Why Architects Love Pre-Weathered Timber Cladding
Pre-weathered timber cladding is gaining popularity among architects – but what’s with the sudden appeal in aged wood finishes? Well with projects from 10–20 years ago reaching maturity, it’s somewhat of a trend to have weathered timber cladding as a feature on your build. Pre-weathered cladding enables you to achieve that effect without the wait.
At Vincent Timber, we provide professional timber façades through a hassle-free process, ensuring you get the timber cladding and treatments that make your building one of a kind. In this article, we’ll explore the different aspects of pre-weathered timber cladding including what it is, why it’s good, and when to use it, so you can decide if it’s the right fit for your project.
What Is Pre-Weathered Timber Cladding?
Pre-weathered timber cladding is any timber cladding that has been artificially aged to have a similar style, colour, or texture to organically weathered cladding. This is achieved via non-toxic chemicals which alter the colour of the cladding.
Pre-weathered cladding has a more uniform look than naturally aged timber, unless specifically tailored otherwise, which could be better or worse depending on your preferences.
Why Would I Want Pre-Aged Cladding?
Most timber claddings will weather as they age. This means their colour and texture will change, due to the harsh outdoor elements they’re exposed to. For some types of timber cladding, this change is fully intentional, with the cladding not reaching its true form until it matures over time.
The result? A stunning silver-grey, which creates a refined look to your building’s façades.
This evolution is one of the many great draws of timber cladding, as you can watch your building grow and change alongside your business. But you may want to show this maturity without the wait, such as if you move, if you’re already established, or if you want to boost the impression your business gives off. In these cases, pre-weathered timber cladding is your solution.
Get timber cladding in all shapes and sizes from Vincent Timber – contact us today.
The Benefits for Architects and Developers
Pre-weathered timber cladding comes with a number of built-in benefits that make it an attractive addition for homeowners, architects, and developers alike. These include:
- Low maintenance requirements
- Resilience against weather conditions
- Immediate aesthetic achievement
- Uniform appearance across the façade
There are also some more specific benefits that make it a great choice for architects and developers in particular, which we’ll dive into below.
Architects
The main benefit that pre-weathered timber cladding offers architects is versatility. It enables you to design based on what the cladding looks like now, without having to worry that it may look worse as it matures over time.
Additionally, this versatility also provides you with more options for your building textures. Instead of your varying shades of browns and blacks, a subtle grey could be incorporated to shift the mood of your designs.
Find out how we support and specify for architects >
Developers
For developers, uniformity and expression are some of the key takeaways from pre-weathered cladding. Normal timber cladding may weather in a non-uniform manner, which means the end look of your development could be drastically different from your intentions.
On the other hand, pre-weathered timber cladding will keep its colour with very little need for maintenance, ensuring it can continue to express the mood and vision you’re after into the future.
Spotlight on Sivalbp: Style, Consistency, and Quality
Our Sivalbp timber cladding is a premium brand, coming in a range of colours (including pre-weathered), with a durability of up to 50 years. This provides you with a low maintenance product that will retain its colour for years to come.
Sivalbp timber cladding can be chosen from a range of different timbers, which include:
Each of these comes with their own benefits and aesthetics, providing a diverse set of durable options to choose for your project.
How Pre-Weathered Timber Brings Designs to Life
Project 1: Passivhaus Show Home
Sustainability has always been a focus of ours, and nothing shows that more than the Passivhaus Show Home. Featuring our Sivalbp Western Red Cedar and coated with New Age Gris, this cladding was pre-weathered to achieve a sleek, grey appearance – which it maintains more than a decade later.
Find out more about the Passivhaus project >
Project 2: Battery Retail Park, Birmingham
Back in 2018, we worked alongside Piper Whitlock to achieve a large-scale cladding project for a multi-storey car park, providing the nearby Sainsburys and Landsec outlets with an attractive, durable, and functional feature.
Learn more about our Battery Retail Park project in our news post >
When to Choose Pre-Weathered Cladding vs Natural Timber
The main time to choose pre-weathered cladding is when your design won’t look right with another colour or style of timber. If you’ve specifically envisioned your project with grey façades, waiting to achieve that could take a good few years before your vision comes to life.
The other benefits of pre-weathered cladding can’t be ignored either, so if you’re looking for built-in resistance and uniform colouration, then pre-weathered timber could be the way to go.
But on the other hand…
Natural timber cladding comes in a huge range of options and aesthetics, from the naturally weathering Accoya and SivalBP, to the stoic Redwood. You can even treat them in a variety of ways, including against weathering, if you wish to preserve your initial aesthetic and protect your cladding from the elements.
Quality Pre-Weathered Cladding from Vincent Timber
If you’re looking for a mature, sophisticated finish for your building, with a uniform texture and decades of durability, then pre-weathered timber cladding could be the ideal option for your next project. With the right care, how it looks when installed will be the look you get for its entire lifetime – adding consistency and a contemporary feel to your build.
At Vincent Timber, it is our goal and passion to equip you with the best timber cladding on the market. So we make sure to work closely with you to apply the right treatments, to the right cladding, to ensure your vision is met. To find out more about how we can support your project.