Timber cladding on block wall

awec

I have a block wall running the length of my house on one side. The wall at it's highest point is roughly 10 feet I'd say. It's not a consistent height, as you go further from the house it gets shorter.

I am considering cladding part of the wall in timber (the bit of the wall that's in the back garden). I'm thinking of horizontal lengths of timber, of varying thicknesses.

Has anyone done this and have any feedback on how it turned out? I don't really fancy painting the wall as after a few years I think it'll start to look a bit tatty. I'm also looking at building a raised bed along underneath this wall, with some spotlighting going up the wall and across the lawn, so I think the timber would look nice.

The wall has piers, what do people usually do? Leave the piers, or clad around them? The piers are pretty much a 9" cavity block thick, so running the timber so that it's flush with the piers is not an option, there'd be way too much of a gap behind it.

Any recommendations on the type of timber to use?

mloc123

Just started a similar job here today, I am using 2x1 treated deal fixed to vertical battens which I have express nailed to the wall.

For the piers... maybe render and paint them? Make it a feature

Lumen

I would just bridge the piers and not worry about the gap behind.

Some ideas here. I don't like the result they achieved, TBH.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X8xuipr4_A

GinSoaked

^^^^^

If you are going to that trouble why not make a feature of it and put the cladding on at 45 degrees.

A neighbor has timber cladding (horizontal) on feature walls in their new garden design. Looks nice but its all done in a reddish coloured hard wood wouldn't have been cheap.

mloc123

Completed my section this morning

GinSoaked

Looks good with the other materials, slabs, render and foliage surrounding it.

awec

Looks great mloc. Did you get PAO deal?

mloc123

awec wrote: »

Looks great mloc. Did you get PAO deal?

No, rough cut treated deal... it actually looks better than I had expected. Originally I planned to maybe char the wood or stain it black. But the deal has a nice tone, not the usual green treated stuff I expected.

daheff

How did you connect the batons to the blockwork? Screws/nails/no more nails?


Are you treating the wood with anything to stop it rotting (especially any cut ends)?

GinSoaked

daheff wrote: »

How did you connect the batons to the blockwork? Screws/nails/no more nails?


Are you treating the wood with anything to stop it rotting (especially any cut ends)?

The cut ends are the least of your worries but still worth treating. I work with that sort of timber a lot and where it fails first is normally where you get damp trapped between the battens and the facing timber and or where the battens are against the wall.

So what I do is to use treated timber and give the areas I know tend to rot a good soaking in Protim 265. In that case I'd give the backs of the battens a coat of Protim 265 before fixing it to the wall then I'd give the face of the battens a coat. Finally when completed I'll try and flood all the joints with it.

I do use a lot of Protim 265 but I've chicken runs with timber thats been in contact with the ground for 10 years plus thats still in good shape.

RobAMerc

mloc123 wrote: »

Completed my section this morning

that looks really good

GinSoaked

Forgot one thing about cut ends, shouldn't have as I was out doing this earlier when making up a new door for the hen run. Where you have cut ends butting up against other timber as in a butt joint this is another potential early failure point so I always flood the area with Protim 265.

You can treat each cut surface as you cut it but the preservative is filthy stuff that gets all over if you do so for cut ends I just flood the areas with a really wet brush a few times after I've screwed things together. I've had to take a few apart to make changes and adjustments after applying preservative and flooding the area seems to get the preservative right into the joints.

Protim 265 comes in three colours well two and a colourless. The colourless is just that but the green one also fades after a few days in the sun so you won't notice it, no point using it if you want a green finish. The brown colour is a bit more colourfast and leaves a slightly brown colour even months later. The green is ideal so you can see where you have been but don't want to colour the wood with it.

mloc123

daheff wrote: »

How did you connect the batons to the blockwork? Screws/nails/no more nails?


Are you treating the wood with anything to stop it rotting (especially any cut ends)?

I drilled the battens and used express nails to attach to the wall.

awec

For those that said to go straight across the piers, I don't think I want to do that, because at the bottom I want the raised bed to wrap around the piers and want to minimise the amount of lawn I've to lose. I think if I literally box off the piers with the same timber it'd look well.

Also am I right in saying the larger the gap between the timber and the wall, the more light will be behind, so more chance of seeing the wall through the gaps?

Mulbert

Here's a wall I cladded earlier this year, if ur looking for a different look. Not to everyone's taste I know but hey!

GinSoaked

Mulbert wrote: »

Here's a wall I cladded earlier this year, if ur looking for a different look. Not to everyone's taste I know but hey!

My wife would love it, I couldn't live with it :eek:

Mulbert

GinSoaked wrote: »

My wife would love it, I couldn't live with it :eek:

The wives know best don't you know!!

caddy16

mloc123 wrote: »

Just started a similar job here today, I am using 2x1 treated deal fixed to vertical battens which I have express nailed to the wall.

For the piers... maybe render and paint them? Make it a feature

Looks well, going to do the same myself. How would you fix the vertical battens to a poured concrete wall?

mloc123

caddy16 wrote: »

Looks well, going to do the same myself. How would you fix the vertical battens to a poured concrete wall?

Not too sure.. is it one of those fences with the the posts and the concrete slabs?

I assume you could drill without issue, driving express nails might cause cracks? So possibly some concrete screws instead?

caddy16

mloc123 wrote: »

Not too sure.. is it one of those fences with the the posts and the concrete slabs?

I assume you could drill without issue, driving express nails might cause cracks? So possibly some concrete screws instead?

It's a poured concrete retaining wall. Yes I suppose I can countersink the heads to make sure there flush. Thanks.

daheff

I need to ask the awkward question....if you are express nailing wood to an outdoor wall, the wood will degrade and rot over time(hopefully many years down the line). When the time comes to replace the wood, how do you get these things out of the wall?

mloc123

daheff wrote: »

I need to ask the awkward question....if you are express nailing wood to an outdoor wall, the wood will degrade and rot over time(hopefully many years down the line). When the time comes to replace the wood, how do you get these things out of the wall?

With a hammer and a grinder break up what is left of the rotted batten and grind off the exposed nail. Then start again

Edit: I would have used concrete screws... if I didn't already have a box of express nails.

daheff

mloc123 wrote: »

With a hammer and a grinder break up what is left of the rotted batten and grind off the exposed nail. Then start again

Edit: I would have used concrete screws... if I didn't already have a box of express nails.

ok..so I'm sold on the concrete screws!

Shellie

mloc123 wrote: »

Completed my section this morning

This looks excellent, nice work. Can I ask, what distance did you have between the batons on the wall, and what distance did you have between the timber beams? We're planning on doing a similar job this weekend

GinSoaked

If you just think about it logically you need a batten against the wall thats wide enough to take some frame fixers without splitting and deep enough to take your fixing screws. Treated 2 x 1 1/2 nominal would be my choice - thats actually 1 5/8' by 1 3/8'. Always measure the timber yourself as quoted sizes can vary a lot. Its also worthwhile having a decent space behind the cladding to allow for air movement.

mloc123

Shellie wrote: »

This looks excellent, nice work. Can I ask, what distance did you have between the batons on the wall, and what distance did you have between the timber beams? We're planning on doing a similar job this weekend

As Ginsoaked predicted, I used 2x1.5 inch treated for the battens.. so the lats are 1.5 inch from the wall. For the spacing I used a few pieces of 3X1 PAO as spacers, I put the bottom lat on first and levelled it etc... then rested 4 'spacers' on it and the next lat on top of that... and so on. The spacing should be 18mm, the first picture I posted with just 3 lats was my original test at 10mm.

Calahonda52

mloc123 wrote: »

With a hammer and a grinder break up what is left of the rotted batten and grind off the exposed nail. Then start again

Edit: I would have used concrete screws... if I didn't already have a box of express nails.

the express will come out with a jemmy bar.
I took out a lot at the weekend with a 30 inch pry bar
to stop the pry bar crushing the tube wall I screwed in a a self tapper with a hex head which was the right size plus a bit more.
worked a dream

Shellie

mloc123 wrote: »

As Ginsoaked predicted, I used 2x1.5 inch treated for the battens.. so the lats are 1.5 inch from the wall. For the spacing I used a few pieces of 3X1 PAO as spacers, I put the bottom lat on first and levelled it etc... then rested 4 'spacers' on it and the next lat on top of that... and so on. The spacing should be 18mm, the first picture I posted with just 3 lats was my original test at 10mm.

Cheers for that.

Our walls are longer than the timber lengths, so we'll need to put a few battens on the wall (thinking of spacing ~2m apart) and stagger the joins so we don't have a single breaking line along the wall. We might also go a bit sider on the battens, maybe 3x1.5 to give more space to secure in joining lengths. Any other tips or advice is much appreciated!

daheff

mloc123 wrote: »

No, rough cut treated deal... it actually looks better than I had expected. Originally I planned to maybe char the wood or stain it black. But the deal has a nice tone, not the usual green treated stuff I expected.

Can I ask where you got the wood (feel free to pm if you prefer)? Been looking at the diy chains but couldn't see what I need. Next stop is chadwicks when I can get that far.

GinSoaked

daheff wrote: »

Can I ask where you got the wood (feel free to pm if you prefer)? Been looking at the diy chains but couldn't see what I need. Next stop is chadwicks when I can get that far.

Any agricultural sort of timber yards you can get to? Somewhere that does agri fencing and or wooden sheds?

Down in Waterford I use http://trihysawmills.ie/

Check your prices carefully but I find most timber yards and sawmills cheaper than builders merchants and they stock a lot more treated timber.

mloc123

daheff wrote: »

Can I ask where you got the wood (feel free to pm if you prefer)? Been looking at the diy chains but couldn't see what I need. Next stop is chadwicks when I can get that far.

Any local building providers, I order from Barrets in Maynooth as I find they are little cheaper than Goodwins or Chadwicks... avoid Woodies/B&Q etc... they are twice the price at least.

xl500

heres mine transformed a really ****ty wall that was always green and dirty

GinSoaked

Very nice, what wood finish have you used?

xl500

GinSoaked wrote: »

Very nice, what wood finish have you used?

Textrol Golden Oak

GinSoaked

xl500 wrote: »

Textrol Golden Oak

Good man I was just recommending it in another thread

xl500

GinSoaked wrote: »

Good man I was just recommending it in another thread

Expensive but great stuff

GinSoaked

xl500 wrote: »

Expensive but great stuff

I don't think I ever mention it without using words like expensive or really expensive or even really really expensive in the same sentence.

But the finish the degree of protection and ease of application make it worth it for me.

Class MayDresser

xl500 wrote: »

heres mine transformed a really ****ty wall that was always green and dirty

That's class. Trying to convince my OH to do similar on an 8ft wall here, I'll be showing her this. Lotta work maintaining it, but better than a boring bare wall imo.

SierraTango

Thanks for the inspiration and advice everyone. 2x1" rough white deal. 18mm spacing from old skirting board.

awec

Both look fantastic.

xl500

Class MayDresser wrote: »

That's class. Trying to convince my OH to do similar on an 8ft wall here, I'll be showing her this. Lotta work maintaining it, but better than a boring bare wall imo.

Depends on your Budget if you use microshades timber its the best preservative treatment and then its very easy to maintain with Textrol

Microshades is expensive but its a finished job for years then textrol coat every few years but its easy to apply I can coat all my cladding with a roller in 2 hrs

daheff

SierraTango wrote: »

Thanks for the inspiration and advice everyone. 2x1" rough white deal. 18mm spacing from old skirting board.

Can I ask where you sourced the wood? I really like the look of the white deal.

Nice work btw. Any plans on what to do with the pillar beside it?

SierraTango

daheff wrote: »

Can I ask where you sourced the wood? I really like the look of the white deal.

Nice work btw. Any plans on what to do with the pillar beside it?

Thanks! Get the wood in my local DIY shop, MD O'Shea. Thinking of making a trellis for the pillar and having something grow up it to cover the block, honeysuckle maybe. It's that or paint it.

SarMex

xl500 wrote: »

Textrol Golden Oak

Hi, beautiful job on your fence! 👌🏻 Currently planning a DIY job like this. I wanted to know what type of timber have you used to create this look before applying the Textrol Golden Oak?

GinSoaked

SarMex wrote: »

Hi, beautiful job on your fence! 👌🏻 Currently planning a DIY job like this. I wanted to know what type of timber have you used to create this look before applying the Textrol Golden Oak?

He mentions Microshades https://www.woodcomponents.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MTS-MicroShades1.pdf

SarMex

GinSoaked wrote: »

He mentions Microshades

Ah great stuff, thank you! I was only speaking to them yesterday about Microshades so I’m on the right path! Thanks for the swift reply! 👍🏻

Loire

Hi,
We have external insulation on our house but were thinking of putting timber cladding over this on one part (side extension). Does anyone know if this is OK to do or would we risk the external insulation?
Thanks

xl500

Loire wrote: »

Hi,
We have external insulation on our house but were thinking of putting timber cladding over this on one part (side extension). Does anyone know if this is OK to do or would we risk the external insulation?
Thanks

I would be very careful fixing anything to the external insulation as if you break the surface for fixings etc there is a danger of water getting in

The Mulk

mloc123 wrote: »

Completed my section this morning

What are you using to fix the 2x1's to the wall battens,

Screws(what size) or nails, i'm going to start something similar,

Thanks

mloc123

The Mulk wrote: »

What are you using to fix the 2x1's to the wall battens,

Screws(what size) or nails, i'm going to start something similar,

Thanks

I used screws... I think 40x4mm

The Mulk

mloc123 wrote: »

I used screws... I think 40x4mm

Thanks, I'll order a box.