How to calculate how much timber cladding you need
"How much cladding do I need?" is probably one of our most popular questions asked. Hopefully with this step by step guide it should make it easy to work out. There are different types of timber cladding so do bare in mind at step 2 you will have to change the width and overlap slightly depending on the boards you're using.
Step 1 - Work out your area in square metres.
You do this by taking width and length measurement and you then times them together. If you are doing multiple sides of a shed or building, do this for each side.
In this example you would times the 6m x 10m = 60m²
Step 2 - Working out Linear metres
This is done by taking the m² and dividing it by the width of the board. This is where it gets a little complicated. Timber cladding overlaps and varies on the type of cladding you're using. With our shiplap boards there is an 11mm overlap and the total width is 150mm. Therefore we take the 11mm from the total width which gives us 139mm. Going from the equation we then take m² and divide it by 139mm (equivalent to 0.139m).
With the example above we would take 60m² ÷ 0.139mm = 431.65. This gives us how many linear metres we require.
Step 3 - Working out how many boards are needed
The final step is now working out how many boards you need from the linear metre figure. You do this by taking your linear metre figure and dividing by the length of board you want. Once you have this figure, we then recommend multiplying by 1.1 to allow for any waste and to ensure you have enough. We offer various lengths of timber cladding boards, so you should be able to choose the length that most suits the area you are cladding.
Using the example above we would take the 431.65 ÷ 3 (using 3m boards). This gives us the figure 143.883. You then times this by 1.1 to get the total amount of boards needed. 143.883 x 1.1 = 158 (rounded). With this example used you would need 158 x 3.0m Shiplap boards.
Different boards
The 3 most popular timber cladding types are shiplap,loglap and tongue and groove. Each board does come in a different width and has a different overlap so the equation will have to be adjusted slightly on step 2 but the principle remains the same. Our timber cladding measurements are:
Shiplap Cladding = 150mm wide, 11mm overlap = 139mm coverage
Loglap Cladding = 121mm wide, 11mm overlap = 110mm coverage
Tongue and Groove Cladding = 121mm wide, 9mm overlap = 112mm coverage
Of course, if you want to make sure you get it exactly right or require some help, please feel free to give one of our helpful team members a call on 01409 231763 or give us a message on our live chat and we will be more than happy to help! Please take a moment to have a look at our full range of timber cladding boards.
Why not try our handy calculator below to work out exactly how much cladding you need: