Cladding is a vibrant business. The 1.6 million m² sold annually in the UK is worth £30m to the industry and that is expected to double in value by 2015 and reach £90m by 2018. While future success will be grounded in the UK’s economic strategy for sustainability, players in the market believe that foundation must be shored up with a consistent product and quality installations.

“The Timber Decking Association was formed in 1998 and the same feelings that were coming out of decking then, were later apparent in cladding,” said Steve Young, director of the Timber Decking & Cladding Association (TDCA). “There were installations going wrong and timber was getting a bad name and something needed to be done or the market would boom and then disappear overnight.

“The TDCA was formed in 2009 which has resulted recently in the CladMark, the new website and knowledge bank, and a code of practice. The CladMark is based on ISO 9001 and focuses on the technical specifications of the cladding product. We are hoping to have the code of practice next year and we can feed a lot of testing into that and focus on the commercial profiles that are in the market and the range of timbers and benchmark them. For the first time we will have a guide for designers,” said Young.

Market drivers
Innovation of commercial and public building design, plus the need for sustainability and cost-effectiveness, is driving the cladding market. Timber cladding offers the combination of practical, aesthetic and environmental advantages, which include a lightweight material, dry installation, elimination of heavy masonry outer walls, good thermal and sound insulation, and ease of repair.

The rise in popularity has also been seen in refurbishment as cladding can be used to improve an existing building by providing an outer layer for the addition of insulation to improve energy performance, or it can be used to give a tired building a modern makeover.

Western red cedar, larch and oak are the three staples. Western red cedar accounts for 40% of the market at 643,000m², however, more sustainable hardwoods such as red Lyptus and modified woods are gaining popularity in this era of contemporary design.

“Western red cedar continues to be the most popular species due to its excellent durability and stability,” said Tony Miles, managing director of International Timber. “It is the most stable of all softwoods and is not prone to shrinkage, warping or twisting, which makes it an ideal choice.

Modified wood
"One of the main trends we’ve noticed is an increase in the number of clients requesting flame retardant treatments to their timber, as well as an increase in modified timber such as Thermowood or Accoya. They offer the durability of tropical hardwoods yet are harvested from sustainable sources and well-managed forests."

Larch heartwood used in the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre Gareth Hoskins Architects and National Trust for Scotland

Modified wood is expected to grow its share of the cladding market from the current 6% to 20% by 2015, with the knock-on effect that western red cedar’s share is expected to fall to 27%.

The 1970s buildings of West Lodge First and Middle Schools in Pinner, north-west London, were modernised recently with brightly painted pre-finished panels of Accoya cladding. “Multiple trials in many types of environments have shown three to four greater coatings life with many types of coatings,” said Justin Peckham, UK & Ireland sales manager at Accoya developer Accsys Technologies.

Kebony, the Norwegian developer of Kebonization to strengthen softwoods, said it had experienced huge demand for cladding. A spokesperson said that, in the UK, the preference is generally for the tropical hardwood look, which often favours the traditional clean looking southern yellow pine.

Finnforest’s Thermowood is being used in the Crest Nicholson Kaleidoscope development of 400 apartments and houses in the centre of Cambridge. More than 10,000 linear metres will be fixed over cantilevered steel framing.

“This is a large project with a variety of surface finishes for different elements, but we have chosen to employ  Thermowood as it is a sustainable material, which will endure very well,” said Crest Nicholson site manager Russell Dawkins. “On one of the blocks, for instance, all of the ‘pop-out’ balconies were clad with Thermowood, then it is used as cladding on a lot of the walls, but the treatment is changing as we go through the site.”

Installation issues
Despite the progress in product development and quality control, the TDCA said installation of cladding remains an issue. “We are seeing more factory-produced panels and there are new ways of lifting panels into place,” said Young.

“There have been major developments and there is much happening in the use of timber generally, but there will always be the onsite side to things. Our CladMark is for manufacture; we would certainly like to see installation quality assessed as well."

A modern look on Finnforest Thermowood cladding at the Kaleidoscope housing development in Cambridge

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