An Australian hardwood cladding system that lasts the test of time

The world of cladding can be complex, and it’s an important element to get right when building or renovating.

It often informs a first impression of a home: exterior cladding is likely the first thing you take in when glimpsing a house for the first time. It’s also one of the first lines of defence against the elements — the durability of a home’s cladding often dictates the durability of the house as a whole.

It’s an integral part of the building process, and it encompasses different elements: the cladding materiality itself, as well as all the weatherproofing and watertight aspects. To get the benefits of both in a single package, homeowners can turn to cladding systems — and this is exactly what Hurfords offers.

Hurfords’ flagship solution, WOOD ELEMENTS is a complete cladding system, offering not just the cladding but all the detailed trims required to finish off the project ensuring a watertight result.

The cladding system follows a specific profile that’s been developed and manufactured in house by Hurfords — unique to the New Zealand market. Jerremy Clarke, the Sales Manager of Hurfords, says he’s excited for it to hit the market.

“It’s something that's not readily available here in the existing cladding industry,” says Jerremy. “The profile itself is what differentiates it from what’s in the market.”

The WOOD ELEMENTS profile features a straight-line edging process, which ensures the cladding is machined to a fine tolerance. It also has relief grooves, designed to take the stress out of the cladding, and a specially designed ridge locator which connects with the overlap line controlling the expansion allowance for any timber movement.

“It has an end-match profile, which has a micro bevel edge designed to encourage water to drain away from the join,” says Jerremy.

End matching the product means the boards can be fixed mid cavity batten. “This eliminates the need to dock and minimises the amount of waste involved — saving a minimum of 10% of the product that previously would have been thrown away.”

Another benefit of the system is a simple one: its materiality. All timber offered in the
WOOD ELEMENTS system is Australian hardwood, including Spotted Gum, Blackbutt, Shou Sugi Ban charred, as well as a New Zealand thermally modified Radiata pine.

“The timbers themselves are a lot more durable than say standard pine and cedar, which makes up the majority of the timber cladding market here in New Zealand,” says Jerremy.

The Shou Shugi Ban charred wood is an especially unique offering. “This is an Australian hardwood that we actually put through a charring process,” says Jerremy. “And then we oil it to maintain that colour and hold the dark charred features of the timber.”

The robustness and durability of Australian hardwood are crucial in differentiating Hurfords’ products with its competitors, Jerremy says.

“They are almost twice the density of most cedar timber cladding,” he says. “These timbers have a 40-year-plus above ground durability rating — so you can clad your house and know that that cladding is going to be there for a very long time.”

But the main benefit of the WOOD ELEMENTS system is its ability to cover all the bases. From the environment to milling and drying, profile and trim design and species selection — each element plays an important role in the performance of the cladding system.

“We’re all about supplying an entire, unified cladding system, not just a timber board,” says Jerremy. “The trims that we offer with this system are unique and the intricate aesthetics you can achieve with these Australian hardwoods are an added bonus.”

Learn more about Hurford’s and its WOOD ELEMENTS cladding system.