When making any purchase, we are generally focused on the price. This particularly applies to home improvements, where project costs can run into the thousands.
When buying timber cladding, we typically look at a species for the performance and aesthetic appeal. Then, we seek to match it to our desired budget, paying attention to the quoted price. This is usually either per linear metre or per square metre.
But, like most things, the devil is in the detail.
We have a hack for maximising the value of your cladding board… pay attention to the cover. Greater cover size means lower cost per m² as you'll need less cladding for your project.
What is ‘cover’ in cladding?
By cover, we mean the shown or exposed area of a cladding board. This area excludes the tongue which isn’t seen and is there as a part to play in the fixing and weather proofing.
Shown here on a shadow gap profile, we have the overall width of the board at 144mm, the width of the flat detail at 118mm and the cover at 128mm, which includes the ‘shadow gap’ detail as well.
How cladding cover impacts total project cost and m² price
The cover size directly corresponds to the volume required to produce 1m² worth of cladding. The larger the cover size, the less linear metres required to make a 1m² and therefore the less wood required to cover your project.
Let's compare cladding with a 128mm and 136mm cover.
- 128 mm = 0.128 m
- 136 mm = 0.136 m
This is the calculation for how many linear metres are needed to cover a square metre: 1 m² = 1 m ÷ cover (in metres)
128 mm cover:
- 1 ÷ 0.128 = 7.81 linear metres required to cover 1m²
136 mm cover:
- 1 ÷ 0.136 = 7.35 linear metres required to cover 1m²
So, per square metre cost are:
- 128 mm cover: 7.8125 × £ 5.00 = £39.06 per m²
- 136 mm cover: 7.3529 × £5.00 = £36.76 per m²
That is a cost saving of £2.30 per m² when choosing the larger cover size... over 6%!
If you have an area of 100m² to cover in your project, you have just saved yourself £230.00 + VAT by studying the detail of the cover size.
Our DTC2, DTC3 and open cladding DTC49 yield the widest cover sizes in our cladding range.
Here's another example of how cover size affects the actual overall cost of different quotations. At first glance, focusing on the price per linear metre, an alternative quotation might look cheaper.
But look again at the cover, and the quotation is offering 125mm, not 128mm, which means you need more wood to cover your required m² volume, therefore increasing the total and increasing the cost.
Start your cladding project today
Your key takeaway – in the timber cladding market, prices are often quoted either per linear metre or per square metre. Cover size can significantly impact the true cost of your project.
As a third-generation family business with over 60 years' experience, we're committed to honest and transparent communication with our customers. Our cladding profiles are designed this in mind, enabling our customers to maximise value by offering efficient cover sizes.
Explore our extensive range of products and contact our team to start your next project.