40 | Sector Focus: Cladding & Shingles
MAKING SPECIFICATION STRAIGHTFORWARD
Craftsmanship, precision machining and responsive service are the watchwords at cladding and engineered timber specialist InWood Timber Engineering. Mike Jeffree reports
InWood started in 1999 specialising in sweet chestnut cladding in defect-free finger jointed lengths up to 6.1m, with its coppiced timber sourced from well-managed southeast woodlands.
Since then, the Lewes-based business has developed into a leading engineered timber supplier to construction customers, producing a range of glulam products alongside its CNC frame offering, as well as exterior and interior cladding. Its glulam beams are now available in a variety of species, including oak, ash, Douglas fir, larch, and Corsican pine. An upgraded lamination line enables it to offer products in thermally modified timber too, plus Accoya, the focus of ‘extensive lamination R&D’ using environmentally benign adhesives. In addition, the company supplies oak frames and garden buildings alongside more complex engineered mass timber solutions. InWood has also diversified its cladding range to include redwood, whitewood, thermally modified timbers, larch, oak, Douglas fir and Accoya products in a wide selection of standard and bespoke profiles. The company describes the last 12–18
months in the cladding market as steady overall, with clear peaks around spring and early autumn. Demand has been strongest for premium hardwoods and stable softwoods, with a definite shift towards more specification-led enquiries.
“Clients are increasingly focused on performance, stability, and reliable lead times,” said sales and marketing director James Rice. “That has worked well for us because our finger-jointed cladding offers consistency and efficiency that traditional long-length boards can’t always provide.” InWood has seen a fairly even split between new-build and refurbishment projects. New-build schemes are typically larger and more specification-heavy, but refurbishment and property-upgrade work have grown noticeably as customers look to modernise existing buildings with durable, low-maintenance timber solutions. The domestic market has been the strongest driver of growth, including self-builder projects, high-end residential refurbishments, extensions, and garden buildings. “Commercial work remains steady and usually comes through architects who return
to us for bespoke requirements, particularly where precision and consistency are key,” said Mr Rice. InWood’s best-selling line remains its finger-jointed sweet chestnut cladding. “It is naturally durable, dimensionally stable, and finger-jointing removes the usual length constraints, whilst improving performance,” said Mr Rice. “We recently supplied finger-jointed sweet chestnut cladding to a high-spec residential project on the South Coast, where the client needed consistent 3–4m lengths and minimal waste.” InWood has also supplied several refurbishment schemes where the brief was to replace ageing larch cladding.
“Sweet chestnut has been our main larch substitute due to its durability and stability,’ said Mr Rice. “Thermowood and modified softwood have also filled part of the gap, dependant on clients’ look, budget and performance requirements.” InWood machines all profiles in-house, with splayed, T&G, rainscreen, and overlap reported to remain consistently popular. “We’re also seeing increased interest in thermally modified profiles where clients and architects want lightweight, stable, uniform boards with a contemporary finish,” said Mr Rice. “Thermally modified products are not replacing hardwoods, but have become established as a reliable premium option.’ Its CNC machining also allows InWood to harmonise cladding profiles and other building elements. “Another of our notable projects recently comprised a series of premium garden rooms for an architect-led scheme in Surrey, where our CNC capability allowed us to match cladding profiles with custom-machined components for a seamless finish,” said Mr Rice.
Above: InWood cladding is used in a variety of projects TTJ | Spring 2026 |
www.ttjonline.com
In terms of aesthetics, the natural, unfinished look remains the most popular among InWood customers, particularly where timber is allowed to weather naturally or be oiled onsite. That said, demand for factory- finished and coloured coatings is increasing, especially on architect-led and regulated projects where performance and consistency are critical. “We’re seeing a clear move towards fully specified coating and fire-treatment solutions
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