Feather Edge Cladding – Tips, Advice and How to Install
Timber cladding is available in a range of profiles creating various facades, usually in a modern, sleek style, such as shiplap cladding, or with a rustic, traditional appeal. Feather edge cladding provides the perfect blend of traditional style with clean modern lines, adding to the attraction of any clad building.
Find out more about feather edge cladding and how to install it with this helpful guide.
What is Feather Edge Cladding?
Supplied with a sawn finish, feather edge cladding is a traditional cladding style renowned for its popularity and cost-effectiveness. This cladding style is very similar to waney-edge, however feather edge cladding has straight edges, creating straight lines of timber. Due to the more uniform finish, feather edge cladding is similarly traditional and rustic looking to waney edge, however modern consistency is maintained.
Read our previous blog about waney-edge timber cladding.
Feather edge cladding is created by sawing a rectangle section of timber board at an angle, so the finished board is tapered across its width. This creates two wedge shaped boards from the initial one. As this profile efficiently uses timber, and doesn’t require advanced machining to create it, feather edge cladding is very cost-effective.
What is Feather Edge Cladding Used for?
The traditional aesthetic of feather edge cladding lends itself well to outhouses, barns and sheds. Any building designed to invoke a countryside feel or replicate surrounding woodland suits feather edge cladding.
Feather edge timber may also be used for applications beyond cladding, such as fencing. As is it cost effective and strong when fixed, feather edge cladding is a great fencing material for strength, cost and looks.
Which Timber Species are Used for Feather Edge Cladding?
Any popular timber species used for timber cladding can be used for feather edge cladding. Homegrown Cedar and Larch are popular species for feather edge cladding, however now a large variety of cost-effective and non-homegrown timber species are available including Siberian Larch, Canadian Western Red Cedar, and Sweet Chestnut.
Regardless of whether a timber specie is hardwood or softwood, most popular construction timbers can be used for feather edge cladding. For example, Siberian Larch is a popular timber specie for timber cladding, and suits feather edge cladding as it is an incredibly innately dense and moderately durable softwood.
Timber choice may be based upon density, durability, appearance, treatment required, shipping carbon footprint, cost and more. Factoring in the source and the sustainability of the timber is significant for the environment and should be supplied form FESC or PFC certified forests. When deciding on aesthetics, it is important to consider how timber may naturally change over the years, especially exterior untreated cladding which will naturally weather over the years to silvery grey. For the ultimate guide to the appearance of popular timber cladding species, read this blog.
See more: How Timber Cladding Weather – All You Need to Know
How to Install Feather Edge Cladding
Here are top tips for installing feather edge cladding:
Treat and Paint Before Fixing
Treat or paint the timber cladding before it is fixed to ensure all the wood is covered properly and there are no areas missed. This will help the cladding have a professional finish and keep all the timber protected from rot or fungal decay.
See more: Timber Cladding Maintenance – Tips and Advice
Begin at the Bottom
Feather edge cladding is installed from the bottom up, thus the overlapped boards. For the first board consider putting a stripe behind for support and ensure it is completely level as this is a critical piece.
Overlap Consistently
The overlapping of the feather edge cladding is very important and must be kept consistent. For boards less than 150mm wide an overlap of 40mm is ideal, but for boards wider than 150mm, 50mm overlap is recommended. The overlap amount should not be reduced lower than 40mm as this allows the green timber used for feather edge cladding to shrink up to 15mm as it dries.
Get Started with NORclad
For expert timber cladding advice, get in touch with NORclad, the South West’s premier supplier of quality timber cladding. With over 40 years’ experience sourcing, supplying and advising on timber cladding, our specialist team work with architects, project managers, contractors and more to elevate buildings with striking timber cladding.
Check out some of our case studies to get inspired.
