European Oak Tongue and Groove Cladding

We supply European Oak Tongue and Groove cladding in the following profiles:

• IWC1 - 19mm x 145mm overall, with a 135mm face - For horizontal or vertical fitting
• IWC2 - 19mm x 95mm overall, with an 88mm face - For horizontal or vertical fitting
• IWC3 - 19mm x 142mm overall, with a 125mm face - For horizontal or vertical fitting
• IWC4 - 19mm x 145mm overall, with a 125mm face - For horizontal or vertical fitting
• IWC5 - 19mm x 145mm overall, with a 125mm face - For vertical fitting only

All these profiles, apart from IWC5, can be fitted horizontally or vertically. IWC5 can only be fitted vertically.

You have a choice between our Prime Grade and Light Character Grade Oak for your cladding. Prime Grade Oak has very few knots and any knots in the wood will be very small whereas Light Character will contain more knots, however, these boards will still not contain any large dead knots.

Both our Prime and Light Character grade European Oak is kiln dried and so requires sealing before installation to protect it from moisture getting in.

European Oak is a good cladding timber because of its durability and natural resistance to rot. You will need to treat your timber before you fix it to prevent moisture movement. This will help to stop the oak from shrinking in the summer and expanding in the winter.

As standard we supply European oak tongue and groove cladding in random lengths of 2m and longer to fill the area you require. If you would like to specify the lengths you need please call us or talk to us on our online chat to make sure we can supply the lengths you want and then, if we confirm we can supply those lengths, you can tell us the lengths in the “Special Instructions” box on the shopping basket page.

If you require secret nailing on your cladding you will need to select our IWC3 profile.

Treatments

Be sure to seal your oak before installing it to prevent moisture movement. We recommend talking to www.wood-finishes-direct.com for the most up to date treatment information. It needs to be treated all the way round including the ends to prevent moisture getting in at all.

Fitting Guidance

These fitting guidelines are only a rough idea on how to fix your tongue and groove cladding. We do recommend you employ a professional who has experience fitting tongue and groove cladding.

Be sure to read our treatment guidance as treatment needs to be applied prior to fixing your cladding

Breathable Membrane

Consult a fitter to determine if your scenario would require the fitting of a breathable membrane between your wall and the cladding. This membrane stops rain getting to the wall, but allows moisture to escape, helping to prevent internal condensation and mould that can come with it.

Treated Softwood Battens

Treated softwood battens (available from our cladding accessories pages) are most commonly used to fix to the wall (or on top of the breathable membrane) to then fix your cladding to. If you are fixing your cladding horizontally, your battens need to be placed vertically, at around every 600mm (60cm), and vice versa.

Fixing

** Whether you use nails or screws, it's important that they are stainless steel, or silicone bronze ARS, so that the natural tanins in the timber will not corrode them. Never use iron nails for fixing timber.

To help stop the wood from splitting we recommend pre-drilling the timber and then holding it with the screw or nail head when you fit the board to the batten. Look to leave a 3mm gap between the boards, rather than butting them up tight like flooring, to account for any moisture movement and make sure that the tongue is facing upwards otherwise moisture will start gathering in the groove of the profile.

You can also use nails, preferably ring-shanked for extra grip, and again stainless steel so they don't corrode. For lower-density species like cedar, consider using nails with larger heads so the cladding doesn't pull through.

You can fit IWC 1,2,3 and 4 vertically or horizontally depending on the look you want from your timber. Whilst technically you can fit IWC5 horizontally, water can sit in the square channel, which is not recommended.

With each new row of cladding you add, it's preferred that you stagger the joins between each board so you don't create a visible seam.

As already stated, these are just ideas to get you thinking about installation and you should consult a professional installer before fitting your cladding as every scenario is different.

All our claddings are provided untreated. Fresh sawn timber claddings are best left untreated and to go silver grey. There are a wide range of optional treatments available for different species of timber and we recommend talking to the excellent team at www.wood-finishes-direct.com, who know the most up-to-date information on all the newest treatment products.