Insulated walls greatly improve energy efficiency and walls that are too thin will transfer all the warmth to colder exterior walls and reduce your comfort.
Cladding a shed is a relatively big project, and it can be very daunting for many people. However, with some basic hand tools like a circular saw and skills, anyone can do the job of cladding sheds in no time at all. Remember to wear safety gear to protect yourself.
The first step when cladding garden buildings should be to choose between siding and sheeting. Siding comes in different wood colours and has little visual impact while sheeting gives your shed a more modern visual appeal. When choosing shed siding, make sure you take into consideration your climate as some types of timber cladding might warp or rot away faster than others. Warping can make fixing groove cladding quite difficult. The wood pieces may also not properly fall in line, depending on how you have built your wooden shed.The next step will be to choose how you want to attach the siding or sheeting. Depending on your choice of building material, you might either use nails, screws or both. Nails are usually used for lightweight timber. Screws are better at holding heavy weight wood in place on the timber frame.
Upon choosing your siding type and preparation of wood surfaces, you can move on to fixing cladding. Most likely you will need help from a friend when installing larger sections but even small pieces such as windows can be done by yourself if needed. If cladding does not fit correctly you can use a pry bar to remove and adjust accordingly.
When installing your cladding to the four walls of your new shed you will need to ensure that joints are properly cut and that edges fit tightly together. This will ensure easy installation and proper weatherproofing of the shed. Tongue and groove cladding helps achieve this. One edge, the tongue, slides into the groove of the adjacent board. This groove fitting is not perfectly attainable with overlap cladding. However, overlap cladding is cost effective and easy to install. Usually garden shed material is softwood timber. Some people also prefer using decking boards because they are thick, but these require more fixing work and can be expensive. The most common timber cladding is the shiplap and the feather edge. The feather edge is often cheaper than shiplap which has a better finish and a more contemporary look. Professionally fitted boards overlap well protecting the boards from elements. Installing sheeting usually involves nailing or screwing 2x4 pressure treated wood on top of each side of the wall and then attaching the siding to it using nails or screws according to choice. Nails should be hammered 6-8 inches apart while screws should be spaced every twelve inches for maximum rigidity. Should you choose plywood sheets for shed cladding, adhesive can also be used between them and the wall surface. You can put additional wood supports at lower levels if needed. Insulated walls greatly improve the energy efficiency of a structure. Walls that are too thin will transfer all the warmth to colder exterior walls and reduce your comfort. Insulation comes in two main types, fibreglass and cellulose. Fibreglass insulation is a better choice if you don't need a special vapour barrier or fire resistance for your structure.
When purchasing cladding boards, get clarification on thickness. This is because, before the boards are planed they will be thicker. Therefore enquire about the final thickness after planning is done on the boards. The amount of board required will depend on the total wall area less the window and door space.
Cellulose insulation is a great budget-friendly alternative to fibreglass. It's made of recycled paper and has the ability to keep heat in but let it escape through thin walls under pressure. The best part about cellulose is that it's non-flammable, unlike fibreglass which can be combustible in the worst case scenario.
Sheeting, on the other hand, comes with its own problems as well as benefits. Vinyl and aluminium sheets for example are very lightweight but they also come at a premium price over wood planks. On the other hand metal, especially steel, offers excellent durability and fire resistance (unless you're installing galvanised steel). These features, along with additional insulation properties make metal sheeting an ideal choice.
Plywood is a great building material for sheds. It's easy to work with, water resistant and non-combustible. It does have one main drawback. Plywood siding can be considered too lightweight in comparison with other materials such as metal which offers some of the best cladding options. That shouldn't discourage you from installing plywood sheets on your shed because they are relatively inexpensive.