Best Functional Home Cladding Systems

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#2575311 28-Sep-2020 14:02

neb: In terms of bricks, given that you're in an earthquake area I'd avoid those at all costs, brick houses disintegrate with any shaking. In California for example you can't build brick houses because of this danger.

Only if the brickwork is load bearing. My parents lived in a place with brick veneer cladding during the Christchurch earthquakes and there were no problems whatsoever.

froob

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#2575369 28-Sep-2020 14:21

That's right - the brick buildings that disintegrated in the Canterbury earthquakes were the old "double brick" construction that relied on the brick walls for structural support (as opposed to brick veneer on a timber frame).

Modern brick cladding can stand up well in an earthquake, but it is still a heavy cladding which will require additional engineering of the foundations/structure to withstand earthquake loads, which I expect adds to the overall cost: http://www.seismicresilience.org.nz/topics/building-envelope/residential-buildings/wall-claddings-residential/

There won't be a single "right" answer to the question in this thread, because there are pros and cons to each cladding type. On the cost side, here's a BRANZ article on the lifetime cost of different claddings (scroll down to see wall cladding): https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/assets/PDF/Build-147-71-Feature-Aiming-Higher-Cladding-Costs-Over-A-Lifetime.pdf. Note that the article is 5 years old.

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nickb800

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#2575374 28-Sep-2020 14:28

alasta:

neb: In terms of bricks, given that you're in an earthquake area I'd avoid those at all costs, brick houses disintegrate with any shaking. In California for example you can't build brick houses because of this danger.

Only if the brickwork is load bearing. My parents lived in a place with brick veneer cladding during the Christchurch earthquakes and there were no problems whatsoever.

Brick veneer cladding (which isn't loadbearing) still comes with risk - in the Christchurch earthquake there were examples of brick veneer failing completely, needing minor repairs, or being absolutely fine. More generally, it's a relatively heavy cladding which does place more load on the foundations, and is likely to be permanently damaged if the foundations are damaged. Other claddings are more flexible and tolerant of building movement/settlement e.g. weatherboards.

I personally wouldn't go for brick in a notably earthquake prone area, but wouldn't go so far as to recommend against it either. It is the classic affordable and low maintenance cladding for good reason. It's unlikely to completely fail in an earthquake, but you need to acknowledge there's a higher chance of needing post-earthquake repairs than other claddings (and may lead to higher insurance premiums if insurers get fussy about their exposure in future, which is somewhat likely).

nickb800

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#2575386 28-Sep-2020 14:57

froob: That's right - the brick buildings that disintegrated in the Canterbury earthquakes were the old "double brick" construction that relied on the brick walls for structural support (as opposed to brick veneer on a timber frame).

Modern brick cladding can stand up well in an earthquake, but it is still a heavy cladding which will require additional engineering of the foundations/structure to withstand earthquake loads, which I expect adds to the overall cost: http://www.seismicresilience.org.nz/topics/building-envelope/residential-buildings/wall-claddings-residential/

There won't be a single "right" answer to the question in this thread, because there are pros and cons to each cladding type. On the cost side, here's a BRANZ article on the lifetime cost of different claddings (scroll down to see wall cladding): https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/assets/PDF/Build-147-71-Feature-Aiming-Higher-Cladding-Costs-Over-A-Lifetime.pdf. Note that the article is 5 years old.

Snap on most of your comments, I took to long writing mine.

Note the BRANZ article has been updated in 2017 https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/index.php/articles/show/cladding-costs-over-a-lifetime-2

Delphinus

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#2575391 28-Sep-2020 15:06

I clad the house I build about 11 years ago in Shadowclad plywood, and cladding the garage I'm building now in the same. House is due for a re-stain but other than that I'm very happy with it. Fast to put up and provides structural bracing. Cheap compared to other options in that BRANZ link too.

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#2575409 28-Sep-2020 15:36

neb: In terms of bricks, given that you're in an earthquake area I'd avoid those at all costs, brick houses disintegrate with any shaking. In California for example you can't build brick houses because of this danger.

Similarly, don't clad your roof in clay or concrete tiles.
There were very scary pictures of houses in Christchurch with a 'halo' ring of smashed tiles all round them. In a decent earthquake, you don't want your friends and family running outdoors in a panic, only to be whacked on the head by a couple of kilogrammes of concrete or clay tile.
If you must have the tile look, go with the pressed steel 'fake tiles' otherwise, go Longrun

Actually, I don't understand why the Building Code allows tile roofs in NZ.

neb

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#2575411 28-Sep-2020 15:38

+1 for long-run, it's kind of the no-brainer solution for roofing.

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#2575444 28-Sep-2020 16:48

neb: +1 for long-run, it's kind of the no-brainer solution for roofing.

Why. Just asking. Price, durability... Personally I think I'd always prefer concrete because I'd assume its the quietest (some people like the gentle sound of rain on a roof, I can't stand it, I want silence) and lasts the longest. Depending where you live of course.

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#2575502 28-Sep-2020 17:18

rb99:

Why. Just asking. Price, durability... Personally I think I'd always prefer concrete because I'd assume its the quietest (some people like the gentle sound of rain on a roof, I can't stand it, I want silence) and lasts the longest. Depending where you live of course.

With decent insulation, you won't hear the rain on the roof. We got wool blanket type insulation (best R we could get installed in one of the places we live in Nelson (old 1950s house, with ~1970s pink batts).

We couldn't hear the rain on our roof after that.

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#2575507 28-Sep-2020 17:35

MikeAqua:

rb99:

Why. Just asking. Price, durability... Personally I think I'd always prefer concrete because I'd assume its the quietest (some people like the gentle sound of rain on a roof, I can't stand it, I want silence) and lasts the longest. Depending where you live of course.

With decent insulation, you won't hear the rain on the roof. We got wool blanket type insulation (best R we could get installed in one of the places we live in Nelson (old 1950s house, with ~1970s pink batts).

We couldn't hear the rain on our roof after that.

We still hear it. Have R6 insulation in the ceiling, IC lights, and the steel roof trays are also sitting on 21 mm ply. But can still hear rain on the roof. Not as loud as a typical roof.

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#2575510 28-Sep-2020 17:40

PolicyGuy:

Actually, I don't understand why the Building Code allows tile roofs in NZ.

They were popular with state houses. Not not sure about all that weight with earthquakes. However I know someone who has a 90's house with tiles, and some are cracking, and I don't think they can source replacements. A couple actually slipped down as a result resultin gin holes in the roof and they didn't relise for some time until I pointed it out to them. I guess 30 years out of a roof is okay these days according to the building code, but I would hope for longer. Longrun is good for roofing, reasonably cheap and durable, and easy to repalce, but the quality of some roofing work in NZ and workmanship I have found is not great.

Handle9

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#2575513 28-Sep-2020 17:46

nickb800:

Regardless of cladding, I'd suggest that using a cavity system (and ideally eaves too) is a good step to make the house less prone to defective workmanship in installing the cladding.

Isn't it pretty much impossible to build without a cavity now?

rb99

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#2575514 28-Sep-2020 17:51

Thanks. If we ever get round to doing the roof hopefully we'll top up the insulation at the same time. So many plans, so little money...

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tchart

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#2575525 28-Sep-2020 18:20

Does the BRANZ report include cost of repainting?

Some of the quoted figures in the thread below are crazy for repainting a house.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=243931

Jase2985

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#2575636 29-Sep-2020 06:25

mattwnz:

We still hear it. Have R6 insulation in the ceiling, IC lights, and the steel roof trays are also sitting on 21 mm ply. But can still hear rain on the roof. Not as loud as a typical roof.

i have less insulation but my ceiling is 12mm ply on noise reducing rondo clips and battens. its quiet as.

the roof connected the the 21mm ply wont be helping things

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