Using CLS timber as cladding...?

[marksandygill]

So I'm currently building a playhouse for my daughter and want it to last so have discounted feather board for cladding, I was thinking about 19mm x 100mm sawn treated timber but have realised 38mm x 63mm CLS is actually cheaper!

Now it's going to be painted/well maintained so I'm hoping that CLS as it's internal will be ok outside?

The only other issue I can think of is weight, but I'm framing it with CLS anyway so that should be ok...

Am I making a mistake considering the CLS instead of sawn treated timber?

 

[woodpig]

I don't see why it would be a problem apart from the weight. Should last years if regularly painted I would have thought.

 

[Roughcut]

Apart from the weight issue another problem you will likely encounter is seasonal movement.
For this reason I would recommend using tongue and groove shiplap ideally tantalised over a treated sawn timber frame.
It's always worth shopping around for your timber, the big shed prices for shiplap etc. are way higher than what you can usually get from a timber merchant.

 

[marksandygill]

Yeah I'm going to try my local merchant to be on the safe side, have to say they will have to go some as a 2.4m length of CLS from wickes is £1.75!

In terms of expansion etc could it cause the wood to crack if they are screwed onto the frame one on top of the other?

 

[The Bear]

I don't understand why you have discounted the featheredge boards

Mark

 

[custard]

So I'm currently building a playhouse for my daughter and want it to last

But she's unlikely to be still playing in it once she's much into her teens, so why burden the project with an over ambitious brief? If on the other hand you want an enduring monument to your craft skills then build her a real house!

 

[Lons]

So I'm currently building a playhouse for my daughter and want it to last

But she's unlikely to be still playing in it once she's much into her teens, so why burden the project with an over ambitious brief? If on the other hand you want an enduring monument to your craft skills then build her a real house!

Took the words out of my mouth. :lol:

I built my kids a rather splendid treehouse when they were young and they loved it, but only for a few years before finding more exciting things to play with. Admittedly though I got a great deal of pleasure making it. :wink:

 

[marksandygill]

Have another wallet hoover on the way so I'd like it to last!

I've only discounted feather edge on that basis and because I prefer the look of flat wood!

A timber frame house will come one day, just have to pack them off to uni first...

 

[The Bear]

Featheredge is perfectly capable of lasting donkeys years, either treated softwood or a durable hardwood.
If you don't like the look, well thats a totally different matter.
Be aware your CLS is kiln dried, untreated fast grown softwood, its going to want to swell and move once outside to the elements, no matter how much paint/preservative you put on it.

Mark

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Is there an opportunity to build what could ultimately become a workshop (!??)

My kids got about four years-worth of play out of the tree-house I made for/with them and I subsequently re-used the timber (4X2 CLS and 2X2 CLS carcass with 12mm plywood cladding, painted with shed preservative, and a pitched felted roof) on other projects. Cheers, W2S

 

[nev]

Shiplap or better still loglap ?
http://www.oakridgetimber.co.uk/shedmaterials.html

 

[Jacob]

So I'm currently building a playhouse for my daughter and want it to last so have discounted feather board for cladding, I was thinking about 19mm x 100mm sawn treated timber but have realised 38mm x 63mm CLS is actually cheaper!

Now it's going to be painted/well maintained so I'm hoping that CLS as it's internal will be ok outside?

The only other issue I can think of is weight, but I'm framing it with CLS anyway so that should be ok...

Am I making a mistake considering the CLS instead of sawn treated timber?

Firstly thick stuff tends to be less durable than thin - they get wet the same but thin dries out sooner. Second you have detail it to shed water from the joints (a.k.a."weathering"), which shiplap and featherboard do brilliantly, so you'd have to do a lot of machining.
So it's a bad idea and featherboard would last a lot longer.
Picture here shows a few different methods of weathering:

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've just read this thread in one and it seems to me that 2 things stand out (well possibly 3):

1) You're going to maintain it well (you suggest paint)
2) You want it to last as rugger No2 will be bouncing into view not too far away and rugger No1 has immediate use
3) You don't like the look of feather edge

If (and it might be a big if) you can overcome your dislike of feather edge, it will satisfy both your other demands because a) it's pressure treated and b) it will happily suck up some equivalent creosote in 5 years when it needs a bit of love.

I just wondered whether you were demonising featheredge because of your assumption it wouldn't last that's all. Because with your care regimen in place (far less work than painting incidentally) it will last for decades.

Then your costs are contained and you remove some of the risk of excessive seasonal movement.

 

[MMUK]

I wouldn't use cls as cladding. Main reason is shrinkage. It's grown so fast it will never be stable enough for exterior use.

 

[custard]

Have another wallet hoover on the way so I'd like it to last!

Congratulations! And it's a good point that has pretty much scuppered my miserly objection!

 

[marksandygill]

Might have to look at shiplap etc, I have seen sawn external timber but it has a dark 'stain' to it, it that going to affect me painting it?

Naturally being a girl it has to be white and pink just my luck!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

where the timber stains dark is usually where water is habitually running off. A decent quality primer should protect it if you're going to paint although any wood that routinely gets exposed to lots of running water like a poorly drained roof running down walls will deteriorate faster than well drained.

Shiplap does give a lovely looking finish but its pretty expensive.

 

[marksandygill]

Sorry I meant the wood is stained, just worried about painting it as it would need to be painted white!

Have attached an image, will hopefully work...

 

[tomf]

I was always taught that feather edge should only be nailed once not twice, is this not the case?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Sorry I meant the wood is stained, just worried about painting it as it would need to be painted white!

Have attached an image, will hopefully work...View attachment 20150907

Righto.....I misinterpreted what you were saying. So that wood has been pressure treated has it not? The chemicals they use have different coloured stains which are generally either the darkish brown you see in your pic or the more classic greeny/light browny colour.

I'm not entirely sure if pressure treated timber would affect paint? The chemicals they use are pretty nasty so I rather suspect it may do, but if it were me I would be calling the tech guys from the paint company or talk to a painters merchant to ask that question as I've never tried it myself. To me the whole point of using pressure treated timber is to avoid the overhead of having to paint it later.

If it's not pressure treated and they're just stained then if its water based I doubt it'll have much effect other than you'll need maybe an extra coat or two to completely cover the hideous dark brown.