Best Functional Home Cladding Systems

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sJBs

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#277123 27-Sep-2020 19:46

I'm currently in the market for a home and just can't find a house that's my liking and would like to have it built. One of the aspects that seems very costly and seems critical to get right is the cladding and wall system used. Being new to NZ and the types of houses being built, I did a lot of searching and reading, but it seems like it all comes as a trade-off of costs/structural performance/maintenance/thermal performance.

I really like the "aluminium cladded Lockwood" system as it made a lot of sense and looked like a good system, but others told me most of the current building systems would provide similar performance at a reduced price. Any experts out there that can shed some light?

BTW I'm in Napier and it will be a house close to the beach.

In order of preference:

1) Simple construction (less prone to defective workmanship)

2) Low maintenance

3) Capital costs

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#2574963 27-Sep-2020 20:55

We ended up using good old pine weatherboard, painted. Has been pretty low maintenance so far. Just a good clean once a year. Pretty low cost compared to some options.

tchart

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#2574967 27-Sep-2020 21:22

Just another option.

We built 4 years ago and used Palliside.

https://palliside.co.nz/

We did this based on a friend's coastal house still looking great after 20+ years. We helped them ready it for sale and I was amazed how well it came up with just a simple water blast.

A lot of people will look down on it and suggest linear weatherboard but the fact is Palliside has been around a long time in NZ, is made in NZ, looks great, is easy to clean/maintain, doesn't rot and never needs painting.

We get the house exterior cleaned once a year and it looks great.

BTW we owned an 80s Lockwood before this place and that exterior was amazing too.

tchart

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#2574969 27-Sep-2020 21:32

And yes, it's cheaper...

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2574970 27-Sep-2020 21:35

I'd avoid fibre cement anything personally. It seems really popular (especially on the commercial side of things) but it's a pain to work with and is pretty rigid and crack-prone.

There's also suggestions that the dust is quite nasty and will probably end up treated similar to asbestos given another 10-20 years.

billgates

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#2574973 27-Sep-2020 21:53

We have built a new home with clay bricks. Previous home was also built with bricks and even after 15 years it still looked new. Brick cladding has been used for many thousands of years. Concrete bricks however will not last as long as clay bricks IMO.

Do whatever you want to do man.

tukapa1

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#2575018 28-Sep-2020 07:11

tchart: Just another option.

We built 4 years ago and used Palliside.

https://palliside.co.nz/

We did this based on a friend's coastal house still looking great after 20+ years. We helped them ready it for sale and I was amazed how well it came up with just a simple water blast.

A lot of people will look down on it and suggest linear weatherboard but the fact is Palliside has been around a long time in NZ, is made in NZ, looks great, is easy to clean/maintain, doesn't rot and never needs painting.

We get the house exterior cleaned once a year and it looks great.

BTW we owned an 80s Lockwood before this place and that exterior was amazing too.

+1 for Palliside - fully reno'd our house two years ago and the stuff has been great - very easy to maintain. We were lucky to have a great local franchisee who was amazing to deal with.

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MikeAqua

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#2575041 28-Sep-2020 08:26

I've lived in homes clad in brick, fibrolite, cedar, wooden weather boards, JH Linea, 1950's cement render, and modern plaster render over foam.

My first choice would be bricks. Low maintenance. Inherently waterproof. Durable. Dimensionally stable. UV resilient. They block noise well. They look good on well designed buildings.

My second choice would be JH Linea. I re-cladded and painted a house in JH Linea (and related products like soffit and fascia boards) over 16 years ago. That house has been through three significant earthquakes including the Kaikoura earthquake, with no damage. Despite 15 summers in the Blenheim sun, there is no cracking or peeling of paint (because the product is dimensionally stable). The paint is getting chalky so it is due for repaint. That's why it's my second pick.

Palliside: PVC is not dimensionally stable. Have look at a Palliside home with a few years under its belt. You will see evidence of movement, especially around the corner soakers on sunny walls. Also, it looks like plastic under real world conditions, even from a distance. (this is based on my observations of Palliside homes in Blenheim, when researching cladding options for our house).

Mike

eracode

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#2575043 28-Sep-2020 08:51

A close family member used Palliside on a major renovation about 20 years ago so I have some familiarity with it. My concern would be buyer aversion or wariness when the property is eventually sold.

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nickb800

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#2575068 28-Sep-2020 09:36

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.

olivernz

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#2575071 28-Sep-2020 09:54

Cladding is not your problem it's what is between it and the Gib board. Make sure you have the right building stuff and layers there. I suggest a look at ehaus.co.nz.

MikeAqua

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#2575079 28-Sep-2020 10:12

I'd be interested to see how ehaus aluminium cladding goes in a coastal environment. Even marine aluminium coating systems, properly applied, deteriorate after 10 years or so.

Mike

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eracode

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#2575093 28-Sep-2020 10:26

Some close friends re-clad a coastal property last year with this aluminium product. It’s solid extruded aluminium - not a thin pressed or rolled product. Very much a Rolls-Royce product IMO. Has very long warranty periods - 20 to 100 years depending on the surface finish - powder-coated or colour anodised. Does not need painting. It looks absolutely outstanding in the flesh - but not a budget product.

https://nuwall.co.nz

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MikeAqua

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#2575099 28-Sep-2020 10:36

eracode:

Some close friends re-clad a coastal property last year with this aluminium product. It’s solid extruded aluminium - not a thin pressed or rolled product. Very much a Rolls-Royce product IMO. Has very long warranty periods - 20 to 100 years depending on the surface finish - powder-coated or colour anodised. Does not need painting. It looks absolutely outstanding in the flesh - but not a budget product.

https://nuwall.co.nz

Interesting to see how it goes. Without getting into boring technical detail, paint coatings on aluminium alloy in a marine environment are a durability headache.

Mike

eracode

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#2575102 28-Sep-2020 10:42

eracode:

A close family member used Palliside on a major renovation about 20 years ago so I have some familiarity with it. My concern would be buyer aversion or wariness when the property is eventually sold.

One of the things I didn’t like about Palliside was that when you touch it, press on it, it flexes under your hand. Not solid or rigid - just doesn’t feel right. I wouldn’t be able to buy a house clad with it.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

neb

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#2575295 28-Sep-2020 13:22

I was going to say the opposite about fibrolite, it's pretty much indestructible, once it's on it'll last longer than anything else in/on the house.

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.

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