Understanding the Long-Term Costs of Different Home Cladding Options

Choosing cladding based on the upfront price alone can be misleading, as installation is only one part of the total cost over the material’s lifespan.

Why the upfront price isn't a good basis for comparing cladding materials

Cladding is an interesting purchase category because the quoted price and actual cost can have very little to do with one another down the track. Run a comparison over a 20-year timeframe, taking into account painting, sealing, pest management, and replacements, and it becomes easy to see how an initially cheaper material can easily become two or three times more expensive than the pricier option chosen at the outset.

It is this total cost of ownership, and not the simple choice of which material is cheaper to buy and erect, that should be the deciding factor on which cladding material to buy for a home that is intended to be lived in, maintained, or resold.

The allure and upkeep costs of timber

Raw timber is the prime example of a material that looks good on paper, has a low installation price, but carries a much steeper price tag when one considers its upkeep. The price of sanding, priming, and repainting every 3-5 years, along with sealant applications to prevent rot and infestation in more humid climates, can add up to a substantial sum.

Every cycle involved will incur trade costs, and the higher the number of cycles performed, the more pressure is placed on the material in terms of preparation for the next cycle.

By the time two or three cycles have been performed on a large home, the initially cheap material can become one of the most expensive elements of the build or renovation.

Fiber cement board follows a similar pattern, but to a lesser degree, as it is largely resistant to fire and rot but still requires periodic repainting and sealing to prevent ingress of moisture, which can cause delamination and costly repairs.

Maintenance costs by material

Timber and timber shingles:

While timber cladding can look beautiful if properly maintained, the “properly maintained” part is what most people who opt for it fail to take into account

Timber is a material that is exceptionally unforgiving and has multiple failure modes, with each having its own set of repair and maintenance costs. Weathering will cause graying and loss of the initial appearance within several years if left unsealed, while ingress of moisture will cause rot to develop on the ends and joints of the boards from the outside in. At the same time, termites are likely to attack from the inside out, adding another expense to the maintenance schedule. Annual inspections and minor repainting are likely to be necessary, with a full repaint cycle required every five years. Pest control inspections and treatments can be added to this list if the local climate and geology require them.

Fiber cement board:

Timber’s poor resistance to fire, rot, and pests is where fiber cement board excels, giving it a major advantage over timber in terms of long-term maintenance costs.

This is the main reason why fiber cement board cladding is often recommended for its superior value over timber: the need for maintenance is greatly reduced due to its resistance to the elements. However, it is still necessary to repaint and seal the board every 8-12 years, depending on the climate and environment, so the initial advantage is reduced but not eliminated. In addition to this, fiber cement board is significantly heavier than timber, which means extra strain on the structure it is mounted on and higher trade costs at the time of installation that do not disappear simply because the material is more durable.

Vinyl cladding:

In comparison to the first two materials, vinyl cladding has the major advantage of not requiring repainting. The reason for this is simple: the color is baked into the polymer itself, which means that vinyl cladding of good quality will resist UV light-induced yellowing and retain its appearance for the duration of its 20-30-year lifespan. For homeowners considering weatherboard cladding, that means a simplified maintenance schedule with periodic washing instead of the complex and frequent cycle of painting, sealing, and pest inspections every five years that timber requires. Not only does this save on materials, but it also reduces the number of labor costs incurred over the 20-year period by a significant amount, as an entire cycle of repainting timber is an expensive proposition to undertake twice. At the same time, the ongoing appearance of the home is much improved, as most cladding made of this material will look much better at the end of its 20-year lifespan than timber would halfway through its 50-year one.

Estimates of relative maintenance costs

When one applies rough estimates to the differences between maintaining materials, the differences speak for themselves.

A rough estimate of costs for a mid-sized property would be between $8-12k per full repainting cycle of timber cladding, with a minimum of four such cycles required for a 20-year period. If we factor in fiber cement board, there may only be two full cycles required over a 20-year period, but the initial install cost is higher, and the two cycles still add up to a substantial sum. Vinyl cladding, on the other hand, may well be the cheapest initial option, with the ability to maintain it over the same 20-year period for significantly lower costs than either of the other two materials allow for. It is important to note that these are merely guidelines, as the actual costs will depend on numerous factors, ranging from local labor costs to the exact choice of materials.

Regardless, the trend is difficult to deny: the option that costs the least per cycle still loses because more than one cycle is required.

Energy costs and savings

When it comes to energy costs, it is easy to overlook the impact that cladding has on a home’s heating and air conditioning costs. The main reason for this is that most cladding materials are relatively thin, with few exceptions, and therefore do little to reduce heat loss or gain.

The exception to this is insulated vinyl cladding and similar composite materials, which provide substantial insulation value and contribute to the overall R-value of a structure. This, in turn, directly affects how much energy and therefore money is spent on heating and cooling the air in the home. The exact value will vary depending on the local climate, but in extreme climates where summers are hot and winters are cold, the benefits of this type of cladding are impossible to ignore. Additionally, the advantages it provides for energy savings make it an attractive proposition for buyers who care about these kinds of details. Traditional timber and fiber cement board do not offer the same advantages without additional insulation, which incurs extra costs for the homeowner.

Insurance costs and structural integrity

Cladding made of fire-retardant materials will likely provide discounts on annual premiums, with these discounts varying from insurer to insurer. This is yet another factor that falls under the total cost of ownership category, as most people fail to account for the fact that seemingly small yearly savings add up significantly over 20 years. The same can be said for the protection offered by cladding to the structural integrity of the building it covers. In most cases, cladding serves to protect the wall framing that is much more difficult and expensive to replace or repair. When rot or water damage occurs to the framing behind the cladding due to weather or pests, the costs incurred can far exceed the initial savings. This is especially true for timber, where years of moisture getting past the cladding will cause rot that cannot simply be sanded off and repainted, as one might do with timber. A properly installed sarking or vapour barrier behind the cladding is an absolute necessity in all cases, but the material chosen for the cladding also plays a part in how protected the wall framing is and how often the sarking needs to be replaced.

Resale value considerations

For a homeowner looking to sell or rent their property, cladding becomes an integral element in determining the property’s presentation value. The appearance of the cladding is one of the first things that a potential buyer or their inspector will notice, and tired or damaged cladding can act as a major negotiating lever for buyers looking to drive the price down. At the same time, fresh cladding serves to enhance the curb appeal of the property, which translates directly to better value at the time of sale. Updating the exterior of a home prior to sale is one of the highest value improvements one can make from a return-on-investment perspective, with exterior improvements recouping, on average, 76% of their costs at resale, according to the National Association of Realtors Remodeling Impact Report.

One relatively inexpensive improvement that has gained popularity in recent years is the use of lighter cladding installed directly on top of brick or weatherboard made of timber or other materials that requires minimal preparatory work. This allows for the appearance of the home to be refreshed quickly and for a much lower cost than completely replacing the existing cladding. This kind of improvement can be much more valuable for a home being sold or rented than retaining whatever cladding the previous owner selected.

The first few seconds a potential buyer spends looking at a home online determine the appeal of the place to them before they even enter the property. Having fresh and modern cladding is one of the easiest ways to ensure that those first few seconds capture the buyer's attention, as an update to the exterior always has a positive effect on curb appeal. The importance of cladding to a property’s appeal is difficult to overestimate, which is why it is so frequently recommended to consider the long-term costs and benefits of the selected material. Not only does one have to account for the maintenance costs over the period of ownership, but the resale value of the property is also impacted, with the costs incurred to maintain or update the cladding reducing the value of the improvements to the property.