Weatherboard Cladding Installation Process

Weatherboard Cladding installation might look complex from the outside, but Freefoam cladding is a simple system that will make perfect sense even to a first timer with this step-by-step guide.

Weatherboard cladding comes with a 10-year guarantee, so once it’s installed, it’s relatively maintenance free. Our ColourMax technology ensures that the vibrancy of external cladding will remain even under harsh UV rays by using a variety of stabilisers and pigments in a unique formulation. This means there are no additional weather resistant coatings you need to apply, making the process even simpler.

The New England Weatherboard cladding boards are one of the lightest cladding systems around. At approx 3.15kg per 5m board, this is less than traditional boards, and even 4x lighter than fibre cement boards. This means you shouldn’t have any trouble with heavy lifting when it comes to installing this type of cladding.

If you’ve got everything ready in your toolkit to begin installation, follow these steps:

  1. Fix your suitable breather membrane to the substrate in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
  2. Fix 25mm x 50mm vertical battens to the substrate at 400mm centre to centre. Start 200mm from the ground and allow 10mm gap at top for fixing the vent.
  3. Fix the ventilated starter/trim along the base and top area to be clad.
  4. Fix the Single Part Trims and/or the first part of the Two Part Edge, Corner and ‘H’ Trims as necessary. Don’t worry about cutting the second parts of the trim to length yet.
  5. Fit the first Cladding Plank to the Vented Starter Trim and screw fix the top of this to the cladding batten. Where it is necessary, join the ends of the boards using a compatible Butt Joint or ‘H’ Trim.
  6. Interlock the next Cladding Plank to the plank below and screw fix the top of this to the cladding batten, repeating this process until the entire area to be clad is covered.
  7. Cut the second parts of the Two Part Trims to length and clip these into place.

This is the basic process involved with installing External Cladding, however if you’re having any issues, our friendly team are on hand to help. We also stock all of the equipment you need to complete this DIY job, so make sure to browse our range of cladding products today.