JOURNAL

Cladding Materials

Learn about the many cladding options available.

The most common house cladding materials used in Australia are bricks, timber and corrugated iron, but there are many other materials that you may want to choose from for your renovation project.
Modern materials can be either natural or manufactured, and have properties to suit different needs such as fire resistance, thermal insulation, light reflectivity, aesthetic colours and textures, decorative features, etc.
Cladding options include:
– Stone – natural or artificial, smooth or textured.
– Recycled timber – stained, oiled, natural or painted.
– Timber composites – veneered, engineered, with plastic content, etc.
– Fibre cement panels – smooth, textured, painted in factory or on site.
– Sheet metal – corrugated, mini-corrugated, profiled, oxidised, laser cut patterns, etc.
– Bricks – glazed, recycled, standard or special sizes, colours, textures, bagged, rendered, etc.
– Tiles – ceramic or porcelain, with many designs, patterns and textures available.
– Glass – clear, stained, frosted, coloured, textured, etc.
– Aluminium composites – many profiles, panel sizes, colours and patterns available. Make sure that they meet the current fire resistance standards!!
– Concrete – smooth, textured, pigmented, painted, exposed aggregate, pressure washed, etc.
– Insulated panels – generally proprietary systems: rendered foams, sandwich panels, etc.
– and many others.
A good combination of two or more materials in a façade design can make a house stand out and have its own character. If you are considering doing an extension or renovation, work with your designer to get a house that you like and suits your needs.