Types of Timber Cladding: A UK Species Guide

Timber species and cladding profiles are different choices

Timber species describes the wood itself, while a profile describes the shape machined into the board and the way adjacent boards meet. Cedar, larch or Thermowood might each be available as shadow-gap, tongue-and-groove, shiplap, feather-edge or rainscreen products, subject to the supplier's range and the suitability of the exact board.

This distinction matters because searches for types of timber cladding often mix materials with profiles. Choosing larch does not decide whether the elevation will be horizontal or vertical, open-jointed or closed, smooth or textured. Equally, choosing a shadow-gap appearance does not settle the grade, colour variation, finish or maintenance strategy.

A useful specification therefore names both: for example, a defined grade of UK cedar in a vertical shadow-gap profile, or treated European redwood in a horizontal painted shiplap. Finished dimensions, installed cover, intended orientation and the complete wall build-up should accompany those descriptions.

• Species determines the underlying timber and natural character
• Grade controls the permitted visual features
• Profile determines the joint, cover and shadow
• Finish influences colour and maintenance
• The wall design manages drainage, ventilation and interfaces

How to choose the best timber for cladding

Begin with the appearance expected at installation and after weathering. Some projects value a clear, refined face; others welcome knots and strong grain. Decide whether natural silver-grey weathering is acceptable, whether a maintained colour is required and how accessible the elevation will be for future inspection.

Next consider the building and its exposure. Height, orientation, roof overhangs, nearby planting and coastal or inland conditions affect how timber and finishes experience sunlight, wind-driven rain and maintenance access. The selected board also needs to be available in dimensions, lengths and grades that suit the proposed setting-out.

Finally, identify technical and procurement requirements early. Larger housing, education, hospitality and commercial projects may need sourcing information, treatment or coating data, samples and other product documentation. The appointed professionals should confirm fire, structure, moisture and regulatory requirements for the complete wall system rather than assuming a species name answers them.

Canadian Western Red Cedar

Canadian Western Red Cedar is widely associated with fine grain, relatively low weight and a broad colour range from pale honey and salmon to deeper brown. Clear or controlled grades can create a refined architectural face, making the timber popular for contemporary homes, entrances, garden rooms and carefully detailed commercial elevations.

Grade is central to the offer. Clear and knotty Canadian cedar products can differ significantly in appearance and price even though they share a species name. Ask which face is graded for display, what natural features are permitted, which lengths are available and whether the sample accurately represents the order.

Suitable cedar products may be left unfinished where natural silvering is welcomed, or supplied with a compatible finish where colour control is important. The transition will reflect exposure and may not be uniform. Compare joined boards and discuss long-term appearance rather than selecting from one fresh sample.

UK-grown cedar

UK cedar generally has more knots and lively variation than clear Canadian grades. That character can suit rural homes, barn conversions, community buildings, cabins and extensions where British-grown provenance and a visibly natural surface form part of the design brief.

Origin alone does not define quality or suitability. Confirm species, grade, usable face, heartwood and sapwood limits where relevant, finished dimensions, moisture condition and intended exterior application. Any sourcing or environmental claim should be based on documentation supplied for the actual order.

UK cedar works particularly well when board selection is planned rather than treated as a defect-sorting exercise on site. A representative multi-board sample helps establish acceptable knots, grain and colour. Narrow profiles distribute variation across a finer rhythm, while wider boards make individual grain patterns more prominent.

UK and imported larch

Larch creates a stronger, more pronounced grain than many cedar products, with fresh tones that can include pale yellow, gold, pink and reddish brown. It suits garden buildings, homes, agricultural conversions, workshops and substantial façades where a robust timber-led character is desirable.

UK larch is commonly knotty and expressive. Imported larch may be offered with different origins, grading rules and machining characteristics, so labels such as Siberian or European larch should not replace a full product description. Availability and sourcing can change, making the current supplier offer more important than assumptions based on past projects.

Larch is often specified without a decorative coating when gradual greying is acceptable. A compatible finish can be considered where colour is central to the design, but it introduces inspection and maintenance. Ask about grade, sapwood limits, length mix, surface texture and coating compatibility before comparing prices.

Thermowood cladding

Thermowood is timber modified through a controlled heat process. It is commonly recognised by an even toasted-brown tone and can offer improved dimensional stability compared with its unmodified source timber. The exact product should identify the source species, modification process, grade and intended application.

The material suits contemporary shadow-gap, tongue-and-groove and rainscreen designs where consistent machining and a warm natural appearance are priorities. Smooth, brushed and textured faces respond differently to light and finishes, so samples should use the proposed surface rather than a generic Thermowood offcut.

Uncoated Thermowood will still change outdoors and generally move towards grey. A pigmented finish may retain more of the brown appearance, while an unfinished approach may suit projects that welcome natural weathering. Treatment compatibility and maintenance guidance should come from the board and finish providers.

Treated European redwood

European redwood can provide a practical base for exterior cladding when the product is correctly graded, treated and detailed for its intended use. It is often considered for painted or opaque-coated work, where the design prioritises a controlled colour rather than displaying the full natural variation of the wood.

The specification should identify the preservative treatment, machining sequence, finished board dimensions and coating system. Treatment and decorative finish are not interchangeable: one addresses the timber product's intended use, while the other influences appearance and surface maintenance.

Treated redwood can suit garden buildings, housing, community projects and larger elevations when the complete product meets the brief. Ask how site cuts and end grain are handled, which faces receive the coating and what documentation accompanies the supplied boards.

Red Grandis and specialist finishes

Red Grandis is a plantation-grown hardwood that can be considered for smooth, accurately machined cladding and factory-coated applications. Its relatively even texture can support a refined painted finish, subject to the grade, product design and coating system offered for the project.

Specialist appearances such as charred, brushed, stained or deeply textured timber may be produced from different underlying species. Similar photographs do not make those products equivalent. The manufacturing process, substrate, surface finish, maintenance guidance and project evidence all need to be reviewed together.

Waney-edge cladding is another distinct option, but it describes a natural-edged board style rather than one timber species. Larch is frequently used, though the precise product, board overlap, thickness variation and grading should be confirmed. It creates a more rustic elevation than machined interlocking profiles.

Matching the timber to the profile and project

A clear Canadian cedar can emphasise the precision of narrow shadow-gap boards, while UK cedar or larch can bring character to wider vertical boards and board-on-board arrangements. Thermowood can suit tightly controlled contemporary profiles, treated redwood can support painted shiplap, and Red Grandis may be considered for smooth factory-coated elevations.

These are design directions rather than fixed rules. The actual grade, board dimensions and machining determine what is available and suitable. An open-jointed rainscreen also places different demands on the backing layer and cavity than a closed profile, regardless of the timber selected.

Full-size samples help connect species and profile decisions. Review several joined boards in the intended direction, with the proposed joint, fixings and finish. On larger projects, an agreed sample panel gives the client, architect, contractor and installer a shared reference for board selection and workmanship.

Comparing cost without relying on generic prices

The cost of different types of wooden cladding is shaped by species, origin, grade, finished dimensions, profile, installed cover, length mix, surface texture, treatment, coating, quantity and delivery. A clear Canadian cedar board and a knotty UK larch board are not like-for-like simply because both cover an external wall.

Compare quotations using the installed area and complete supply scope. Nominal board width can be greater than the visible cover once a joint or overlap is engaged. Openings, corners, cutting allowance, board direction and available lengths also affect the number of linear metres required.

Accessories and documentation matter as well. Fixings, battens, membranes, insect mesh, trims, samples, coating touch-up materials and project paperwork may be included in one quotation and absent from another. A project-specific comparison is more useful than a generic species price ranking.

Choosing timber cladding in the South West

A sheltered Bristol extension, a wooded Somerset home and an exposed building in Devon or Cornwall can have different combinations of sunlight, wind-driven rain, salt-laden air and maintenance access. Share the site postcode, building height, orientation and surroundings when discussing species and finish options.

For a small residential project, photographs, approximate dimensions and a preferred appearance may be enough to create a shortlist. Commercial and larger residential schemes may also require elevation drawings, samples, sourcing information, treatment data and other project documentation before the product can be compared properly.

The Cladding Centre can help compare cedar, larch, Thermowood, treated European redwood, Red Grandis and specialist cladding options for projects across the South West. Send the elevations, quantity, preferred profile, finish and delivery details through the quote page for recommendations based on the actual brief.

• Define the appearance wanted now and after weathering
• Confirm species, origin, grade and usable face
• Choose profile, orientation and installed cover
• Identify treatment, coating and maintenance expectations
• Share site exposure, quantity and delivery access
• List samples and project documentation required