private house owners who can address the regulations with the help of their architect and timber cladding supplier,” they said. “And fire retardant treated cladding is not always required on domestic properties.” There are reports that some Siberian larch remains available in the UK from stocks landed prior to the embargoes on Russian and Belarusian trade and restrictions on Ukrainian supply due to the war. However, customers are said to be anticipating volumes decreasing and consequently looking at alternatives, although not necessarily the ones expected. “We had anticipated more upgrading to modified timber and western red cedar due to restrictions on Siberian,” said a cladding supplier. “But, while there is some evidence Douglas fir is coming into its own more, we’ve mostly seen down trading to whitewood as a larch alternative, notably with a black finish.”
Another importer said that the anticipated eventual loss of Siberian larch from the market would leave a “massive hole in timber cladding”.
“It was by far the most popular species considered for all timber cladding projects in the last few years,” they said. “What we’re now seeing is a move to thermally modified timbers, which, although, they’re a country mile from Siberian larch aesthetically, are like-for-like costings wise. Also we’ve had a dramatic upturn in requests for home-grown timbers, such as larch and Douglas fir.” Others see chemically modified timber also gaining momentum in the cladding market, notably Accoya. And following manufacturer Accsys’ completion of work at its Netherlands plant to increase production, this is expected to continue (see p50). In a recent TTJ hardwood market report, an importer/
distributor said they could have sold up to 40% more Accoya in 2022 had it not been for the expansion of the facility temporarily restricting supply.
Another supplier described Accoya as the “ideal cladding material”. “But it has become expensive at a time when ‘value’ has become important again,” they cautioned. Other new cladding products and species are also coming to market, with one company expanding its offer to include, for instance, yellow cedar, cypress and thermally modified options in both meranti and red oak. Another also reported growing demand for thermally modified timber in an increasing range of species including redwood, radiata pine, hemlock and Douglas fir, “to name but a few”. “We are also seeing an increase in the amount of coated and charred cladding we sell,” said a spokesperson.
“Fully factory-finished cladding is now much sought after,” they added. “And we’re now also offering technical back-up and advice on which product to use for the application and on cladding maintenance, which is often overlooked.”
The consensus among suppliers is that wood cladding’s environmental credentials are an increasingly significant factor in its specification. In fact, some say it’s now key, and not just for modular and offsite housing. “The carbon story is being requested a lot as passive houses are now the thing. And there is a growing realisation of the need to use more natural/low carbon building materials and products [generally],” said a supplier. “Carbon footprint is also a critical [topic] and we’re now having our own production facilities assessed and are developing a unique Environmental Product
Declaration (EPD) for our cladding range, including the coatings.”
And the belief is that consumer environmental awareness can only intensify in the future and with it interest in timber cladding.
“Consumers are more aware now than ever before that timber is the most sustainable product to build with – it ticks so many boxes for so many,” said an importer/distributor. “So timber cladding products are here to stay.”
“It’s [competitive], with all the key players fighting over projects,” said another supplier. “But it’s a great area to be in and one where we can show the true versatility of timber products and the solutions they can give to everyone, from designers, to end users. It is now the age of timber cladding.” ■
Above: Thermally modified meranti PHOTO JAMES LATHAM
www.ttjonline.com | January/February 2023 | TTJ
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