Weatherboard Options for Re-cladding Your Home

The “leaky home crisis” in New Zealand has caused many homeowners to re-clad their homes. The stigma around monolithic cladding has caused some home owners to re-clad their home even if it is not leaking – purely to protect their biggest investment in life.

Timber weatherboards are the most common choice, as they are overtly not plaster and/or monolithic.

New Zealand has a long history using timber weatherboards, particularly the bevel back profile, which is still adorning many elderly New Zealand homes.

So what timber weatherboard finish options are available for a re-clad? The first thing to do is choose a profile:

Bevel Back Profile – The Classic Option

The distinctive profile of bevel back weatherboard is the most common choice for re-cladding a home. Proven over hundreds of years the bevelled profile is very watertight, and provides excellent piece of mind for home owners. This profile suits older homes along with more modern designs.

Rusticated Profile – Horizontal Lines

For a more subtle look, rusticated profile provides clean horizontal lines, without the overlapped look of bevel back. Also a traditional timber profile, rusticated is used in heritage homes, but also looks great on modern designs.

Abodo’s WB10 profile is a great option for a rusticated look, and has the ability to be secret screw fixed. Secret fixing means there are no nails or fixings through the exposed face of the timber – excellent for keep moisture out of your home.

Vertical Shiplap – Modern Chic

Vertical shiplap style cladding is en vogue and the most common choice for modern home designs.

Well proven over time, vertical shiplap profile has a long and proud history in New Zealand’s architectural builds. Abodo’s WB12 profile is an excellent choice here, with secret fixing option and subtle shadow lines.

Other considerations for re-clad projects:

Mixing profiles and colours is a great way to break up a cladding façade.

It is also possible to run some parts of the walls horizontal and vertical, creating an interesting contrast.

Coating Options

Think through your coating options, semi-transparent oil coatings typically last 3–4 years on exposed faces, where a paint finish will last around 8 years.

A re-paint is more expensive than a re-oil and many home owners are able to re-oil their own homes.