Difference between steel cladding and "normal" cladding eg weatherboard?

[YayHouses]

Hi guys,

I'm about to buy an IP that ticks most of my boxes. One possible issue however is that the cladding is steel - does anyone have experience with this? Whats maintenance like, and how do the capital gains compare to weatherboard/brick cladding? It's described as "versatile stel cladding" with a galvanised iron roof.

Feedback greatly appreciated!

[Pim]

Sounds like a garage to me.

[YayHouses]

Haha I thought so too. But its really nice inside...insulated and everything

[drelly]

Try giving these guys a call: http://www.apexroof.co.nz - they build steel clad buildings but not normally for living in. I seem to remember them saying that they can be quite noisy.

[garrett]

Depends on the product name and profile

Is it a corrugated profile (like roofing iron)? Are the sheets installed vertically or horizontally (peaks and troughs up and down or sideways)?

If so, corrugated profiled metal wall cladding is being used more these days for several reasons. It is actually very robust and has similar maintenance levels to brick up to about 20 years, after that you may have to paint it every 8 years or so like weather-boards. It is durable and if maintained with age can last 30-40 years or longer. The profile peaks form a natural cavity allowing drainage and drying of moisture that enters behind the cladding which is why profiled metal, weatherboard and brick are all considered low risk in terms of weathertightness.

The installed cost of profiled metal wall cladding is actually slightly more expensive than brick or weatherboard which reflects it being a premium product (I prefer the baby corrugate profile and think it can look really smart when done right).

Without knowing the product I can't say too much else. Common things to check are the cladding and fixings are appropriate for the corrosion and/or sea spray zone, and check for splits in washers to cladding fixings as these are occasionally overtightened at original installation which bursts the washer and allows water to track in along the fixing.

Cheers

Hi guys,

I'm about to buy an IP that ticks most of my boxes. One possible issue however is that the cladding is steel - does anyone have experience with this? Whats maintenance like, and how do the capital gains compare to weatherboard/brick cladding? It's described as "versatile stel cladding" with a galvanised iron roof.

Feedback greatly appreciated!

[YayHouses]

Thanks for the info. Its not quite the way you described - if you imagine standard weatherboard cladding, except the wood is replaced by steel, thats what it looks like. Sorry I should have made that clearer

[eri]

what's under the steel weatherboard-like cladding?

if you push it with your finger does it flex like a single layer of thin iron or is it really solid like the steel was bonded onto a wood backing?

what's under the cladding, a big air gap, or treated plywood that's taped and sealed?

if you don't know can you find out?

how old is the house, was it made by a large building company, can you google the name?

lockwood use a alloy cladding bonded directly on to their weatherboards

if was supposed to be maintenance free but if the painting hasn't been kept up the alloy starts to corrode and there is little that can be done to bring it back to it's original smooth finish

maybe look through some sites and see if you can get a product name

http://yellow.co.nz/new-zealand/clad..._cladding_mt_b

[lawt]

The installed cost of profiled metal wall cladding is actually slightly more expensive than brick or weatherboard which reflects it being a premium product.

Seriously?
Do you work for a steel supplier?
Brick requires no maintenance and you have no issues around leaks or dissimilar materials causing premature deterioration - at least you mention the all too common issue of the various mickey mouse fixing systems (face fixings that penetrate the cladding) that invariably always give up the ghost at some stage. Yes it can last a while, but it's not even in the same ball park as brick.

[Meehole]

Seriously?
Do you work for a steel supplier?
Brick requires no maintenance and you have no issues around leaks or dissimilar materials causing premature deterioration - at least you mention the all too common issue of the various mickey mouse fixing systems (face fixings that penetrate the cladding) that invariably always give up the ghost at some stage. Yes it can last a while, but it's not even in the same ball park as brick.

Brick does require maintenance, it should be cleaned at least once a year. There is only one reason that brick is popular and that is because it's cheaper than most other cladding. Exactly why budget house building companies use it, to keep their prices down.
Brick is not so popular down in ChCh anymore as a choice, didn't perform at all well in the earthquakes.
Can't beat traditional weatherboard, steel weatherboards look cheap and what happens if someone dings it, kid kicking a ball or bike crashes into it? Is there such a thing as a panel beater for wall cladding?

[eri]

brick is supposedly cheaper in oz, where they have lots of good clay/mud

i always thought wood was cheaper in nz, where we have, lots of trees

[kapitibeanman]

You describe the cladding as "versatile stel cladding". Versatile use a weatherboard shaped steel cladding, is this what you are dealing with? If it is a Versatile house, it will be very well designed, but to minimum building standards of the time it was built. I lived in one, about 1k from the beach, no signs of deterioration in the cladding over 5 years, but gave it a hosedown every 3 or 4 months to be safe. We found the house a little chillier than we expected, despite insulation, but otherwise fine.

[garrett]

Seriously?
Do you work for a steel supplier?
Brick requires no maintenance and you have no issues around leaks or dissimilar materials causing premature deterioration

Spoken by a brick salesman. There is no such thing as a "no maintenance" cladding. Brick is probably the lowest maintenance cladding but is NOT maintenance free. Thinking like that leads to leaky buildings.

There are many things that can fail in brick including a poor mortar mix that degrades and falls out, weepholes missing in the bottom row, the cavity being blocked at bottom plate level due to mortar cast off being dumped by a lazy brick layer which tracks water running down the back of the bricks across to framing, brick ties that slope back towards the framing which track water across to decay the supporting stud, brick ties rusting away completely due to age or incorrect materials, poorly installed window heads flashings, window heads without polythene running from the back of the cavity under the brick row on the lintel - which ends up with water dripping through the jamb liners at the window head, poor application of sealant at the exterior joinery jamb and sill junctions leaking and contrary to popular belief, exposed sealant does not last more than 5-10 years before needing replacement.

Any time work is done to external walls for any other reason (new plumbing, sparky etc) then you need a bricky to take things apart and patch up again. Expressed screw fixed sheet products need a socket set and 5 minutes.

Ask the residents of Christchurch whether or not they will build in brick again. Double skin brick and brick veneer claddings were the most badly damaged residential properties after the earthquake bar none and have the highest cost to repair vs any other cladding.

I would not be surprised if insurance companies starting including envelope cladding and timber vs concrete structure based premiums.

Personally - brick is my favourite cladding. I would favour it in a personal build but only for the ground floor and would break it up with other claddings so it didn't get boring.

[garrett]

Ok, if it looks like weatherboard it probably is still a sheet product. Exterior joinery to cladding junctions are the most important things to get checked. I have seen one product with the head flashing stuck on the outside of the cladding with rivets which is not particularly useful.

It could be Versatiles own product or Nu-wall (aluminium). I have had nothing to do with Versatile garages but know someone who converted part of theirs to a granny flat. If it is one of theirs converted then you'll want to check the conversion plans, especially insulation and whether or not the original slab had a membrane.

[kapitibeanman]

garrett, Versatile do have a house range as well as garages and workshops. Seems to me a factory built or standard plan house erected by the suppliers has a decent chance of being put together as designed. After all, they have to submit a design that won't give them building permit problems anywhere in NZ, and have the parts and construction well sorted, unlike many other residential builds.

[eri]

from their site

While the architectural floor plan and framework of your Versatile home depends upon which design you have selected, the exterior appearance is up to you. Choose from a number of cladding options to accent the character of your home, including brick, Colorsteel and Linea Weatherboard.
For steel cladding, Superclad offers an attractive steel shiplap profile, with the added feature of hidden nailing, available in a variety of colours. Mastaclad Weatherboard also offers hidden nailing and an attractive weatherboard profile at an affordable price.

http://www.versatile.co.nz/homes/design-features