Plan ahead

Before the installation, ensure the slats are stored in a dry, well-ventilated place, out of the sun.

The main role of cladding is not to ensure the watertightness of the facade. This is the role of the rain-proofing , whose installation is compulsory, behind the cladding, except in the case of facades which are already watertight, as in the case of concrete or coated masonry.
For a woodframed construction, please refer to DTU 31.2 Woodframed Constructions.

Rain-proofing is a watertight film which allows air to flow though it. It ensures the watertightness of a facade.

Attention to open-joint cladding

Open-joint cladding systems conform to different installation norms, as their open joints expose the rain-proofing to U.V. rays, frost and tears. This is why a high quality rain-proofing must be chosen, that will withstand U.V. rays and water penetration as it ages.

Prepare a strong support for the cladding and an air space

Battens and counterbattens
For vertical cladding, a system of crossbattens is required : a first set of vertical battens and a second set of horizontal battens at the same pitch.
For horizontal cladding, a network of vertical battens is required.

Ensure there is an air space

It is essential to allow air to circulate vertically behind the cladding, between the battens. The battens must not prevent air circulation. There must be an air space of 22mm between the cladding and the coating (film, insulation material, wall).
For this reason, battens that are at least 22mm thick allow good air circulation, when installed as cross-battens. The tops and bottoms of the air spaces must allow air to escape towards the outside and not toward the inside of the building.

Épaisseur et entraxe des tasseauxThickness and pitch of the battens
The gap between the battens will vary between 40cm and 60cm. We advise you to use Category 3 or 4 battens.

For a 50cm pitch, the thickness of the battens will be at least 27 x44mm.
For a 40cm pitch, the thickness of the battens will be at least 22 x 45mm.

Anti-rodent grid/ Distance from the ground

We recommend using an anti-rodent grid to prevent birds and rodents from getting between the cladding and the rain-proofing.
The distance from the ground of the coating is recommended ny DTU 412 to be 20cm. At the foot of the wall, the soil will remain bare or will be covered by gravel in order to prevent splashing.

OPEN-JOINTED CLADDING – Distance between the slats
For vertical open-jointed cladding, the minimum distance is 7mm in order to respect DTU 41.2

Beveled siding – Direction of the tongues
For a tongue and groove cladding, the tongue always faces upward.

Treatment of slats after cutting
Any cuts to the blades must be followed by a treatment of the wood, even if these cuts are not visible. We will provide you with a correction kit for this purpose.

Fixing the slats
The number of fixations and their positions will depend of the useful width of the slats. The slats are fixed at about 15mm from the edge, at their base. Cladding slats may be fixed with special stainless steel screws for cladding. The screws must penetrate at least 22mm into the battens. As burning densifies the wood, pre-drilling is a good idea. The tops of the screws must not penetrate more than 1mm into the wood. We offer black-headed stainless steel screws, specially adapted for cladding. Consult us for prices.

Finishing the angles
There are many solutions for inward and outward opening angles. In order to preserve the natural characteristics of the wood and to avoid the addition of any unnecessary finishing accessories, which would mar its appearance (clamping rails and L profiles..), we advise two types of angle finishes : simple finger-joints or mitre-cut finger-joints.
We offer angle parts :
For outward angles, we offer the following section 48X68X22 : 4ml
For inward angles, we offer the following section 22X43 :4ml
Consult us for prices