Cedar Cladding treated with Sikkens in light oak pictured above.
We have found this to give a very good natural appearance while offering UV protection.
Timber Treatment Products
Benchmark Timber offer a factory stain and fire retardant treatment service for all our timber Cladding.
Although Cedar does not require treatment many customers prefer to treat to stop the timber weathering to a silver grey colour. Factory fire retardant treatment is also available if required.
Please contact us for prices. Lead time for treated timber is typically three weeks.
Please visit our downloads page where you can download colour charts and data sheets.
Factory treated with Sikkens
This offers the ultimate UV protection but has more pigment. We can treat to any colour in the never ending impressions range.
Flame retardant to Eurocass B
We can factory treat and provide certification to show the timber has absorbed the correct volume of treatment.
Timber Treatment
Finding the perfect treatment for timber cladding is a very demanding task. Ultimate UV protection is offered with high pigmentation, this can however look unnatural. Oils look great but offer low UV protection and rapidly dry out. Future maintenance is also very important - many stains give a surface film which can peel resulting in many hours refinishing.
We have found what we believe to be a very good solution in Cetol WF771. The system is very easy to apply and will not peel.
The colour choice is important though as some pigmentation is important for UV protection. We can treat to any colour in the Sikkens never ending impressions range. The colour shown below which we have fine tuned to offer a good balance between UV protection and offering a natural finish allowing the timber colours to show through
We have tried to show in the pictures below how natural Sikkens WF771 can look. We can treat cedar cladding with two or three coats on the front and back in the colour we have fine tuned below. The pictures do not show properly how natural this looks so please ask for a sample.
The picture shown above shows the rear of the boards which have not been treated to show the comparison between treated and untreated.
The Cedar cladding shown above has been factory treated with 2 coats of Sikkens WF771
Black Factory Painted Rebated Feather Edge Cladding
175mm wide with a sawn finish.
One coat of anti fungicide treatment and two top coats.
Guide Price £19.60 per meter squared plus vat
Please contact us for details
Sikkens Cetol WF 771
Sikkens Cetol WF 771 is a one pot, 2-3 coat system suitable for use on areas such as timber cladding, cabins, fencing, decking and other non stable garden structures. Available in the usual wide range of natural wood tones, as well as some other more contemporary colour choices,the product offers users a simple low build system which can be applied by brush, roller, deluge or spray as well as more industrial application methods. The simple one coat
maintenance plan, applicable ‘when required’, will also appeal to the growing band of DIY enthusiasts as well as the trade users. The product may be used in conjunction with preservative pre treatments for added biocidal protection.
With Cetol WF 771, Sikkens offers you a product with a high degree of UV protection and moisture resistance. This translucent product fills the wood pores using the Saturator-effect® and increases the durability. Flaking and blistering will not occur with this product. In Cetol WF 771, Sikkens use a binder making use of the Self-Stratefying© Technology. The first component of this binder will take care of the filling of the pores and the perfect adhesion to the surface. The second binder component will take care of UV protection and resistance to moisture.
Cladding treated in Savanna stacked for drying
Fire treatment notes
What are Euroclasses and why are they replacing the old Class 1 / Class 0 standards?
Under the Construction Products Regulation there is a move towards the European harmonisation of Standards for the fire retardant treatment of timber and plywood, with Euroclass B and Euroclass C replacing the old standards Class 0 and Class 1 respectively.
To achieve either a Euroclass B or C Specification, timber/plywood is tested to EN 13823:2002 (SBI or Single Burning Item Test) and EN ISO 11925 (Ignitability Test).
The SBI test is key and records parameters relating to the rate of fire growth, lateral flame spread, total heat release and levels of smoke and toxicity.
These test results are assessed in accordance with EN 13501-1 (Fire Classification of Construction Products and Building Elements) taking into account the presence or absence of an air gap behind the treated material and the fire characteristics of backing material and a Euroclass Classification is assigned accordingly.
The same set of tests are conducted for both a Euroclass B and Euroclass C fire performance. However the thresholds for compliance in relation to SBI criteria are more stringent for Euroclass B than for Euroclass C. Therefore, by definition, if timber/plywood conforms to Euroclass B then it also conforms to Euroclass C.
In England and Wales, the fire requirements for buildings are dealt with by Approved Document Part B to the Building Regulations.
Euroclass B is replacing Class 0 and Euroclass C is replacing Class 1.
PLEASE NOTE: It is not possible to treat to a National Class and sell as a European Class or vice versa. For instance, timber treated to Class 0 cannot be sold as Euroclass B.
How many new Euroclass Classifications are there for fire performance and which are relevant to timber?
There are seven Euroclass Classifications for fire performance of different construction materials ranging from A1 & A2 through to F. Classifications for timber include B, C, D & E. Euroclasses D & E relate to untreated timber. Fire retardant impregnation to timber / plywood can elevate timber from Euroclass D (essentially untreated) to Euroclass C or B to give the material in question compliance with the requirements of UK Building Regulations depending upon the location of the material within the building.
Are these new Euroclasses as good as the old Class 1 / Class 0?
The simple answer is that the new Euroclasses are underpinned by more up-to-date set of test methods compared to the old British Standards and trying to compare old and new is the wrong approach. Class 1 involved a measure of the Surface Spread of Flame (SSF). Class 0 included a measure of SSF but also heat release. The Euroclass SBI test measures a wider scope of fire critical factors than the old Class 1 /0 tests, namely spread of flame, heat release, fire growth rate, smoke levels and flaming droplets.
Detail Drawings
Factory Staining
Gallery