Painted Black Tongue and Groove Cladding

After supplying charred cladding for a number for years, iWood has worked on offering a more reliable alternative in the area of painted black cladding. To join our painted black product line, we are now supplying tongue and groove shadow gap cladding with a luxury black finish.

The finish, rather than being machine smooth, is textured and painted. This mimics the finish of charred black cladding more closely.

For the timber we use durable European whitewood, kiln dried for stability and treated with an antifungal base coat.

Painted Black Shadow Gap Cladding profiles

IWC30 – 18mm x 145mm overall, with a 135mm face and a 10mm shadow gap and relief grooves on reverse – for horizontal and vertical fitting.

A shadow gap profile when fit together leaves a gap between board faces which produces a striped aesthetic. This also allows secret fixing as the board overlaps slightly allowing you to conceal the nail.

This profile also features relief grooves on the reverse which aids stability in situ.

How long does painted black cladding last?

Our painted black shadow gap cladding with the inclusion of relief grooves, kiln drying, additional base coat treatment and several topcoats of paint is expected to last 15 years plus.

Why use painted black cladding over charred cladding?

Charred timber is a very old technique of reinforcing timber and creating a natural surface treatment. Whilst this can produce some rather unique results particularly in deeper chars, it does however come with the potential downside of “runoff”, which is effectively where the layer of char that looks so aesthetic initially, is slowly weathered off leaving black runoff beneath your building.

This is the main reason our customers opt to use the painted black cladding instead, there is no runoff and oil treatment reinforces the timber for longer durability. In addition, the painted black treatment can be touched up overtime which extends its service life until the timber itself starts to fail.

What is the best color for cladding?

When it comes to timber, most claddings when left untreated will go an aesthetic silver colour which can appeal to both modern and traditional aesthetics alike. That said, pre-painted timbers like our Painted Black Shadow Gap Cladding are very popular and black cladding adds a bold and standout element to your structure. If you contrast against the black with exotic flowers and greenery the design stands out even further.

Is cladding better than painting?

This question is what brings a lot of people to cladding their structures in timber. You're already making changes to the external wall, going a step further and upgrading it using timber cladding is only a bit more investment for quite a lot of benefits such as – thermal insulation, weather protection, longevity and aesthetic appeal. Plus, if you were thinking of coloring it black, pre-painted black shadow gap cladding is practically made for you.

Fitting Guidance

These fitting guidelines are only a rough idea on how to fix your tongue and groove cladding. We do recommend you employ a professional who has experience fitting tongue and groove cladding.

Be sure to read our treatment guidance as treatment needs to be applied prior to fixing your cladding

Breathable Membrane

Consult a fitter to determine if your scenario would require the fitting of a breathable membrane between your wall and the cladding. This membrane stops rain getting to the wall, but allows moisture to escape, helping to prevent internal condensation and mould that can come with it.

Treated Softwood Battens

Treated softwood battens (available from our cladding accessories pages) are most commonly used to fix to the wall (or on top of the breathable membrane) to then fix your cladding to. If you are fixing your cladding horizontally, your battens need to be placed vertically, at around every 600mm (60cm), and vice versa.

Fixing

** Whether you use nails or screws, it's important that they are stainless steel, or silicone bronze ARS, so that the natural tanins in the timber will not corrode them. Never use iron nails for fixing timber.

To help stop the wood from splitting we recommend pre-drilling the timber and then holding it with the screw or nail head when you fit the board to the batten. Look to leave a 3mm gap between the boards, rather than butting them up tight like flooring, to account for any moisture movement and make sure that the tongue is facing upwards otherwise moisture will start gathering in the groove of the profile.

You can also use nails, preferably ring-shanked for extra grip, and again stainless steel so they don't corrode. For lower-density species like cedar, consider using nails with larger heads so the cladding doesn't pull through.

You can fit IWC 1,2,3 and 4 vertically or horizontally depending on the look you want from your timber. Whilst technically you can fit IWC5 horizontally, water can sit in the square channel, which is not recommended.

With each new row of cladding you add, it's preferred that you stagger the joins between each board so you don't create a visible seam.

As already stated, these are just ideas to get you thinking about installation and you should consult a professional installer before fitting your cladding as every scenario is different.

All our claddings are provided untreated. Fresh sawn timber claddings are best left untreated and to go silver grey. There are a wide range of optional treatments available for different species of timber and we recommend talking to the excellent team at www.wood-finishes-direct.com, who know the most up-to-date information on all the newest treatment products.