Dive a Little Deeper into the World of Wood Effect Fibre Cement Weatherboard From Cembrit
Roofbase has partnered with our friends at Cembrit to enhance our material offering to customers with their wood effect fibre cement weatherboard, available throughout our network of merchants.
We’ve put Cembrit under the microscope asking key questions about their fibre cement wood effect Cembrit Plank to inform roofing and building contractors about why they should consider Cembrit Plank as an alternative to timber weatherboarding.
Describe Cembrit in one sentence:
A major European manufacturer of fibre cement roofing and cladding products, with specific UK expertise in double-lap slating.
What is Cembrit Plank?
Cembrit Plank is the ideal alternative to timber weatherboarding as it does not require preservative treatment and is not susceptible to fire. Smooth or textured options give you the choice of a surface finish together with colour options to add individuality to your projects. It can be installed like timber weatherboard products. Cembrit Plank comes in 14 standard and 5 made to order factory painted surfaces, as well as a ready-primed option for on site finishing.
What makes Cembrit Plank unique from any of its competitors?
Cembrit Plank has a transferable 15 year warranty. The pattern repeat is every 10 boards compared to alternatives – every 5 (Cedral) or 7 (Hardieplank), meaning the finished façade has a more natural random effect. Rear of Plank is primed so work can continue in wet weather.
What Size is each Plank?
Cembrit Plank is a weatherboard 3600mmx180mm used for the main area of cladding.
Can you provide any interesting facts from the past 12 months?
Approximately 40% of sales are dark grey 20% light grey, 10% blue and 10% white.
What is the benefit in using Cembrit Plank compared to any alternatives on the market?
Fibre cement is non-combustible, rot-proof and is stable in the presence of direct sunlight – characteristics that are clear advantages when compared with timber or plastic based alternatives. Cembrit Plank’s range includes reversible fibre cement trim for external and internal corners as well as window reveals which will weather in the same manner as the Plank. They also have a smooth or grained side for a choice of finish that appears more natural than aluminium or plastic trim. Fibre cement trims are more popular and are easier to install than powder coated aluminium alternatives.
How much money can be saved by using Cembrit Plank in the long term?
Comparisons are difficult because product performance varies according to location, elevation and with timber, what species and what kind of treatments are used. Initial installed costs of timber can range around £20-30/m², PVCu £25-35/m² depending on whether it is white or coloured and fibre cement around £25-30/m². Assuming a 50 year in use life, fibre cement weatherboard will last around twice as long as the alternatives. Timber is susceptible to rot and PVCu to embrittlement and/or distortion. For ease of arithmetic if we assume £20/m² for timber with a 25 year life, £25/m² for PVCu with a 25 year life and £30/m² for fibre cement with a 50 year life the annual cost until replacement is £0.6/m² for fibre cement, £0.8/m² for timber and £1.0/m² for PVCu.
Can Cembrit Plank be used on all building types?
In principle use of Plank is restricted only by the imagination of the client and designer. It is popularly used on residential buildings or buildings incorporating accommodation such as hotels or student halls of residence or restaurants and catering establishments.
How many years will Cembrit Plank last?
Plank is guaranteed for 15 years but is expected to last as long as other fibre cement building products. Experience suggests this will be equal to the life of the building or in excess of 50 years.
What is a good sign to indicate Cembrit Plank would be the ideal solution required on a building?
A desire to use colour to enhance the appearance of a building whilst maintaining a scale of format that corresponds with traditional design.
Is installation the same regardless of the building material?
Essentially yes. The key is to ventilate the rear of the array by having a minimum 20mm gap between the rear of the Plank and the main structure. This is conventionally achieved with the use of vertical timber counter-battens. On some larger projects aluminium systems can be used to carry the counter-battens.
Need technical advice, a quotation or up-to-date product availability on our Cembrit Plank product range? Contact your local merchant where our experienced team will provide on-the-job advice to support your roofing projects.
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