Timber Cladding Specialists

23/10/2026

Could you build your own garden sauna?

For a competent DIYer, the answer can absolutely be yes.

Structurally, a garden sauna is essentially a small insulated timber-frame building — but there are some very important differences that determine whether it performs properly.

And one of the biggest is the timber.

A sauna needs three different timber specifications:

🔥 Exterior — durable enough for UK weather
🔥 Interior — suitable for repeated heat and humidity
🔥 Benches — smooth and comfortable against bare skin

A typical quality specification might use:

✔ ThermoWood or Siberian Larch outside
✔ Alder or sauna-grade ThermoWood inside
✔ Alder or ThermoWood for the benches

Our complete 2026 guide walks through the entire build:

• Planning and dimensions
• Foundations and base
• Timber framing
• Insulation
• Vapour control
• Internal cladding
• Two-level sauna benches
• Heater sizing
• Exterior cladding
• Ventilation
• Typical project costs

A 2-person DIY garden sauna can typically be achieved for around £3,000–£5,500, depending on the specification.

Read the full step-by-step guide on out blog

16/10/2026

Timber cladding vs fibre cement — which would you choose for your home?

At first glance, fibre cement can look like the easier option.

Consistent colour.
Long lifespan.
No biological decay.
Non-combustible options.

But look at the complete lifespan of the façade and the comparison becomes much more interesting.

🌲 NATURAL TIMBER

✔ Genuine grain and character
✔ ThermoWood and Larch offer excellent durability
✔ Can weather naturally to silver-grey
✔ Individual boards can be replaced
✔ Renewable material
✔ Lower embodied carbon
✔ Huge choice of profiles and finishes

🏠 FIBRE CEMENT

✔ A2-s1,d0 options
✔ Consistent manufactured finish
✔ Wide factory colour selection
✔ Resistant to rot and decay
✔ Particularly useful where non-combustibility is a key specification requirement

And don't compare only the purchase price.

Maintenance, repainting, access costs, repairability and eventual replacement all affect the true cost of a façade.

Our new 2026 guide compares timber and fibre cement across cost, durability, maintenance, fire performance, sustainability and appearance.

09/10/2026

ThermoWood vs Douglas Fir — which is the better cladding timber?

Both are excellent exterior timbers, but they offer very different advantages.

🌲 ThermoWood
✔ Class 2 durable
✔ Extremely dimensionally stable
✔ Lower moisture absorption
✔ Huge choice of cladding profiles
✔ Ideal for contemporary homes and demanding commercial façades

🌲 Douglas Fir
✔ Naturally durable heartwood
✔ Strong reddish-brown colour
✔ Beautiful, distinctive grain
✔ Excellent for houses and barn conversions
✔ Ideal where authentic natural timber character matters

Left untreated, both gradually weather towards a natural silver-grey.

The key difference?

ThermoWood is primarily a performance-led specification.

Douglas Fir is often an appearance and character-led specification.

Our new 2026 comparison looks at durability, service life, weathering, profile options and where we would use each one.

Read the full guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/thermowood-vs-douglas-fir-uk/

ThermoWood vs Douglas fir cladding UK 2026 — complete comparison. Cost, durability class, maintenance, weathering, profiles and which is better value. ThermoWood from £50.39/m², Douglas fir from £60/m².

02/10/2026

Planning an outdoor sauna? Start with the timber, layout and build-up — not just the heater.

A garden sauna has to perform in two very different environments:

Outside: rain, frost, UV and year-round British weather.

Inside: intense heat, humidity and surfaces that are regularly in contact with bare skin.

Our new Outdoor Sauna UK 2026 guide explains how to specify the complete build, including:

• Barrel, cabin and bespoke sauna designs
• ThermoWood and Siberian Larch exteriors
• Alder interior cladding and benches
• Black charred Shou Sugi Ban finishes
• Insulation and vapour barriers
• Electric and wood-burning heaters
• Planning considerations
• Bases and drainage
• Timber decking
• Cold-plunge and cool-down areas
• Typical project and running costs

For a contemporary garden sauna, one of our favourite combinations is a dark or naturally weathered exterior with a light Alder interior — completely different characters outside and inside.

Read the full guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/outdoor-sauna-uk

Outdoor sauna UK 2026 — complete guide. Best timber for outdoor saunas, design ideas, cost, planning permission and installation. ThermoWood, larch and charred SSB options from UK stock.

25/09/2026

Love the colour of fresh timber cladding? The important question is whether you want it to stay that colour.

Timber naturally changes outdoors.

Fresh Larch and ThermoWood start with beautiful warm tones, but untreated boards gradually weather towards silver-grey. That isn't deterioration — it is a normal characteristic of exterior timber.

So before choosing your cladding, decide what finished appearance you actually want:

🌲 Natural honey-gold
🤎 Warm maintained brown
🩶 Naturally weathered silver-grey
🖤 Contemporary black stain
🔥 Deep-charred Shou Sugi Ban
🎨 Factory-applied architectural colours

Our new guide explains which timber species work best for each look, how long natural weathering takes and what maintenance is required if you want to preserve a particular colour.

Choose the colour you want the building to become — not just the colour it is on delivery.

Read the full guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/timber-cladding-colour-uk

18/09/2026

Thinking about building a sauna? What should you actually budget?

In the UK in 2026, sauna costs can vary dramatically:

🔥 Indoor sauna kit: £1,800–£3,500
🔥 Barrel sauna: £2,500–£6,000
🔥 Garden sauna cabin: £8,000–£18,000 installed
🔥 Bespoke garden sauna: £15,000–£35,000+

Why such a big difference?

Because you're not just paying for four timber walls and a heater.

A proper sauna build can include:

✔ Structural timber frame
✔ Insulation and vapour barrier
✔ Interior sauna cladding
✔ Bench boards
✔ Exterior weather-resistant cladding
✔ Sauna heater and controls
✔ Electrical installation
✔ Groundworks
✔ Decking
✔ Changing room or cold-plunge area

The timber specification also makes a major difference to both cost and long-term performance.

Our complete 2026 guide breaks down where the money goes and compares indoor, barrel, garden and fully bespoke saunas.

Read the full guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/how-much-does-a-sauna-cost-uk

How much does a sauna cost UK 2026? Garden sauna from £3,000, barrel sauna from £2,500, indoor sauna from £1,800. Full cost breakdown — timber, installation, running costs and which type gives best value.

04/09/2026

Timber cladding problems usually start at the junctions — not in the middle of the boards.

Corners, windows, doors, base details and roof junctions are where water can enter, ventilation can be restricted and otherwise good cladding systems can begin to fail.

Our latest technical guide explains how these areas should be designed correctly.

It covers:

✔ External corner posts
✔ Window and door reveals
✔ Head flashings
✔ Base and DPC details
✔ Ventilated cavity construction
✔ Horizontal and vertical wall sections
✔ Cavity barrier detailing
✔ Common design mistakes

We have also made standard timber cladding detail drawings available to download free of charge.

For architects, developers and contractors requiring more detailed support, we can also produce project-specific PDF and DWG drawing packages.

The best time to resolve cladding details is before the material is ordered — not once the installation team is already on site.

Read the full guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/timber-cladding-detail-design-uk

Timber cladding detail design UK 2026 — corner details, window and door reveals, base details, cavity barriers and junction design. Free DWG detail drawings. Larch and ThermoWood.

28/08/2026

Installing timber cladding? Get these details wrong and even premium timber can fail early.

The biggest problems we see aren't usually caused by the timber itself — they're caused by incorrect installation.

Before fixing your first board, make sure you've considered:

✔ A4 stainless-steel fixings
✔ Correct breather membrane
✔ Ventilated cavity
✔ Proper counter battens and support battens
✔ Pre-drilling near board ends
✔ Correct fixing spacing
✔ Insect mesh at cavity openings
✔ Minimum 150mm clearance from finished ground level

And perhaps the simplest rule of all:

Get the first board perfectly level. Every board above follows it.

Our complete 2026 guide explains how to install timber cladding correctly, step by step, including Siberian Larch, ThermoWood, Nordic Spruce and Shou Sugi Ban.

Read the guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/how-to-fix-timber-cladding-installation

How to fix timber cladding UK 2026 — complete installation guide. Batten systems, stainless steel fixings, hidden fix systems, spacing, membrane and step by step installation. Larch, ThermoWood and Nordic spruce.

21/08/2026

Thinking about vertical timber cladding?

It's one of the best ways to give a home, extension or garden room a more contemporary architectural appearance.

Vertical boards emphasise height, create strong shadow lines and can completely change how an elevation is perceived.

Popular options include:

✔ Siberian Larch shadow gap
✔ ThermoWood vertical cladding
✔ Tongue & Groove
✔ Board-on-board / board & batten
✔ Open-joint rainscreen
✔ Black or charred timber cladding

But there is one installation detail that's particularly important:

Vertical boards need horizontal support battens.

The correct system uses vertical counter battens to maintain drainage and ventilation, followed by horizontal battens for fixing the cladding.

Our complete 2026 guide explains the design options, suitable species, profiles and correct installation method.

Read it here:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/vertical-timber-cladding-uk-guide

Vertical timber cladding UK 2026 — best species, profiles, design ideas and installation guide. Siberian larch, ThermoWood, shadow gap, shiplap and board on board. Complete vertical cladding guide.

14/08/2026

Planning a barn conversion? The cladding can completely define the finished building.

Traditional agricultural character or sharp contemporary architecture?

The right answer depends on the building, its location and—very importantly—the planning conditions.

Our latest barn cladding guide looks at some of the most popular choices:

✔ Feather edge for an authentic agricultural appearance
✔ Waney edge for a rustic, traditional façade
✔ Shiplap for a cleaner interpretation of traditional boarding
✔ Shadow gap for contemporary barn conversions

We also compare Siberian Larch, ThermoWood and Nordic Spruce, together with natural, weathered-grey and black finishes.

Whether you're converting an old agricultural building into a home, holiday property or commercial space—or recladding a working barn—the specification needs to balance appearance, durability, maintenance and planning requirements.

Read our complete 2026 guide:

https://timbercladdingspecialists.co.uk/blog-article/barn-cladding-uk-2026

Barn cladding UK 2026 — best timber species, profiles, colours and fixings for barn conversions and agricultural buildings. Feather edge, shiplap, waney edge and shadow gap. Grey and black finishes. Complete guide.