternative
Composite cladding is designed to shut out moisture and to resist the warping and bowing inherent in timber. Along with the cost of materials, the time, effort and additional cost of installation make fitting cladding a time-consuming business. Therefore, it’s not something you’re going to want to be redoing every 5 years or so. Composite cladding is made from a combination of reused industrial wood fibres and recycled plastic, this combination arms the wood against the elements and enables NeoTimber® to offer a long-life guarantee on all cladding products.
2
A lower maintenance solution
When it comes to home exteriors, we want the best of both worlds. We want something that will look nice once it’s installed but that requires minimal maintenance to keep it looking great. However, composite cladding never requires sanding or varnishing and so there is virtually no maintenance required. Just give it an occasional scrub with household soap. Who knows, you could even pay the window cleaner a little extra to do this once a summer, or grab a bucket yourself.
3
Contemporary not temporary
Cladding is a current trend which brings your home right up to date. With five stunning colour ranges to choose from and three finishes including the spectacular Slatted range your home will really stand out, turning heads all the way up the avenue. Despite its cutting-edge, sharp looks, NeoTimber® composite cladding is not designed to be a flash in the pan. Our cladding is designed for the long term. Resisting moisture absorption and UV fading, choose a shade you’re not going to get bored of as it’s guaranteed for at least 25 years.
4
Class C fire rated
Despite what some companies may try to claim, all composite cladding products are combustible to some degree or another. This is due to the organic properties which are inherent in composite materials. Following the findings of the Grenfell Inquiry the construction industry has been required to be more transparent about their materials. Our composite cladding is Class-C fire rated. This means that it is ideal for low-rise developments. In most cases this means that NeoTimber® composite cladding can be used for installations up to three storeys high within the UK – or 11m in height.
5
Easy-to-install
There are a large number of cladding companies in the market today. Each company has developed their own unique installation system. The trouble is, the more complex the system, the longer it takes to install and the higher your cost. NeoTimber® have taken the hard work out of installation for you. We have developed a product which is both suitable for professional installers and private homeowners by engineering shiplap cladding with tongue and groove which can easily be attached to a framework of wooden battens.
Need Further Support or Advice?
If you’ve still got questions that have not been answered here, or you would like additional advice,
support or assistance then please give one of our friendly experts a call and we’ll be happy to help.
Just give us a call on 01509 323 170.