The Best Cladding Choices for Your Home

Although they say don't judge a book by its cover, when it comes to sizing up a new build, we often, in fact, do judge the book by its cover, or…the house by what it is clad in. And although there are countless decisions that need to be made when building a new home, picking cladding for your home is considered by many to be the single most important decision by NZ’ers beginning to design their new build.

As the outer shell, it’s the main feature that everyone will see, and the house cladding type sets the style for the rest of your home. STYLE is an important word to consider here because that will be what ultimately determines what is right for the home you are designing. For instance, those trying to achieve an industrial look will often opt for rough sawn timber and metal, those looking for a modern feel may go simplistic with plaster or perhaps a fully clad timber option, and painted weatherboard is more often than not the cladding of choice for an old-fashioned style. Cladding materials vary in colour, texture and geometry, allowing you to make a choice that is unique to your home.

As cladding choice is such a big decision, we wanted to give you some insight into a few of the options out there in NZ. Some of the main factors that you may want to think about and research include cost, weight, insulation capability, durability, aesthetics and maintenance requirements. And if you are building in many of the subdivisions in Queenstown you will also want to be acutely aware of your subdivisions covenants and expectations around cladding too, which will often limit your choices as well.

Brick Cladding

Brick offers a strong, low-maintenance, classic cladding choice with a wide range of colours, patterns and textures to choose from. However, with advancements in technology and developing trends adding more choice on the market, brick appears to have become less popular than it once was. Brick cladding systems do have many advantages though, including durability, good thermal insulation properties, good fire protection and a low rate of moisture absorption. For previous clients of ours, the choice to use brick was to keep cost low. Red brick is often easy to come by AND more cost-effective than other options. Our previous clients found that it was cheaper to have red bricks, painted white than it was to have plaster painted white, and as a bonus, they preferred the texture of the brick look on their home. Teamed with their dark window frames, the painted brick achieved a simple yet incredibly effective and contrasting exterior look.

Plaster Cladding

There are many different cladding systems available with a plaster finish. A plaster finish holds timeless aesthetics and can easily be combined with other house cladding types. Different finishes are available, giving you choice in a smoother or more textured look and of course a range of colours. Many plastering systems also have good insulation properties. In many of the subdivisions in Queenstown, to get around the covenants, plaster can be used in smaller areas of the exterior such as hallways, garage entrances and or around bay windows.

Timber Cladding

Timber offers versatility and can be used in many forms such as timber weatherboards and or larch/pine/cedar slats. One disadvantage of timber cladding options is maintenance requirements. Whether the timber is stained or painted this will need to be repeated several times during its lifetime, averaging on a 7- to the 10-year maintenance period. As a natural product timber is also likely to move somewhat, so that is something to keep in mind. If you are wanting a timber finish, it is worth doing your research on the options out there for you. Cedar is popular but does come with an expensive maintenance bill, as mentioned, especially in a climate like Queenstown where the harsh sun can hurry the paint/stain fading process. Something like Thermory can be more expensive initially but comes with less maintenance, or Larch cladding, as used on our home, can come unstained and not painted which means massively cutting back on maintenance.

Stone Cladding

The New Zealand market offers a range of natural stone cladding systems including but not limited to schist, granite and slate. Stone is a great option for a feature segment. It is also one of few cladding materials that can be used as a feature for the interior of your home, keeping the style consistent. Stone is often used on Queenstown homes as a feature on retaining walls, like plaster as a cladding for smaller partitioned parts of the home or internally also. It offers a lovely fit with the beautiful surrounds that we exist in here in Queenstown and for that reason can be a very popular choice. The key to an effective stone finish is a good stonemason and we wouldn't go past South Island Stone here in Queenstown.

Metal Cladding

Metal cladding options are most commonly made using aluminium or steel. Steel is generally more expensive and more durable. Aluminium is comparatively cheaper but can be damaged more easily in bad weather. An advantage of metal cladding is its low maintenance requirements, needing simply a good wash each year. However, compared to other cladding types, metal is not considered to provide good insulation. The popular choice here in Queenstown is Alpine Tray and is on a lot of the homes around Jacks Point. It acts as a lovely contrast material choice for the cedar and or other timbers often used on the homes.

Weatherboard Cladding
A very popular choice all over NZ this is a very versatile cladding option. It can be used in different ways to achieve the sort of look you are after. Often used to achieve the more traditional look on homes trying to replicate a more villa type look, it has also been used very effectively when combined with other products in order to achieve a more modern finish. It is easy to use, is more affordable than timber options and can be painted according to your style and preference.

Doubling up

And you are of course not limited to just one of these cladding choices on your home. In fact, there are many reasons for combining your cladding options including offering a more interesting appearance and helping to cut back on the cost. Often people come to us wanting their entire home to be clad in cedar, which is a great idea and looks lovely but is certainly not cheap. You can save on money by cladding parts of your home in cedar, and being clever about the placement of that cedar while saving areas that aren't seen by the road perhaps for other more affordable options such as board and batten or alpine tray.