07/10/2026
You are most of the way through your build and looking for ways to save money...
So how do you bring down the cost of timber cladding? Here's three main ways and a bonus one that hardly anyone thinks about.
1. Change from an expensive timber species to a cheaper one.
- this is the most obvious choice and the savings can be substantial. If you have accoya, western red cedar etc. on your drawings you could save over 50% by changing to a more affordable species.
2. Change to less processed cladding style.
- cutting out processes can save you a lot. Freshly cut (green) timber is cheaper than kiln-dried timber; rough-sawn timber is cheaper than profiled timber like shadow-gap.
3. Pick a cladding style that is easy (and quick) to fit.
- some cladding styles take a lot of time and effort to fit precisely, other styles (like featheredge) go up very quickly and with labour rates as high as they are, this may be a significant saving.
BONUS: butt joints!
- one of the quickest ways for cost to spiral upwards is if you specify cladding without butt joints between lengths. You still pay for your off-cuts so the more wasteful the cuts the higher your price per m2. If you have butt joints in your cladding runs, virtually all the timber can be used.
Any questions you have about your project, call or whatsapp 07749009770
