Timber cladding a big shed advice please.

[happyhero]

Hi I have built a fancy shed in my garden 8.5m long by 2.5m wide, 2.5m of the length which is like a canopy to work under. This is supported by Oak posts. The roof is a Gambrel roof or double pitch roof like the American or Dutch barns. I have clad the outside with WBP ply and now want to clad on top of that with featheredge, I suppose it is a bit like the American houses are often built with cladding on the outside.

My intention is to have the inside as functional whilst the outside is going to look good and not just like an ordinary shed.

This is the look I like

I have to cover two sides of 6m and 2 sides of 2.5m all 2.7m high as a guide.

I have spent money to get it looking good but don't want to go too mad now with the cost of cladding as I know there are specialist companies that will sell the stuff for doing houses but they seem expensive. I have to keep reminding myself it is only a shed, although a bit more than an average shed.

So I know it is easy to buy featheredge for fencing but obviously I want longer bits than that, the longer the better I suppose, and I have seen these sheds done like featheredge but with flat timbers rather than featheredge ie 23mm thick all over. And wont ordinary featheredge have too many knots/holes in it to look good, sheds don't seem to have featheredge with many holes in them?

So my question is what timber should I get to do this project and what lengths can I expect to get? Should I get featheredge or is there a reason to get the 23mm all over stuff, ie maybe it is cheaper than featheredge as it has not had to be shaped feathered?

How do I get featheredge without holes in it like the buildings I have seen done this way?

I have seen wider stuff ie 150mm which I think would look better, is there anything to watch for when buying this stuff?

I want to paint it black like in the picture above.

Sorry if I am asking anything silly here, but obviously I don't know this stuff so well and that is why I am asking you guys. I am pretty good at carpentry though just not had much to do with featheredge or cladding before.

I suppose what I am getting at is where do I get extra long lengths of featheredge which are good quality, without holes and 150mm wide, and at a good price.

I live in Surrey and I am not sure at the moment what to buy and from where, but you see the look I am after above and any guidance or help would be appreciated.

 

[Deluks]

I did my shed with 150mm featheredge from champion timber (loads in Surrey) Was decent quality, you are always going to get the odd duffer though, just put these to one side and cut off the decent bits for short lengths around windows etc.

As you've already plyboarded it, as long as you have at least 9mm on there then no point in going too fancy with the cladding, otherwise it will get expensive.

You will need a breather membrane over the ply and then vertical battens of about 20mm thick over this, then nail through the cladding into the batten. Make you your nails only pass through one board, trying to 'stitch' 2 featheredge boards together on the overlap will cause them to split.

If you want the boards black then best paint them both sides before they go up. Use a timber preservative or shed/fence product as opposed to actual paint.

 

[happyhero]

Hi Deluks

Thanks for reply, its a great help, but now I have thought of more questions

I can phone up and ask but it is always nice to get peoples experiences and what they managed to achieve etc.

So what lengths did/can you get?

How much does it work out per meter?

How much do you need to overlap for this sort of thing?

Also what treatment can I get that will give me such a nice black finish as not even dark cresote substitute goes dark enough to give a long term black finsih?

And lastly I am putting a breather membrane on my shed as I was advised to do so but I am not 100% clear why, is it just to stop water penetration from outside, which is what I understand it will do?

One reason I ask is that one side of the shed will get a lot of heat/sun and it would be good if it slightly insulated the shed a little to stop it cooking anything I store inside it, I did not really want to go to the trouble of fully insulating the shed as I prefer to keep it just for storage inside.

 

[Deluks]

I bought my f'edge about 3 years ago, I think it was about £1.50pm but that may have been on special offer at the time.
I got 3.6m lengths but I think they stock longer lengths, if they don't have full 6m then get the longest you can (prob 4.8m) and stagger them as you put them on. ie: long one, short one, next row short one, long one etc etc.

Aim for about 25-30mm overlap.

Breather membrane will provide a little protection from draughts but as you guessed, to keep moisture out. Polythene is not up to scratch here as it would 'sweat' and cause condensation. You'll get away with a cheaper product, shop around and you can get membrane for about £40 for 50sqm.

Use 40mm galvanised nails or sheradised ring shanks if you can get them, and the cladding will be solid and secure.

Check out the ronseal, cuprinol or sikkens ranges for a decent product but if you can't find a shade dark enough for you then use a dye or woodstain first, probably not worth the extra work though, for a shed.