Weatherboarding a house...

[Rachel]

Hi everyone,

Just have a few questions, I just bought a little weekender house up at Mt Baw Baw (alpine region) and it's half been weatherboarded but the other half is still a gross pebble cladding stuff, but I want to get someone to weatherboard the whole place. I would love to do vertical weatherboards as some of the original houses in the area are vertically weatherboarded and I kinda wanted to keep in with the same look, is there any pros and cons of vertical weatherboards comparded to horizontal? Also how much would I be looking at paying someone to do this, the house is 9 squares...pretty tiny, even a ball park figure would be great.

-Rachel.

[journeyman Mick]

Rachel,
there's tree different ways to fit vertical boards:
board & batten-wide boards with a narrow board (batten) covering the join;
board & board-wide boards fixed with largish gaps, which are covered with boards the same width as the first layer;
batten & board-battens down first with largish spaces covered by boards.

Vertical cladding has a few monor drawbacks, but nothing that should stop you using it, especially if you want to build in keeping with local character. Horizontal cladding can be supplied and fitted in random lengths, but vertical needs to all be pretty much the same length as your wall heights. This will add a bit of a price premium. Obviously there will be some shorter lengths under and over windows.
The other difference is that with horizontal cladding each board is overlapped by the next one up which weatherproofs the wall. With vertical cladding you are relying on a vertical seam for your weatherproofing. However all timber framed buildings shoud be fitted with sarking (AKA builders paper or foil) before sheathing, partly for its insulation value, as well as providing a vapour barrier and a back up to the cladding. This and the fact that you are covering existing walls should prevent any problems.
Price wise a ball park figure is pretty impossible, however if you measure your house and make a bit of a drawing showing all the door and window openings and give this to some local carpenters then you should be able to get a fair idea. 9 squares is not much help, it may be a simple box with a few windows or it might have lots of little alcoves etc. Height of walls x total length of walls + any access difficulties is required to get an idea.

Mick

[Rachel]

Thanks so much for your reply Mick, I really appreciate you taking the time and explaining the different types of vertical weatherboarding, do you know any websites with photos of the different styles of weatherboading? I have trying searching with no luck. Anyway I have got a while before deciding what to do since it's snowing there now so I'll have to wait for late spring/summer to do any outside work. I was asking about price because I am not sure if it's going to cost a few thousand or over 10 grand, so just hoping someone could give me a round about price, the place is bascially a box with a few windows (good description BTW) around.

Thanks once again,
Rachel.

[Gumby]

I work in an area with quite a few vertical weatherboard homes and they ALL have one thing in common. Rot on the bottom of the board. My advice would be not to do it at all.

You should also consider a board like Weathertex which is a pressed , formed board and won't warp, crack or rot, even if left unpainted. It looks good too. The larger Mitre10 stores have it on display.

[journeyman Mick]

If the ends of boards (vertical or horizontal) are not sealed properly they will suck up moisture through capillary action. Joins on horizontal clad walls will get repainted when the wall does, bottoms of boards on a vetical clad wall often won't. There are vertical profiles available in ply, weathertex (masonite) and fibro but they don't have the same appeal (in my eyes at any rate). Ply is probably the next best looking but more expensive than the other two options.

Mick

[RETIRED]

Rachel, type vertical cladding into google and have a ball. :D

Hope this helps.

[Rachel]

Thanks so much for all the replies, you have all given me lots to think about. Think I might just stick to horizontal weatherboards.

Thanks again,
Rachel.

[Pulpo]

With my limited experience I would tend to agree the bottom parts of the boards become rotten.

And due to the fact vertical boards should be one length, it could become an expensive exercise solving the problem.

So if it were me I would use non-wood, if going vertical.

Good Luck

Pulpo