Douglas Fir Cladding
Local timber cladding using douglas fir
Douglas Fir is an easily sourced, homegrown softwood that works well for cladding, rainscreens and brise-soleil.
It is quite a light cream colour with a red brown heart when Fresh Sawn but it will darken in colour as it dries and, if left unfinished, it slowly greys to a silver which varies in tone and depth depending on orientation and weathering. At first the sap and heart are contrasting but this contrast will not be visible as it silvers.
Fresh Sawn Douglas Fir is best used where a planed finish is not required, the machined profile is fairly simple and especially thin or long dimensions are not required. FS timber is generally suitable for overlapping profiles only.
It is typically available in square-edge, feather-edge and waney-edge boards in dimensions up to 300mm wide and lengths up to 4.0m. Once sawn, Douglas Fir will Air dry to 25-30% within about 4 weeks. It is not a suitable timber for Shingles and Shakes due to it's variable grain pattern.
It is moderately durable and therefore has good lifespan potential. As with all the softwoods, Douglas Fir only has small moisture movement in changing moisture levels. It is difficult to treat due to resin content, density and levels of moisture present but once the surface has dried it will take an external finish for colour maintenance.
It is fairly tough and stronger than other European Redwoods with a density of around 530kg/m³ when dried (12% moisture content).
We have a cladding price sheet that details some standard sizes for F/S cladding and the guide prices to match, these are good for a rough idea but we would advise you contact us for a firm quote on your requirements. Generally the softwoods cost less than the hardwoods.
Notes
Douglas Fir is probably the most suitable material for making battens for fixing the cladding as it is inexpensive and compatible with all the cladding species.
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