# Featheredge cladding



## The Bear

Hi all

Quick question. I am about to start cladding the outside of my block built workshop. I have wrapped it in breather membrane and battened it. and am ready to order the feather edge. How muck should I overlap the boards over the one below. I haven't decided whether to use 6 or 8 inch boards yet so don't know if this has any effect on the answer.

What is normal?

Thanks in advance

Mark


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## PowerTool

I would go for minimum 1",might be better with 1.5" if it is still remotely damp from being treated.You can then fasten it on in the top edge only,which allows the timber to expand and contract without splitting,and the next piece hides the nail/screw heads.

Andrew


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## skipdiver

Using 150mm featheredge for fencing,the overlap is usually set at 50mm leaving 100mm showing,giving ten boards to the metre.Nailing at the top edge only allows for expansion but can lead to boards curling badly.The alternative is to nail top and bottom but then you are running the risk of the boards splitting.Bit of a quandary.Using good quality i.e. thick boards and nailing top only is probably the best way forward.


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## dennis

Mark

I cant see any need to go more than an inch.Shiplap only laps by about half an inch,you will be able to see how it sits better when you get the boards, and also you can adjust the amount of lap so that the boards work to suit the height, as working to full boards looks better than putting a rip in to make up the height.As regards nailing I would certainly nail the bottoms to prevent the boards from curling up,it is the tops that you do not have to nail as the next board holds this.

Dennis


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## skipdiver

But then you see the nailheads.


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## DeltaCharlieGolf

Hello there

Having just clad my own 4m x 10m shed, i can now claim to be an authority on the subject :roll: 

I used 8" rebated boards which, the clue's in the name, are rebated so the top board fits snug over the one below, and you end up with a feather edge front, but the back of the boards is flat and in full contact with the batons. They are pressure treated with a rough sawn finish and look great. I can post some photos if you like.

The 8" boards are quite heavy duty, and if my shed were much smaller they would look oversized. I don't know if the rebated boards are available in a smaller size.

These boards are a bit deerer than your standard feather edge, but are so easy to erect you will save in time; once the bottom board is on and level, the rest pretty much align themselves.

As for fixing, i would definitely *not* only nail at the top [-X (sorry to be controversial on my debut). The treated boards will want to warp slightly as they dry out, and if nailed at the top you will find the bottoms will come away from the wall. A friend of mine was advised to vertically featheredge a fence in this way, and ended up having to re-nail the lot, all 50m of it, when the free edge curled out leaving gaps an inch wide. Not a happy bunny!. The best place for your galv nail is just above the top of the board underneath. Here the wood is thickest and well away from the edge, and you'll pinch the bottom board tight. you won't even notice the nails in the finished job unless you look for them.

Hope this has been useful
DCG


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## DeltaCharlieGolf

> But then you see the nailheads.



Nails is nothing to be ashamed of. That's what holds it together


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## CWatters

DCG - I'd be interested in some photos as later on I'll be building something similar.


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## dennis

You see the nails on shiplap.

Dennis


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## skipdiver

Not opposed to nails.Just letting the poster know the different options.


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## The Bear

Guys

Thanks for all the replies, sorry for the delay in replying.

I am not bothered about seeing the nail heads at all, I'd already decided to nail bottom only, letting the board above clamp the top down. This means they will be held top and bottom yet the board can still move without splitting.

I have heard about the rebated boards but was really ruling them out on cost alone. Not a huge unit difference but soon adds up. I think they are a great idea though. Sound a lot quicker to put up as well as you say.
My workshop build has been a marathon already so a bit more time won't be noticed.

As for the actual question of overlap, I was thinking about an inch (or even slightly less if using 6 inch boards). this seems to tie in with most opinions canvassed here and elsewhere so that's great.

There will be some WIP pictures and a tour once finally finished but as said its taking a while so I thought one big post at the end.

Thanks again

Mark


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## skipdiver

Look forward to that.My block built shop looks like a world war two bunker.Be interesting to see what it looks like.

As a matter of interest what's the price difference between the normal featheredge and the rebated type?


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## Digit

As the boards are effectively for aesthetic purposes only one inch should be ok. 
You can speed the build if you cut two five inch pieces of timber and nail a piece of ply onto one end and use them, with a helper, to gauge the lap accurately. 

Roy.


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## dennis

If working alone I would put a long panel pin in to sit one end of the board on, nail the other end,then nail the end that is sat on the pin,sight the board for straight and nail the middle ,nail the rest then move the panel pin up to the next board and repeat.

Dennis


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