Weatherboards - What are the downsides?

[Kim]

We love the charm of weatherboard clad homes and after touring a weatherboard open house on the weekend are pretty close to making an offer on one. We've only ever owned brick homes to date. The house in question is only 2 years old so I expect is using the latest in weatherboard technology.

What do I need to be aware of? What is the maintenance required?

[mpstdaff]

Hi Kim,I am no expert, but can offer some insight having had a wall built out of fibre cement cladding & my parents have a house that is constructed with it.
My first tip is to keep them boards clean from dirt etc & to monitor for damage to the surface of the boards. Small nicks & dents in my opinion can leave the fibre open & create a weakness due to water damage etc. I have nearly finished building our 3rd wall for our outdoor entertaining area. I have used 14mm thick weatherboard from Bunnings. I painted the studs with 2 coats of Dulux Weathershield before fitting the boards. The boards also got 2 coats of the weathershield before fitment. Once installed the boards have received another coat on the inner & outer sides. The inner side is protected by mini CGI & topped with an alloy capping to prevent water entry into the back of the wall.
The previous wall was also built with fibre cement cladding.I was told by the seller (not Bunnings but another Hardware Store) that 6mm board would be fine for the job - well it only managed to last for 5 years due to natural movement of the stud wall & having kids playing around the wall with balls etc.
So to summarise - check the thickness of the boards, make sure the boards are kept sealed from the weather with a good quality exterior paint& keep them clean to prevent damage being hidden or mould etc growing on them.
I hope I have been of some help.
All the best, Mike

[Kermit]

We used to own an old weatherboard house @Kim and happily would again. Obviously there's extra maintenance compared to brick, particularly painting, but paint is so good these days that's not going to be required very often. Our old place was not as easy to keep warm and cool as a brick house too, but I would expect a new place to be very well insulated so there might be little difference between a brick-clad home. Being new I would also seriously doubt if you are going to have any issues with pest control or damp at any time down the track - but obviously these are problems that can affect old weatherboard places. I will be interested to see if anyone else has any significant concerns with your place. Good luck with your offer.