The reason for cladding your tiny house is to shield the structural frame from external elements such as temperature changes, moisture, and the like. It also has a major impact on the final look of your tiny house and it also incorporates insulation.
Among the factors to consider when choosing cladding materials are durability, weight, price, and availability. You must choose cladding material that is light for your tiny house just like the framing material.
Fortunately, there are plenty of cladding materials in the Australian market. Let’s take a look at a few.
Composite timber cladding
Composite timber claddings are manufactured from recycled materials, they are much lighter than timber, they don’t require maintenance, and they come in a vast range of colors.
This type of cladding gives you a nice woodsy aesthetic appeal and does not have high maintenance requirements. It is quick and easy to install the cladding panels as well as repair them.
Composite timber cladding also provides very good heat and sound insulation. It is scratch and stain-free and also resistant to mold growth which is an issue with real timber products.
Alucobond cladding
This is an insulated aluminum cladding that consists of two sheets of aluminum and a layer of foam between the two. It normally comes in a 6mm profile and a variety of colors and sizes.
Alucobond cladding is designed and developed to be stable, flexible, and easy to install. You can easily create shapes with alucobond that other façade materials cannot. It is also known to last for more than 25 years.
Aluminum cladding materials are known to have low maintenance costs compared to steel or wood. Alucobond panels come in various sizes, shapes, and colors and provide good thermal, wind, and sound insulation as well as fire resistance.
Corrugated iron
Corrugated iron cladding is particularly weatherproof, light, trouble-free to install and it comes in large sheets. It may not be best to clad the whole tiny house structure with it because of its heat conductive properties but mixing it with other composite weatherboards is an excellent option.
Corrugated iron is one of the most durable building products on the market and can withstand a wide range of elements including rain, hail, and wind. It is dent and warp resistant which means your sidewalls won’t bend from pressure or thermal expansion.
High-quality well coated corrugated iron requires very little maintenance. You only need to clean it every once in a while to remove layers of dust that build upon it. Corrugated iron can last up to 50 years or more. Long term this option is the very affordable compared to other cladding materials due to its durability.
Shadowclad
This is an ordinary plywood exterior cladding that has a rough-sawn textured finish and is mostly found in 12mm thick sheets. They are moderately light, and extremely durable when painted.
Shadowclad is easy to install because it features interlocking vertical shiplap joints. The joints are designed to make it painless to put sliding panels together. It is flexible enough to be used on curved surfaces and it is very durable.
Shadow cladding is more cost-friendly than other cladding options in the market. It saves you the cost of buying expensive primers and time. It is also considered more environmentally sustainable than other wood products.
Conclusion
One big reason why people like to clad their exterior walls is because of the aesthetic appeal. It also protects your tiny house from weather elements such as snow, hail, or extreme heat and insulates you from noise.
Ensure you do thorough research before deciding on the type of cladding material to use on your tiny house. Remember to consider maintenance costs, and material durability as-well as the requirements of your structure.
