Minimum air gap for timber cladding?

[GinSoakedBoy]

Just wondering what the minimum air gap is needed behind timber cladding?

I have a small lean to shed built down the side of my house. Timber frame, OSB exterior panel and then wrapped in membrane. Its been like that for a while now (out of sight / out of mind) and I really need to get it clad.

The issue is the side of the shed comes close (16cm) to a short retaining wall (50cm).

Ideally I want to minimise how far the cladding comes out, so I still have some space for firstly fixing the cladding but also maintenance like cleaning leaves out between the shed and walls and repainting the wall and shed when needed.

I have seen measurements from 0.6 to 50mm, which seems pretty broad. Just wondering what people would recommend. Cladding is feather edge, and its just a basic garden tool shed, nothing special.

Thanks

James

 

[Deluks]

Vertical 19x38 battens and horizontal featheredge is your best option.
You could go as thin as you dare, as long as water cant get trapped behind, but buying thinner timber would probably work out more expensive, and you might not get strips of wood that thin that are treated.
UPVC strips could be an option, as thin as 6mm but that might be too narrow. You don't need to worry too much about repainting if it's behind a wall. Get a vacuum or blower for the leaves, or fix some chicken wire across the gap to catch them.

 

[GinSoakedBoy]

Thanks Deluks. Ended up going with a 10mm gap and ripped some 25mm thick batten down to save on cost. Glad I did because getting the lower boards in and working between the shed and wall was a proper faff. A thicker batten would have just made things harder. I can at least also get a hand down the gap for painting, clearing leaves out etc. Overall a success!