Timber Cladding Products
Timber Decking Products
Clearance
Timber Cladding direct from the mill.
We are specialists in the milling of high-quality timber cladding and decking, with many years of industry experience.
Our extremely knowledgeable staff ensure that attention to detail is given from your initial enquiry to delivery of your timber. With a quick chat, we aim to understand your requirements and put forward timber species that fit your needs.
The team can explain the characteristics of different species including knot content, movement, weathering, coating options and mainly, suitability for your design and vision.
We can offer the clearest grade timber through to grades with more natural defects if budget demands.
With external timber, cladding, Brise Soleil and decking products, we understand the importance of quality checking every length of raw material prior to machining. This is why all our machinists are experts trained to recognise when a length of timber isn’t up to scratch.
And we deliver on time to any location throughout the UK.
As well as supplying a diverse range of standard products, we also mill non-standard, treated timber cladding and decking profiles. We can make cutters to customer drawings or match a sample.
We take pride in our work, and we care about the environment. All our timber is legally and is sustainably sourced from FSC® or PEFC certified forests. We never mill wood from tropical forests.
Call us on 01494 980 145, purchase from our special offers, or click here to send us an enquiry
Because we mill our own stock we can take extra care to ensure the finished timber cladding is to grade.
We refine the grade by removing split pieces or any boards with unacceptable defects.
We can offer advice in the selection of timber species and profile that will work the best for each project. Please send us your ideas in sketch form or site drawings if you have them. We can also send you samples to help decide on a profile and help with planning approval.
This Website should provide plenty of information and there is also a download section where you will find useful related publications.
Western Red Cedar Timber Cladding prices.
Grade 2 clear and better in any secret or face fix timber cladding from £8.50 per m plus vat.
Please contact us to discuss any length requirements and delivery costs.
We also offer fire treated timber cladding and can factory stain.
Cedar Cladding
The first choice for timber cladding. We specialise in the premium, high quality Canadian Western Red Cedar.
Advantages: Can be specified as being almost clear of knots.
Sustainable resource & tightly controlled by the Canadian Government.
Will rapidly weather to an attractive silver grey colour or the wood can be treated to maintain its attractive non uniform colour.
One of the most dimensionally stable of timbers - Cedar will have minimal shrinkage & cupping. Splits are also less of a problem than with other timbers.
Naturally durable - Canadian Western red cedar is very durable without treatment.
Canadian Western red Cedar is classed as 2 (Durable) according to BS-EN 350-2-1994.
Cedar Cladding is resistant to fungal staining.
Cedar is a very light weight timber which is easy to machine. No pre-drilling for fixings are required.
Larch Cladding
Advantages:
Can be specified as having a limited number of knots.
Sustainable and increasing resource.
The heartwood is naturally durable.
A hard timber.
Larch can tend to split & move so allowance in design must be made for this.
Thermowood Cladding
Thermowood is a heat treated redwood pine.
Developed as an economical alternative to western red cedar.
Advantages:
Dimensionally stable.
Has an attractive dark hardwood like appearance.
Does not require further treatment.
Contemporary Design
Timber cladding is popular because it can give an attractive contemporary design while offering a very low carbon footprint. Timber has been recognised as one of the least carbon intensive building materials, it can be very economical too and we are able to offer various grades to fit your budget.
You can find some great examples of how timber cladding has been used effectively in our gallery or at: http://www.woodawards.com.
Care must be taken in selecting the species, we can offer full advice in this respect. Care must also be taken in choosing the correct cladding profile. Some are best for horizontal and others for vertical applications. A feather edge profile can be great for barn conversions and we can offer this with a sawn or planed finish. Please take a look at our profiles page.
We can mill any other timber cladding profile, just send us a sketch or phone for advice. We also have a page showing trim we have previously milled, we can do others so please ask.
Benefits of Timber Cladding
Improved Insulation
Timber Cladding can offer energy cost savings along with improved insulation properties.
Weight savings along with timber frames and lightweight roofs an offer significant weight savings compared with masonry. Foundation widths and depths can therefore be reduced.
Design Flexibility
Modern contemporary and traditional designs can be easily achieved..
Construction lead times and therefore build costs can be reduced..
Use of Natural Resources
As an environmentally friendly and renewable natural resource wood cladding is accepted as a low environmental impact material. This compares favourably with non renewable materials.
Benchmark Timber only mill Sustainable stock
About 95 per cent of British Columbia’s 55 million hectares (136 million acres) of diverse forest land is publicly owned.
All harvesting operations on these public lands must comply with the results based Forest and Range Practices Act.
Before any logging can begin on public lands, a company must be issued a cutting permit by government setting out the boundaries of the area approved to be harvested.
Timber from both public and private lands is tracked to ensure there is no illegal harvesting.
Possession of unmarked or incorrectly marked wood can lead to imprisonment of up to two years.
Please click visit our environmental policy.
Custom Milling
Having a tool shop we are able to make cutters for bespoke timber cladding profiles, we can match an existing offcuts or we can produce cutters to a drawing. If there are specific trim requirements we can mill that too.
Environmental
Environmental issues are important to us; all of our stock is legally & sustainably sourced.
Since all of our timber is very durable without treatment it is the natural and green choice.
We mill and deliver direct to site therefore the environmental transportation impact is kept to a minimum.
We understand that quality and delivery timescales are very important to our customers.
Sawn timber is held in our yard ready to cut to order, any bespoke or standard cladding profile can be cut at the same price. We can also cut matching trim for windows, doors and soffits. We mill Western red cedar, Thermowood and Siberian Larch cladding.
We can offer factory staining and fire retardant treatment for all of our cladding, decking and trim.
Please visit our Timber cladding blog where we are currently trialling different treatments to asses the weathering properties.
Timber cladding trends
There are many choices when deciding which timber and profiles to specify in any construction project. Cost is always an important factor, rather than cost it may be more important to consider value; redwood pine is by far the lowest cost timber cladding but if not adequately treated and maintained it would not last long. Canadian grown Cedar on the other hand would last for 40 years or more untreated and many more if treated. Cedar will also stay flat and is less likely to split. Canadian Cedar is the most contemporary looking timber for cladding, unfortunately as with most things the best choice is the most expensive. Larch may also make a shortlist and due to its cost, it has become a popular choice in recent years. Care must be taken with Larch to ensure the timber is to grade and the profile must be specifically designed to allow for the movement due to varying moisture content the timber cladding will soak up from summer to winter.
We have a good volume of landed stock and good relationships with our suppliers, so we have managed to maintain our supply of higher grades of western red cedar timber cladding.
Cedar has also suffered price increases due to shortages and shipping issues. Slowdowns and ongoing trade issues have contributed to reduced demand which has helped to offset this. Some sawmills have temporary closed due to overcapacity. Although this has resulted in some supply issues, on a positive note it has improved the timber’s sustainability. We continue to supply the highest unmixed grade of cedar cladding along with the mixed lower cost option our competitors often concentrate on.
Siberian Larch has recently become extremely popular and can be a good timber. It is important however to source Larch from premium sawmills as grade interpretation can vary widely. Fungal blue stain can be an issue if the timber is not stored correctly and some Larch has been found to be of mixed species, this timber would have reduced durability properties. We have over the years established relationships with reputable sawmills enabling us to supply larch cladding with none of these issues.
We would maintain that Western Red Cedar still offers the best value for money; the contemporary clear looking wooden cladding, sustainability, durability and dimensional stability properties are unmatched. Siberian Larch would be our second choice if budget demands. Both timbers are carbon neutral and a renewable resource. This can help reduce the environmental impact of any build when compared with other materials. We can also factory treat all our timber cladding to a variety on semi opaque or solid colours which has become extremely popular over recent years. We can also fire treat our cladding if specified.
Western Red Cedar (Canadian)
Cedar Cladding Price - from £62.90 per square M for the mixed grade of 25 x150mm planed cladding. The premium grade 2 clear with no mixed in lower grades price is from £76.00 per square meter. The premium grade is actually very good value as there is very little waste and the finished product gives a very clear and contemporary look.
Durability - durability grade 2 (durable) according to BS EN350. Cedar is durable without treatment.
Movement and splitting - Cedar is one of the more stable timbers and tendency to cup, split and move is low.
Knot and sap content - the number of knots and sap content is low on clear grades of coastal grown cedar.
Environmental impact - Sustainable timber. logging is tightly controlled.
Canadian western red cedar is the premium timber for cladding being naturally durable and dimensionally stable. The most popular choice for contemporary builds. Please visit our Cedar cladding page.
Western Red Cedar (UK grown)
Price - from £30.00 per square M for 25 x150mm planed cladding.
Durability - durability grade 3 (moderately durable) according to BS EN350. UK Cedar should be treated.
Movement and splitting - Cedar is one of the more stable timbers and tendency to cup, split and move is low.
Knot and sap content - UK Cedar is generally more knotty than Canadian cedar and has a higher sap content which is why we recommend treating to obtain durability. Although the same species as Canadian cedar the UK grows so much faster resulting in different properties.
Environmental impact - Sustainable timber. logging is tightly controlled.
UK grown western red cedar is a lower cost alternative to Canadian cedar but being lighter in colour with more knots and less durable it does not offer the same contemporary look. Please visit our Cedar cladding page.
Thermowood (heat treated redwood pine)
Price - from £19.00 per square M for 25 x150mm planed cladding.
Durability - durability grade 2 (durable) according to BS EN350. Thermowood is durable without treatment.
Movement and splitting - developed as a low cost Cedar alternative slightly less stable and quite brittle.
Knot and sap content - the heat treatment changes the properties of the sapwood for durability. Thermowood is quite knotty. Similar properties to cedar but is not the same colour and can be quite knotty.
Environmental impact - Sustainable timber.
Thermowood does not offer the same contemporary look. A good option if cedar is too expensive. No chemicals are used to preserve the timber making this an environmentally friendly choice.
Please visit our Thermowood cladding page.
Larch
Price - from £50.00 per square M for 25 x 150mm planed cladding.
Durability - grade 3 (moderately durable) according to BS EN350.
Movement and splitting - Larch tends to move split and cup - tongues should be at least 15mm to allow for movement.
Knot and sap content - Larch can be quite knotty and have sap pockets in lower grades. Specify the premium grade to minimise this. Sapwood is usually present so extra care must be taken when milling to ensure any sapwood is on the rear of the board.
Environmental impact - Sustainable timber. Forests are increasing in size year on year.
Please visit our Larch cladding page.
European Oak
Price - from £55.00 per square M for 25 x150mm planed cladding.
Durability - durability grade 2 (durable) according to BS EN350. Oak is durable without treatment
Movement and splitting - Oak has a tendency to split and move, great care is required when fitting to allow for movement. Pre-drilling fixings is advised.
Knot and sap content - High grades will not have sapwood and can be clear of knots.
Environmental impact - Sustainable timber
Often used on period projects when only oak would work. More of a rustic look than cedar.
Why order from Benchmark Timber.
Reliability.
Being a small company we are able to take extra care to ensure your order is as specified and delivered on time. We take care to ensure the lengths are suitable for your build also that all trim and corners are going to be suitable. Often customers are surprised in how much detail we request before we mill the timber. We find that extra care taken at ordering can save time onsite.
Experience.
Because we mill the timber and have been doing so for many years we are able to ensure all our cladding and machined to achieve the very best finish.
Quality.
When sawn stock is imported there are often pieces with fork lift damage and some pieces have end splits which can occur when milling. At Benchmark Timber we take extra care in pulling any boards with these defects as they go through the mill. We are unusual in this respect being able to take this additional care due to our small size enabling us to specialise. Larger companies tend to mill every piece in the pack and deliver to the customer whatever is produced.
We are therefore very confident in being able to offer some of the very best quality Timber Cladding available in the UK.
Let Us Inspire You
You can find some great examples of how timber has been used effectively in our Timber cladding gallery or at http://woodawards.com/winners/
