If you stroll through any new garden office or summer house installation, you will most likely notice horizontal wooden planks running along the sides. These are shiplap cladding materials. The popularity of shiplap cladding for garden offices and summer houses stems from a very simple and compelling reason.
Shiplap cladding is not a new material. In fact, it is one of the oldest forms of cladding. The concept behind shiplap cladding dates back to ship building. In ship building, shiplap cladding provides a watertight seal for ships. In the case of garden offices and summer houses, shiplap cladding provides a weatherproof seal for your garden office. Each board used for shiplap cladding features a rebate, which provides a weatherproof seal for your garden office.
What Makes Shiplap Cladding Different?
If you have ever looked at a garden shed, you will notice that each board does not fit flush to each other. In fact, each board overlaps slightly. The overlap between each board is about 12-15mm. The overlap between each board makes shiplap cladding unique and different from other types of cladding materials. The construction of shiplap cladding is simple. Each board features a rebate. The rebate features a ledge and a groove. The ledge and groove feature on each board allows for natural runoff and prevents water from seeping behind each board.
Where You’ll Actually Use It
Well, garden buildings, of course! Home offices, workshops, storage sheds, studios, anything really that needs walls that will withstand the weather without the expense of brickwork. The boards will be 12mm to 19mm thick, with 150mm being the standard width for domestic use.
But shiplap has not been restricted to outdoors. There has been a growing trend to use it on interior walls, such as a feature wall in a living area, a bathroom feature, or a kitchen splashback. The boards will be thinner for interior use since they won’t be required to withstand the weather. The same effect will be achieved, though, with the distinctive line where the boards overlap giving a texture that cannot be achieved with plasterboard.
Some people have used shiplap to line their garage walls, particularly if they’re converting their garage into a liveable area. The boards will be put up directly over the existing blockwork, which will create a space for any services to be installed.
The Practical Side
Not requiring any special skills to put up is probably another reason why shiplap boards have become so popular with the DIY enthusiast. The tools you will need will be a saw, a drill, a spirit level, and a measuring tape. The boards will be put up on a timber frame with galvanised nails or screws, starting at the bottom and working up. Each board will support all the ones above it, making it a very strong structure that will withstand the wind surprisingly well.
The type of timber used is more important than you might think. Softwoods like pine or larch are used most frequently due to cost and availability, but they require treatment to prevent rotting or insect damage. There are many pressure-treated varieties that will greatly extend the lifespan. Cedar is the high-end option, which resists rot and doesn’t require much upkeep at all, but at a much higher cost per square metre.
The finish can be whatever style you want; some people prefer the wood to weather naturally to a silvery grey colour. Others prefer the original colour of the wood and apply a preservative or wood stain every year or two. Paint can also be used for garden buildings if you want a particular colour scheme, although this requires more upkeep than stain or oil-based finishes.
What to Watch For
The design of shiplap creates small gaps between each piece of wood. These gaps can trap moisture if not ventilated properly, especially in north-facing positions since they do not get direct sunlight to dry the wood. Best practice is to place a breathable membrane behind the wood and ensure good ventilation at the top and bottom of the cladding run.
The gaps between the boards vary in width throughout the year due to the expansion of the wood in winter and contraction in summer. Excessive gaps may be due to poor installation or failure of the merchant to properly season the wood before sale.
Making Your Choice
Shiplap is a successful design for garden buildings due to its proven track record of quality, affordability, and suitability for the task at hand. The design has been around for a long time and has been used for many years in garden buildings due to its simplicity in design and its ability to withstand exposure to the elements without fuss.
The design is simple enough for any homeowner to attempt in their garden office or other building project. Whether you want a garden office at the end of the garden or want to add some character to an internal wall of your home, shiplap is a reliable choice that won’t break the bank or require expensive contractors.