Fence paling as house cladding?

[Hansi]

Hi

Can Bunnings' fence paling be used to clad an old fibro house? I would not remove the fibro but clad directly onto it. Is there any reason why fence paling cannot be used?

Cheers, John

[Hansi]

Thanks very much for your comments Deb... yes, the house is fibro so it's %90 cement with %10 asbestos, which dates from 1953 so it's old and powdery and would crack very easily. Some sort of strengthening sealant would be good and possibly a more suitable glue other than liquid nails, but I'm still trying to think outside the box and come up with an alternative and ingenious method to attach the pailings, or possibly even tin... it's such a lovely house on the inside but, the outside... yuck!

Thanks again for your advice, it's much appreciated!

Cheers, Hansi

[TayaRoberts]

@Bundaboy 

oh thank you so much! no formal training just love renovating, grew up with my parents renoing every house and my dad is a high end cabinet maker (so is my brother) and my uncle a builder so i have learnt a lot just from watching them and a whole lot more from trial and error I am a fashion designer (bridal gowns) so am an artistic person and was an arts student at school and would have loved to have done architecture or something along those lines also so its just a love i have

what tips and tricks where you after sorry its been a while since i logged on

[Bundaboy]

That's great, learning by doing is a great way, but you also obviously have an "eye" for it.

Oh, you mentioned in your first message in this thread that you had developed some "handy tricks" regarding using fence palings for various projects.

[TayaRoberts]

@Bundaboyoh yes that's right

well the biggest tip i have that was learned the hard way was how much shrinkage is involved with fence pailings as they are sold as a wet product. buy the pailing plus excess you need about two months out from needing them and store them in a dry warm place spaced

out to dry out and acclimatize to your environment this will help stop gaps forming down the track

i have a few times left them outside over 6 months to pre weather to help in achieving a reclaimed look they grey off nicely over time and can be sanded back to give a multi tonal look for that reclaimed effect, another great way of doing this is to go to town with some old paint in varying colours then sand back this look s so good but a lot off work as the paint can be a real bugger to remove.. go lightly you will be surprised how much it adheres and how much sand paper and hours you will need to get it back to a rough reclaimed look

fence pailing look wicked as a cheaper alternative to the ship lap look you just space them out with a slight shadow line between each board then go back with gap filler to seal

i have used fence pailings for barn doors, outdoor lounge, house siding (in an alfresco indoor outdoor area) as an alternative to ship lap for interior cladding, to clad my outdoor kitchen (still on this project so no pics as yet) as feature wall and cabinet doors in our 'mancave' as bench tops on a display cabinet .. needless to say i love them haha with the right prep and finish they come up amazing i get asked about them all the time. sanded til smooth/filled/stained/sealed they are soo hardy and look amazing i will see if i can find the project pics i have mentioned above to show  you below

used as wall cladding feature and stained japanese blackused as barn door in japanese blackwall cladding and benchtop in japanese black stainbarn door tv cabinet doors/benchtop and feature wall in mulit coloured paint and stain sanded back and sealedfeature wall in mulit coloured paint and stain sanded back and sealedout door lounge from exposed fence pailings and palletsfence pailing 'shiplap' feature wall paintedfence pailing 'shiplap' feature wall paintedfence pailing 'shiplap' feature roof panelfence pailing 'shiplap' feature wall painted (left side) alfresco dining area

[Bundaboy]

Now THAT is amazing work Taya AND a LOT of work too! Goodness me I have looked at hundreds of barn doors over the last few years but I reckon yours beats the lot. Japan Black eh? I must try that out as the finish you have there looks just great.

To be honest I am a little gob-smacked that you found enough flat and straight palings to make a door (which requires flat and straight more than most projects).

I have used fence palings to make a door for my garden shed (which is overlapped clad with old hardwood fence palings) but I had framing timber to hold the whole thing together, but I was never really happy with it and replaced it with an old shed wooden door a neighbour let me have - I have kept the fence paling door though hoping to find a fit purpose for it as it was lot of work to put together (I actually went to the trouble of square edge shiplapping them).

I hear you with the shrinkage - I harvest and mill a small amount of material on my property here in the Southern Highland some of which has taken years to dry. I am seriously thinking about building a small drying kiln which would be great for palings as well. in fact the only thing stopping me is the concern I have for the cost of powering it.
Just one more question if I may, are you using hardwood palings or treated pine palings (or maybe even both)?

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful work with us, you have given me many ideas, inspiration, and renewed motivation.

[TayaRoberts]

@Bundaboy 

we have completely gutted our entire place and started again (almost three years in the making) it was an 80's fibro house converted into two apartments top and bottom which we have returned into one house) but the light is at the end of the tunnel. the laundry and second bath are gutted and on the way back and then the  kitchen and the inside is almost complete (bar the main bath but that will be the very last to be updated as its not to bad for the moment) so yes a LOT of work hahaha

so i use new treated pine boards any that get bows i straighten out with weights (we have a home gym with plenty of weights at my disposal haha)

those pics are only a drop in the ocean of the 26 rooms/outdoor areas either done or still to complete which included a bump out addition of a third lounge storage room and new laundry

[Noyade]

I tried a small wall section of external fence palings last year, but as Taya mentioned - shrinkage was a problem.

[Bundaboy]

Is that picture before or after said shrinkage? It certainly looks great to me there.

[melissa07]

Hi there. This is my first time on Workshop & this post caught my eye. I have the same issue. Part of my house is fibro or board & the rest is cladding. I asked a builder (two, in fact) about this & the first said "clad over the top" & the second, who is admittedly devoted to building exteriors, explained, with the first builder, keen to listen, that the cladding used has a 30 year warranty. In order to ensure the warranty is met, the old fibro or board should be removed. This makes it more expensive but in the long run, should there by any issues such as leaking from a storm, the warranty is in place. I don't fully remember the name of the cladding we already have, but I think it was called Jacksons or Johnsons? Either way, I can get back to you with the name of the builder and any further advice.

[Jason]

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experiences @melissa07. It's fantastic to have you as a Workshop member. We look forward to reading more about your projects and plans. 

Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share. We trust that you'll receive loads of helpful information, advice and inspiration for projects around the house and garden from our amazing members, and look forward to your contributions. 

Thanks again,

Jason