Cladding costs. Timber v man made.

[Tigercubrider]

Considering building a garden room / shed / workshop as diy.
The frame is likely to be timber + OSB sheathing + wrap.
Size wise maybe 16’x10’


My question is that given I am in my mid 60’s, should I go with timber or some kind of man made cladding?
What’s the cost differential?
As I get older I might not be up for treating it every year - but how expensive is using the fake timber?
I need to do some sums

 

[noseall]

Considering building a garden room / shed / workshop as diy.
The frame is likely to be timber + OSB sheathing + wrap.
Size wise maybe 16’x10’


My question is that given I am in my mid 60’s, should I go with timber or some kind of man made cladding?
What’s the cost differential?
As I get older I might not be up for treating it every year - but how expensive is using the fake timber?
I need to do some sums

I was in the same boat, i.e. wanted a long lasting shed with little maintenance. Downside - you do have to pay for it. I went for a premium mineral board (Cedral) on mine, because I don't like the way some plastics behave in the sun. Cost me around £2k with all the trims and having to hike to Nottingham to fetch it.

20221203_133018.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

osb1.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

 

[noseall]

I was in the same boat, i.e. wanted a long lasting shed with little maintenance. Downside - you do have to pay for it. I went for a premium mineral board (Cedral) on mine, because I don't like the way some plastics behave in the sun. Probably cost about £2K with all the trims and the hike going to fetch it (Nottingham ).

20221203_133018.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

osb1.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Definitely fake. Timber won't outlive you! I'm on a mission to eliminate external timber from our place, as we want to live here until we're in a box, I don't want to be creosoting the shed when I'm 93. But it would have turned to compost anyway, whether creosoted or not.

Wood preserver used to work as it was full of deadly toxins, these days all the effective ingredients have been banned (for very good reasons), so the modern stuff's not very different to Bisto gravy granules. We painted a fence with the stuff, there were slug trails all over it where they'd slithered along eating it, they thought it was delicious and clearly didn't come to any harm.

I've gone a bit extreme, replaced our old wooden shed with a brick one that has cavity walls, damp-proofing - basically a small newbuild house! But your timber frame will be fine provided the timber doesn't come into contact with the ground and is protected from rising damp.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Cheers both

I want something above a bog standard garden shed, but not so far as a garden office.

 

[mrrusty]

Here's mine https://community.screwfix.com/threads/garden-room.256842/

I am a great fan of cement plank. Once its on its pretty much zero maintenance. You really do need a guillotine to cut it - you can use a diamond disk but the dust is horrible. Gecko gauges for fitting are handy too.

For the side of your garden room that is not visible you could, like I have done, use painted steel profile cladding - its cheap and durable but looks a bit "industrial" for the visible sides.

If you intend to use it all year round, then insulation is a must, and if adding insulation it is worth considering using sips as they save a lot of hassle for not much difference in price https://www.simplysips.co.uk/products/

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

You really do need a guillotine to cut it - you can use a diamond disk but the dust is horrible.

Cutting anything with a diamond disk is horrible, I regularly have to cut bricks.

Put a mask and baseball cap on. I find the dust makes my hair feel awful, shampoo doesn't make it better, only a haircut sorts it. Aim downwind, so it goes away from you. Not too bad if you live in the countryside, but it may cause neighbour problems in suburbia!

 

[Odds]

I was in the same boat, i.e. wanted a long lasting shed with little maintenance. Downside - you do have to pay for it. I went for a premium mineral board (Cedral) on mine, because I don't like the way some plastics behave in the sun. Cost me around £2k with all the trims and having to hike to Nottingham to fetch it.

20221203_133018.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

osb1.jpg

• noseall
• 4 Dec 2023

I remember you getting that - does it still look as good?

 

[noseall]

I remember you getting that - does it still look as good?

Pretty much apart from loads more bird shoite.

 

[Odds]

Pretty much apart from loads more bird shoite.

"It's just their job; it has to be done."