Problems of Timber Weatherboards That You Can Overcome with Vinyl Cladding

Posted on: 14 September 2020

Weatherboard planks flatter many architectural styles, from quaint cottages to grand period homes. The problem with timber, however, is that it comes with a raft of disadvantages. To overcome them, consider coating your home instead with vinyl cladding that mimics wood. This will resolve several timber issues, as explained below.

Timber Is Prone to Rot

Some of the major elements that external walls defend a home from are rain, hail, sleet, and snow. Timber, though, does not thrive easily in a watery environment. Moisture can saturate the wood, causing it to rot. Not only does this harm the weatherboard planks, but it allows dampness to possibly infiltrate further into the wall structure, which could lead to extensive repair bills. To overcome this issue, you can install faux wood vinyl cladding. Another benefit of vinyl is that while it helps establish a home for you, it's not appealing to termites and other wood-loving insects.

Timber Demands Periodic Repainting

Timber's weakness when it comes to water means that you have to take the maintenance of wooden weatherboards very seriously. You need to periodically repaint the planks, as the paint crucially forms a waterproofing layer that repels water, as well as blocking insects. Once it flakes and peels, the timber is imperilled — plus, the cladding then looks shabby.

Painting the entire exterior of your home is a massive project which causes inconvenience and costs money. You'll have to buy paints and either sacrifice your time to do the job yourself or else pay for professionals.  

You can bypass this maintenance overload with vinyl planks. The colour reaches right through vinyl rather than just forming a surface layer—thus, it doesn't chip and peel off. You, therefore, won't have to undertake a tedious and costly repainting project every few years or so to maintain your cladding. Technology is advancing all the time, and the vinyl planks of today are very stable and excellent at holding their colour.

Timber Weatherboards Involve a Multi-Step Installation Process

Blanketing your home with timber weatherboards is a multi-step process. After the planks are fastened, they need to be finished and painted. Vinyl external cladding, though, is already finished when it's installed, so it doesn't require additional preparation stages. Also, it's lighter than timber, which makes the process quicker and easier and, therefore, more cost-effective.

Thus, if you love the look of weatherboards but not all the hassles, you can install vinyl planks that provide the same natural look without the problems.

To learn more, contact a contractor that does external cladding.

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