How to decorate the outside of a wooden house. What is the best way to sheathe the outside of a wooden house - the choice and features of the use of materials. Natural and artificial stone

Private house, built of wood, cannot always be considered a complete structure, since in many cases it requires external and interior decoration walls There are many various options, but not all of them are suitable for cladding this kind of building. In this article we will look at what can be used to sheathe wooden house inside and outside and how best to do it yourself.

When to sheathe a wooden house

To begin with, it is worth highlighting those buildings that initially it does not make sense to sheathe the outside in any way, much less insulate them. Whatever finishing option you choose, it will not be cheap, and therefore impractical for wooden houses summer or periodic residence. As for decorating the inside of a home, this is more a matter of design and the wishes of the homeowner than a necessity. After all wooden walls made from timber or rounded logs always look attractive.

Now let's look at cases where wooden houses are sheathed from the outside:

• there is a good quality and strong frame available, but it is quite old, which is why appearance the buildings leave much to be desired;
• frame buildings made of wood must be clad in any case on both sides, this is their design;
• if a wooden house built from timber or logs needs additional protection and insulation of the walls.

It is not uncommon to find log houses that have stood for more than 50 years and are ready to serve for the same amount of time. Additional sheathing from the street will not only change the appearance of the home for the better, but also protect the wood from precipitation and thus extend its service life. The same protection will not interfere with walls that need insulation. Since thermal insulation is usually carried out outside, and not inside, a wooden house, the insulation needs to be hidden behind a water barrier and covered, which will be discussed later.

Advice. Exterior finishing of a wooden house that has just been erected is carried out after 1 year. The shrinkage of buildings of this type is quite significant, as a result of which the external design of the finished walls may suffer and everything will have to be redone.

Materials for external and internal finishing

Despite the wide selection of cladding materials, their list for wooden houses is somewhat limited due to various reasons. For example, it is relatively inexpensive to decorate a house using plaster, but this method is only suitable for frame buildings sheathed on the outside with OSB sheets, as shown in the diagram below. Plastering a log house or a dwelling made of timber will be problematic.

As can be seen in the diagram, the basic mineral wool insulation located inside the wall is supplemented by a layer of polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene attached to sheets of OSB plywood sheathing. And only after that the tinted one is applied decorative plaster. But such facade decoration is rare for a wooden house; the following materials for external cladding are more common:

• vinyl siding;
• wood siding, the so-called block house;
• lining;
• complex system “ventilated facade”.

For reference. The cheapest and fastest way to cover the walls of a house is with painted corrugated sheets; this practice also takes place. But at the same time, the design of the building looks very cheap and resembles an industrial building. In addition, corrugated sheets quickly fade in the sun and lose color. Unless you buy expensive material coated with a pattern, as in the photo:

Vinyl siding is a very popular material, it is relatively inexpensive and retains its appearance for a long time, and with its help it is quite possible to sheathe a wooden house yourself. It will be more expensive to decorate the walls with other siding - imitation timber and rounded logs called “block house”.

This is a very attractive and pretty material, but it requires maintenance, just like regular wood paneling.

If we talk about what is the best way to cover a wooden house without reference to the cost of materials, then the “ventilated facade” system is beyond competition. It is a frame made of galvanized profiles, inside of which insulation is attached, and finishing elements are attached outside. Moreover, the latter can look like siding, brick or natural stone - your choice. True, the system can hardly be called cheap, and not every homeowner can handle the installation.

It is easier to solve the problem than to decorate the walls of a wooden house from the inside. For this purpose the following are most often used:

• regular and moisture-resistant drywall;
• OSB chip sheets;
• ordinary cladding boards - lining.

Drywall and OSB are an excellent basis for installing any finishing layer - various wallpapers, tiles and other materials. Moisture-resistant gypsum boards are perfect for interior cladding of a bathroom, and lining is ideal for a bathhouse built inside a house. OSB boards are not used as often inside buildings, since plasterboard is much more environmentally friendly.

A few words about the insulation materials used. It is well known that houses built of wood must “breathe”. This means that the wall material is transparent to vapor, due to which moisture from inside the premises is removed to the outside, passing through the wood. If a vapor-tight barrier is placed in their path, then moisture will begin to condense in front of it, which will lead to the gradual destruction of the fence. Therefore, the use of water-repellent polymers such as penoplex or penofol is not recommended.

The best solution for insulation when finishing a wooden house is mineral or basalt wool. It is vapor permeable and absolutely not subject to combustion.

An exception to the rule is a frame building, where a layer of mineral wool is part of the enclosing structure, but there is no main wall. Here the insulation is protected from the penetration of vapors by a film on one side and waterproofing on the other, as shown in the diagram:

Covering a wooden house with siding

This exterior finishing of the house can be done with or without insulation, as necessary. But in any case, it is necessary to provide an air gap between the vinyl siding and the wall for ventilation. Its task is to remove moisture entering from the outside onto the diffusion membrane, which plays the role of a hydro- and wind barrier. This is why vinyl siding sheets are not attached directly to walls, no matter how smooth they are. First, you need to assemble the sheathing from wooden beams, less often from galvanized profiles.

Advice. Before covering an old log house, you should thoroughly caulk the cracks between the logs, using natural materials– felt, tow or moss.

The width of the bars for sheathing when installing external finishing without insulation should be from 3 to 5 cm to ensure an air gap. The interval between the slats is 40-50 cm. But first of all, a diffusion membrane is laid; it is capable of passing vapors, but reflecting water. The membrane sheets are laid horizontally, starting from the bottom, with an overlap of 10 cm and gluing at the joints with tape. After this, it is pressed with bars or sheathing profiles installed vertically.

Note. If you plan to install vertical siding, then the beams should be mounted horizontally. They should first be treated with an antiseptic composition.

Also, all openings – windows and entrance doors. In this case, it is better to nail wooden elements to the wall rather than screw them with self-tapping screws. The latter do not allow structures to move during shrinkage or thermal expansion. Important point: the surfaces of all bars must be strictly vertical and aligned in one plane. Now you can begin installing the siding using the starting and other types of planks shown in the figure:

When adjusting the siding, it is important to take into account its thermal elongation, so the ends of the vinyl strips should not rest against the nests of the corner strips standing on the sides (meaning horizontal installation). The strips must be cut and inserted between the planks with a gap of 3-5 mm, and the nails must not be driven in all the way. This is why oval holes are made in the siding so that the strip can move a little. By the way, installation is carried out from the starting bar - from bottom to top.

When the length of 1 strip is not enough to cover the entire wall of a wooden house, then you need to install one or more connecting strips, placing them as aesthetically as possible. Although siding can be laid with an overlap (without a strip), such a connection looks unpleasant, and therefore it should be used as a last resort. Well, there are special vinyl planks for framing windows and doors.

If it is decided to combine the finishing process with insulation, then the order of work includes installation thermal insulation material. Considering its thickness (at least 100 mm, and in the northern regions up to 150 mm), it is necessary to take lathing bars of the appropriate width. Moreover, the membrane is not applied directly to the wall, but already on top of the insulation. It is secured by nailing 30 mm thick counter-lattice strips on top. Further work is carried out in the same way as described above.

Decorating a wooden house with a block house

In essence, a house block for cladding a house is the same siding, only made of wood, and the same algorithm for carrying out the work is used.

True, there are a number of differences that we will focus your attention on:

• There are no starting, corner or connecting strips here. All joints will have to be faced from the outside with shaped wooden elements;
• strips of block house are cut strictly to size, and when forming internal and external corners, the material is cut at an angle of 45° for joining;
• The panels are fastened from bottom to top using nails or special clamps. True, the latter tend to unbend and the stripes may fall out over time;
• When the boards are oriented horizontally, it is better to install them with the tenon up and the groove down.

One of the most difficult knots is the connection of the cladding in the form of an internal corner. Of course, you can ignore the resulting gap and sheathe the corner with a shaped element. But in order for the cladding of a wooden house with a block house, made by yourself, to be of high quality, it is worth cutting out an arched cutout in the adjacent part, as shown in the photo:

At the end, an antiseptic primer is applied to the finished surface, after which it is finished with several layers of varnish or paint.

Interior finishing with clapboard

This is one of the most popular ways cladding of private wooden houses from the inside, used in almost all rooms, and especially in the steam room. There are currently several types of lining available for sale:

• classical;
• block house;
• softline;
• landhouse;
• American.

The technology for covering walls inside the house is the same for all types, and work begins with installing a vapor-proof layer of film and installing the sheathing. The film is laid out with an overlap of 10 to 15 cm, after which the joints should be carefully taped with double-sided or regular tape. From above it is pressed against the wall with sheathing slats, whose thickness is 20 mm. The slats are nailed to the wall vertically (when installing the cladding horizontally) at intervals of 40-50 cm.

Important. All sheathing slats must be placed in one vertical plane using various pads or mounting wedges.

The first board is secured with self-tapping screws at a distance of 40-50 mm from the floor, taking into account the subsequent installation of the plinth. It is best to fasten all subsequent planks using metal elements - clamps, placed on the previous board and nailed to the sheathing bars with nails. It is not recommended to fasten the sheathing by driving nails into the grooves of the lining.

As with the exterior cladding of a block house, all joints and corners should be lined with shaped parts or wooden plinths. After this, all that remains is to treat the wood with an antiseptic and cover it with several layers of varnish. The finishing technology is shown in more detail in the video:

Interior finishing with plasterboard

Drywall is an excellent material for rough finishing of any internal surfaces wooden house, including the ceiling. Also, moisture-resistant gypsum board is indispensable in rooms with high humidity - in bathrooms and dressing rooms. Subsequently, you can put on it tiles or apply liquid wallpaper. The technology here is simple: first, galvanized profiles are attached to the wall or ceiling so that their shelves are in the same plane. To strengthen the structure, jumpers made of the same profiles are placed between the vertical profiles.

Sheets of drywall are screwed to the shelves of the profiles with self-tapping screws so that their caps are flush with the surface of the plasterboard. The step between adjacent screws is 10-15 cm. Where it is impossible to screw a whole sheet, you need to accurately measure and cut off part of it. This is done with a sharpened knife or a specialized tool. When the wall is completely sewn up, the joints and heads of the screws need to be leveled with putty, which, after drying, should be rubbed with sandpaper. At this point, the surface is ready for further cladding.

Conclusion

Thanks to currently existing facing materials, it is possible to give any wooden house a presentable appearance, and even “turn” it into stone using external cladding. In addition, finishing will allow you to preserve the wood longer and increase the service life of the building as a whole. It will not be superfluous to take measures to insulate the house from the outside, which will result in lower heating costs.

The wooden house has been a traditional home in Scandinavia and Rus' for centuries, but recently it has come back into fashion again. A wooden structure is environmentally friendly, it can be built faster than a stone structure, and it is not stuffy or damp. Its disadvantages are low fire resistance and susceptibility to fungus. Shrinkage of up to 6% may occur after construction. During this period, especially if the house was not built perfectly, it is worth thinking about additional cladding.

Video - how to sheathe a wooden house

What does exterior cladding of a house provide?

• Increased fire resistance, pest and chemical resistance
• Improving the appearance of the building
• Insulation and protection from drafts

To achieve these conditions, refractory materials with low thermal conductivity and gyroscopicity are usually chosen. Used for insulation mineral wool and polystyrene foam, decorative materials include wooden lining, siding, heat-insulating plaster, block house and even facade brick.

Insulation

It is especially necessary to insulate a house in the northern regions; in the south, you can often get by with only sheathing; it also insulates the house a little.

The main advantage of foam insulation is its price and ease of use. There are many more disadvantages. The vapor permeability of this material is 10 times lower than that of mineral wool, so when using polystyrene foam you need to think carefully about the ventilation system. The wood underneath may begin to rot; the material “does not breathe.” These savings can add up to much higher costs in a few years.

Mineral wool is a more common and environmentally friendly material. They insulate a wooden house using a frame scheme:

1. Fill up the voids between the beams.
2. Lay out a vapor barrier layer (roofing felt, foil, plastic film).
3. They make a frame - they nail 50 by 50 mm bars to the walls every 0.4-0.6 m.
4. Lay mineral wool, filling all voids.
5. Lay another layer of film to insulate from wind and water.
6. The house is clad on top.

Additionally, there is no need to attach the mineral wool to the frame; it will stick between the layers on its own.

Exterior wood cladding of a house

Wooden cladding includes lining, imitation timber and block house. The materials differ in price and appearance, all three are environmentally friendly, perfectly absorb street noise, insulate the room and look natural. There is also the option of planken or “finish quarter” cladding. But these materials do not have spikes, so gaps may appear during installation.

They should be used for interior work. The most expensive and beautiful block house, it easily withstands temperature changes, and from the outside it looks like a rounded log. Lining is a common choice in the mass market; it looks a little simpler. The cladding is made from larch, oak or pine wood. In order for wood paneling to serve for many years, it must be impregnated with a fire-resistant compound, varnished and painted.

The cladding technology is the same for all three finishing materials. The wood is nailed, glued or attached to hooks. You need to sheathe from bottom to top. The first board is attached to the frame, the second is put with a groove on the ridge of the first. Using wooden wedges, press the top to the bottom along the edges and middle, then nail it down, and remove the wedges. This way they reach the roof. Work can only be carried out in dry weather.

Siding can be made of metal or vinyl. The first is less durable, but it is lighter than metal and successfully resists corrosion. It does not need to be painted; the dye is added to the composition already at the manufacturing stage. The second quickly cools down and heats up in the sun, when hit, dents and scratches appear on it, then it can begin to corrode.

Installation begins from the corners. Attach with self-tapping screws to the sheathing, from the middle of the panel to its edges. You need to leave a gap of 5-7 mm between the nail head and the siding, since the material expands when heated. When installing siding in cold weather, the gap should reach 10 mm. The elements are connected with an overlap of 2 cm.

Tiles are rarely used for walls; they are usually used to decorate the foundation and corners of a house. The tiles are fastened from the bottom corner of the sheathing and then moved horizontally. The row is fixed with self-tapping screws. The next row is inserted into the locks of the first tiles, then again held in place with self-tapping screws. Tiles can also be glued using special compounds.

Corners can be overlapped or butted. When fastening with an overlap, the lathing should be at the level of the wall tiles; installation is carried out by extending 30 mm onto the tiles.

Facing with stone and facade bricks

Finishing with stone greatly weighs down the house; a weak foundation may not be able to withstand the additional load. At the same time, the house becomes warmer and is not subject to combustion. Artificial stone is much lighter and suitable for any type of foundation. Work is carried out only after the house has completely settled, no earlier than a year after construction. The gap between the brick and the wall should be at least 5 cm.

As we can see, there are many types of decorative finishes. The choice should be made based on your own budget and climatic conditions. Perhaps your house does not require additional finishing or insulation at all, and it is enough to just paint it.

When construction is nearing completion, developers are faced with the question: what to cover the house with? There is currently a huge range of facade finishing materials on the market, which complicates the choice. Therefore, in this article I decided to talk about the five most popular finishing options and their features in order to answer the question posed above.

Sheathing options

So, currently the most popular types of finishes are:

Option 1: wooden coverings

If you don’t know what to cover a wooden house with, then my advice is to use wooden finishing materials, such as:

• lining - flat finishing board;
• block house - a finishing board whose front side has a cylindrical shape;
• planken - finishing board with beveled edges.

Wooden finishing boards have a number of advantages:

• are natural and environmentally friendly material;
• wood, as is known, has good heat and sound insulation properties, which will make your home even more comfortable;
• has vapor permeability - thanks to this, finishing a wooden house with wood will not disturb the indoor microclimate;
• wood looks beautiful, in addition, the use of imitation timber or logs will preserve the original appearance of wooden housing.

However, at the same time, wooden materials also have some disadvantages:

• require periodic maintenance, which includes treatment with protective impregnations, opening with varnish, etc.;
• Wood is susceptible to rotting and moisture, however, the use of impregnations makes wooden materials resistant to these negative factors.

Keep in mind that the properties of wooden finishing materials also depend on the type of wood.

For outdoor use, it is advisable to purchase materials from moisture-resistant wood species, such as:

• pine;
• larch, etc.

Also, keep in mind that wood materials come in different grades, which determine the quality. As an example, let's look at the features of different types of lining:

Class	Peculiarities
Premium or extra	The expression “without a hitch” is just about top-class lining. You will not find any defects on the surface of such a board. True, the cost of this material is the highest.
"A"	The material has no falling knots, and there are no through cracks. The knots that are present should be light-colored, with a diameter of no more than one and a half centimeters. The length of non-through cracks should not exceed 9.5 cm.
"B"	Second grade lining has visible defects, such as: cracks; chips; dents. In addition, the presence of blue on the surface is allowed, but not more than ten percent of the total volume. The diameter of the knots should not exceed 2 cm, and only one knot is allowed per linear meter. The length of through cracks should not exceed 30 cm. Through-layer cracks can have a length of up to 15 cm and a width of no more than 1 mm. Rot and wormholes are allowed, but not more than ten percent.

There is also a third grade, however, it is not suitable for finishing the facade of a house, so we will not consider it.

It must be said that the price of the lining is quite affordable, especially for inexpensive types of wood:

As for the installation of wooden materials, they can be used to cover walls using the “curtain facade” technology. To do this, a frame is mounted on the walls, to which the lining or other covering is attached. At the same time, a vapor barrier can also be laid in the space between the sheathing and the wall, as shown in the diagram above.

Option 2: vinyl siding

Vinyl siding is an inexpensive and practical material that is perfect for those who are looking for a cheaper way to cover their home.

Its advantages include:

• attractive appearance, in addition, there is a large selection of colors on sale;
• durability is about 25 years (some models last 50 years);
• does not require maintenance and is easy to clean;
• not subject to negative biological influences;
• does not burn, but only melts under the influence of high temperatures.

For these reasons vinyl siding is one of the most common finishing materials. Its installation is also carried out using the “ventilated facade” technology, so the finishing does not affect the vapor permeability of the walls.

When purchasing vinyl siding, you should pay attention to the color and structure of the plastic. It should be smooth and uniform. If impurities or graininess are visible, then the material is of low quality, and accordingly, it is better to discard it, since problems can begin after a few years.

Below are prices for vinyl siding from some well-known manufacturers:

Option 3: thermal panels

Thermal panels are a relatively new type of finishing materials.

Their feature is the presence of two layers:

• base - is an insulation material, which can be used as polyurethane foam, extruded polystyrene foam or ordinary polystyrene foam (foam);
• decorative coating – serves to protect the insulation from external influences, and also decorates the facade. For these purposes, clinker tiles, porcelain tiles, marble chips, quartz granite, etc. can be used.

As you can see, thermal panels are a combined material that serves not only as cladding, but also as insulation.

Among their other advantages, the following points can be highlighted:

• ease of installation;
• the panels are connected to each other in a lock, as a result of which cold bridges are eliminated;
• allow you to give the facade an attractive appearance.

However, this material also has some disadvantages:

• high cost;
• low vapor permeability or even its complete absence (depending on the type of insulation). This can lead to moisture accumulation between the wall and the insulation. Therefore, if you are interested in cladding a wooden house, you should pay attention to other materials;
• the cost is often higher than separately for insulation and facade finishing material.

Thermal panels are installed using special dowels. No glue is used. As a rule, thermal panels are mounted without a frame.

Below are the prices for thermal panels that you can find on the domestic market:

Thermal panels covered with porcelain stoneware or clinker tiles require grouting of the joints after installation.

Thus, if you want to cover your house inexpensively, it is better to pay attention to other materials.

Option 4: wet facade

Another currently popular type of home decoration is the “wet facade”. The principle of this technology is to cover the walls with insulation (usually mineral wool or polystyrene foam), which is subsequently reinforced and covered with decorative plaster.

This cladding method has quite a few advantages:

• allows you to insulate the house, and thus make it more comfortable and energy efficient;
• the facade acquires a presentable appearance;
• for a wet facade, you can use inexpensive materials and thereby save money;
• The installation technology is quite simple, so you can do the work yourself.

True, along with the advantages, the “wet facade” also has a number of disadvantages:

• the finishing turns out to be unstable to mechanical stress, since the insulation is protected only by a thin layer of glue, reinforced with fiberglass mesh, and covered with decorative plaster on top;
• finishing is a seasonal job, since installation cannot be done at sub-zero temperatures;
• durability is lower than that of the finishing materials described above. In addition, finishing using this method requires strict adherence to technology.

For effective thermal insulation, the thickness of the insulation must be at least 100 mm, and for northern regions - 150 mm. If you use foam plastic as insulation, its density should be at least 25 kg/m3. Mineral mats must have a density of 100-125 kg/m3, otherwise the finish will not be strong enough.

Brief instructions for installing a curtain wall look like this:

1. the work begins with the preparation of the facade - the hanging elements are dismantled, peeling areas are removed, if any, and the surface of the walls is primed with two layers of façade primer;

1. Next, the insulation is glued to the wall using special glue. The slabs should be placed on the wall in a checkerboard pattern, as shown in the photo above, and with bandaging in the corners.
   When gluing the slabs, it is necessary to ensure that they are located in the same vertical plane, otherwise the walls will turn out crooked. Therefore, it is imperative to use a level and beacons;
2. then the insulation is additionally fixed with special dowels with wide caps. The dowels are located in the corners at the joints of the plates, as well as two in the center, as shown in the diagram below;

1. then the slopes are covered with thinner insulation;
2. then the surface is prepared for reinforcement - the gaps between the slabs are filled with foam or scraps of insulation, and all irregularities are smoothed over with a special trowel. In addition, you should stick perforated corners on all outer corners with your own hands;

1. after this, reinforcement is performed - the fiberglass mesh is glued with the same glue that was used to glue the insulation. The mesh should overlap and always be turned at the corners;
2. then the reinforced insulation is covered with another layer of glue several millimeters thick. This operation is reminiscent of puttying, since its task is to level the surface;
3. then the surface is primed with two layers of façade primer;

1. At the end of the work, decorative plaster is applied to the surface, after which the facade is painted. This operation does not contain any special features and is performed according to the standard procedure.

This completes the finishing.

Option 5: clinker tile cladding

Finally, let’s look at a material such as clinker tiles. It can be recommended to those who are primarily interested in the durability of the finish. After all, many manufacturers provide a 100-year guarantee on clinker tiles.

Of course, durability is not the only advantage of the material, as it also has other positive qualities:

• attractive appearance - clinker tiles, as a rule, have the shape of a brick. Therefore, a wall finished with it is almost impossible to distinguish from brickwork. Moreover, there is a large assortment of colors on sale;
• maintains an attractive appearance throughout its entire service life;
• has sufficiently high strength;
• protects walls from moisture and other negative influences.

Disadvantages include high cost. In addition, in order to properly stick tiles on walls, you need to have some experience. Therefore, it is better to entrust the work to specialists.

Below is the cost of clinker tiles from various well-known manufacturers:

Here, in fact, are all the methods of finishing a facade that I wanted to introduce you to in this article.

Conclusion

There are quite a lot of options for covering a house, so I tried to talk about the most popular ones today. As for the choice, everyone must decide for themselves, taking into account the cost of materials, design, and finishing tasks.

I also recommend watching the video in this article, which contains additional information on the topic discussed. If you have questions that you haven’t found an answer to, ask them in the comments, and I will definitely answer you.

Houses made of wood are the most environmentally friendly and original buildings. In this regard, when purchasing or building their own homes, many people prefer wooden buildings. Experienced builders say: in order for a house made of natural materials to delight its residents for many years, it must be sheathed on the outside. What material is best for covering wooden walls?

Why cover the outside of a wooden house with something?

A new wooden building always looks good and attractive, so doubts arise about the need to decorate its outside. However, wood is a material exposed to many negative factors: moisture, high and low temperatures, direct sunlight. Due to dampness, it begins to rot, insects infest wooden structures, the wood dries out, cracks, and burns out.

• Insulates housing. Finishing the external walls creates an additional thermal insulation layer.
• Prevents the accumulation of dampness in the living space. If the material is selected correctly and the technology is followed, the cladding does not allow moisture to pass through the walls and does not prevent it from leaving the building.
• Stops the destruction of a structure. Certain types of siding strengthen older homes and extend their lifespan.
• Improves the appearance of the home. Cladding refreshes the building and makes it more modern.
• Creates additional sound insulation.
• Protects a wooden structure from fire. Most materials for covering the external parts of the house are treated with special fire retardants or are made from non-flammable materials.

Types of exterior decoration of wooden houses: pros and cons

Modern materials for house cladding make it possible not only to protect and renovate the building, but also to decorate the façade of the building. However, when choosing suitable option finishing it is necessary to take into account that various types sheathing has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's consider the most popular materials for the exterior decoration of wooden houses.

Natural wood materials

Natural wood attracts consumers due to its environmental friendliness. The most popular materials:

• Imitation of timber. It is a prefabricated flat beam with a smooth surface. There are ridges and grooves on the sides for a strong grip. There are recesses on the inside that allow the structure to be attached to a special frame.
• Block house. Made in the form of boards with a semicircular surface. It is connected according to the tongue-and-groove principle. More durable than timber. Coniferous trees are most often used to make it.
• Planken. It has the shape of boards, beveled or rounded at the edges. Mounted using special fasteners.
• Planed board. Much cheaper than previous natural cladding options.

Advantages of materials:

• are made from various types wood;
• do not create significant weighting of the foundation;
• non-toxic;
• easy to install;
• retain heat in the house and do not interfere with ventilation;
• provide additional sound insulation;
• resistant to mechanical damage.

However, wood cladding has a number of disadvantages:

• easily ignites without additional processing;
• becomes damp when exposed to humidity;
• not enough quality material has natural flaws;
• additional structures are required for installation;
• the tree is exposed to insects;
• The cladding requires annual maintenance.

Siding: wood, vinyl, metal

Siding is long plates of various materials that are tightly attached using a special profile. Each element has holes for fastenings and latches that connect the plates to each other. Several types of siding are used to decorate houses: vinyl, metal, wood. The table shows their brief characteristics:

Type of cladding	Description	General advantages of siding	Positive aspects	General disadvantages of siding	Negatives
Vinyl	Made from PVC	does not create a load on the foundation of the house; easy to install; not susceptible to rotting or insects	low cost; rests on a regular slatted frame	does not release moisture from the building; Additional structures are required for fastening; fades in direct sunlight; does not insulate the building; poor sound insulation	becomes brittle at sub-zero temperatures
Metal	Galvanized steel or aluminum strips		does not lose its characteristics at low temperatures		easily deformed under mechanical stress
Woody	Boards made of pressed wood fibers bonded with cement		panels can be painted in different colors; attractive appearance		Requires a reinforced frame

Clinker thermal panel

Clinker thermal panels consist of two parts - insulation and clinker tiles, bonded with special glue. The panels are fastened together using grooves and ridges. The material has many positive qualities:

• simultaneously decorates and insulates the building;
• easy to install;
• does not burden the structure;
• vapor permeable, which prevents moisture accumulation on wooden walls;
• does not fade in the sun;
• retains its qualities for more than 40 years;
• resistant to fungi and bacteria;
• not subject to mechanical damage;
• fire resistant;
• does not allow external noise to pass through.

The main disadvantages of clinker thermal panels are high cost and the need for additional grouting. Special construction mixtures are used for grouting.

Facing brick

Facing brick is an affordable and easy-to-work material. Advantages of cladding:

• strengthens the walls of an old house;
• externally corrects buildings built in violation of the rules of architectural geometry;
• creates thermal insulation;
• does not allow or absorb moisture;
• resistant to temperature changes;
• creates good sound insulation;
• does not require additional care for a long time;
• incombustible.

However brickwork creates a large load on the foundation of the building. Before carrying out work, you need to calculate whether the foundation of the house will support the weight of the cladding.

Profiled sheet

Profiled sheet is an inexpensive and easy-to-use material. It is made of galvanized steel. Special decorative profiled sheets are used for cladding the house. Advantages of the material:

• high installation speed;
• resistance to temperature changes;
• fire resistance;
• ease of care.

However, the profiled sheet also has a number of disadvantages:

• does not insulate the house;
• does not release moisture, so it is necessary to leave a ventilated space between the walls and the sheathing;
• bends under mechanical influence and does not return to its previous shape;
• does not protect against extraneous noise.

Wooden and plastic lining

Lining is a cheap facing material that can transform the facade of a wooden structure. On the modern market, lining is presented in two types - wooden and plastic. Wooden material has all the advantages of natural cladding:

• vapor permeability;
• thermal insulation;
• environmental friendliness;
• sound insulation and soundproofing;
• strength.

However, in order for wooden lining to serve for a long time, it must be treated with substances that repel insects and increase moisture resistance. To enhance fire resistance, the application of fire retardants will be required. The lining also requires painting and varnishing. Some manufacturers sell already processed material, but this increases its cost.

Plastic cladding does not attract insects and does not rot. It is lightweight, so there is no need to worry about weighing down load-bearing walls. It is easy to care for, there is no need for additional processing. However, plastic does not retain heat and does not provide sound insulation or vapor permeability. In case of fire, the material does not burn, but releases toxic fumes.

Finishing external corners and facade decoration

To finish the outer corners, use a material similar to the entire cladding. You need to think about how the corners of the house will look at the stage of choosing cladding, since the correctly selected material will decorate the entire facade.

The construction market offers many additional structures to close corners. The corners are decorated at the final stage of cladding the house. Wooden covering is formed by vertical bars, which are attached to the profile with an overlap and interlock according to the “tongue and groove” principle. The corners of the clapboard trim are closed in the same way.

Siding cladding also has special corner strips that are attached to the sheathing. The clinker panel is sold as a set with corner elements. As you can see in the photo, due to the grooves, they are tightly attached to other structures and create the effect of integrity.

In order to decorate the facade, you can trim the corners with a material that differs in shade from the walls. The difference in colors will add extra neatness and decor to your home. A color accent can also be made on window trim. The finishing of window openings must match the color of the corners of the building.

What to choose?

What is the best exterior coating for your home? The answer depends on many factors:

• Financial opportunities. Cladding, corrugated sheets and siding are relatively cheap.
• Sheathing purposes. If cladding is needed to radically change the appearance of the facade, a material that is significantly different from wood is used. Brick is ideal for preventing building collapse.
• The need for wall insulation. The use of thermal panels will save the owner from additional costs for thermal insulation.
• Features of the structure. For houses with rich architecture, corrugated sheets cannot be used outside. Buildings with weak foundations will not survive if they are covered with bricks.
• The desire to preserve the originality of the home. If the owner loves buildings made of wood, he should clad the house with natural materials.
• House locations. It is better to sheathe a building next to a noisy road with soundproofing materials: block house, clinker thermal panels, clapboard.
• Opportunities to care for the façade. Siding, brick, thermal panels, and corrugated sheets are easy to maintain.

Dear reader! Your comments, suggestions or feedback will serve as a reward to the author of the material. The following video has been carefully selected and will certainly help you understand what is presented.

Often a finished house requires finishing cladding. Or the outdated walls of the building need to be updated by insulating them and covering them with other building materials. At the same time, 90% of developers in all cases want to save budget and choose inexpensive facade materials. That is why in this article we will look at how it is cheaper to sheathe the outside of a house and still get a beautiful decorative effect.

Important: when choosing a facade material for cladding a house, it is worth taking into account the difference in the linear expansion of the wall material and the material chosen for cladding. If this aspect is not taken into account, then under the influence of temperature changes the walls of the house and the cladding will each expand in their own way. As a result, cracks may form outside or inside the cottage.

Before you inexpensively decorate the walls of a cottage, you should take into account some points:

• So, when choosing a cladding material for a house, you should take into account not only the cost of the cladding itself, but also the price of all the components needed to complete the work. In addition, if the cladding will be carried out by craftsmen to order, then the price for the work should be added here.
• It is better to carry out house cladding in dry and warm seasons. This way the material will grip as tightly as possible, and its structure itself will not be damaged by moisture.
• It is advisable to insulate the house under the cladding in order to reduce the sound transmission of the material and increase the energy efficiency of the finished cottage. Mineral wool, penoplex or polystyrene are used as insulation.
• It is advisable to purchase all building materials from a trusted supplier who can provide quality certificates for all purchased goods. In this way, it will be possible to avoid possible defects and subsequent downtime.

Important: when choosing, how to cover the outside of a house cheaply and beautifully, give preference to non-flammable materials.

Facade plaster

The most budget option for external view the house has become attractive. Besides the fact that facade plaster plays the role of a decorative finish, since it is most often textured, such a building mixture also has a number of other advantages, such as:

• The thermal insulation function allows you to additionally protect the walls of the house from the effects of cold;
• The soundproofing characteristics of facade plasters have also proven themselves to be positive;
• In addition, plaster mixtures have a positive effect on the safety of wall materials, protecting blocks or bricks from destruction, burning, swelling, etc.

Exterior world building materials offers the following types of plaster:

• Silicone. The most expensive type of textured plasters. But at the same time, with minimal costs for purchasing the mixture (in comparison with other finishing materials) it is possible to end up with strong walls of the house. The effect is achieved due to silicone resins added to the construction plaster mixture. In addition, thanks to this additive, silicone plaster does not allow water to pass through or absorb, and does not lose its color when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
• Mineral. This type of building mixture is made on the basis of cement and sand. This mixture is resistant to fading, temperature changes, and mechanical stress. However, mineral plaster is more often used in industrial construction.
• Acrylic plaster. It contains acrylic, which allows you to obtain a protective film on the surface of the facade that has dried after plastering. Thus, the lined house is not afraid of dirt, moisture, dust and debris. In addition, the acrylic building mixture does not fade in the sun. The only disadvantage of such cladding is its weak vapor permeability.
• Decorative. It differs from the others in its finished shade. That is, in the store you can choose the final shade of the mixture and plaster the house in a single tone, in accordance with the intended design.

Important: for aerated concrete walls, you should purchase plaster specially designed for such blocks. It allows you to level out visible unevenness and defects and protect the walls from moisture and temperature changes.

Facade paint

Another budget option, designed to decorate the walls of an old house. Let's say we have an old brick house that has lost its luster. But the walls are still quite strong. In this case, paint can be used as a facade “new thing”. This material is a building mixture that includes a structuring filler. The thickness of this paint is 10 mm, which allows you to form a protective and at the same time decorative barrier on the walls of the cottage.

The peculiarity of this façade paint is that it can be applied even to an unprepared surface without first sealing cracks and chips. Thanks to its structure, facade paint will hide all unevenness. In addition, the coloring mixture is able to “breathe”, which has a beneficial effect on both stone/block walls and wooden ones.

Siding

This cladding material occupies one of the leading positions in the construction market. And competitiveness is determined not only by the reasonable price of the material, but also technical characteristics. Siding is thin long panels 150x500 mm, which have a perforated edge in their design for simplified installation of the material to the frame. The second edge of the panels has a slight protrusion that allows you to cover the attachment points of the underlying elements. Thus, the cladding takes on integrity and attractiveness.

Siding is also popular because it comes in a wide range of colors. Or rather, it is made in various designs - wood, marble, stone, brick, etc. Thus, you can give the house any look in accordance with the intended design.

There are several types of siding based on the type of material from which it is made:

• PVC siding. These are cellular panels that are lightweight. Thanks to this hollow structure, siding panels act not only as decorative cladding, but also additionally insulate the walls of the house. This material does not rot, is not afraid of water, and is resistant to burning and rotting.
• Metal siding. Thin panels made of steel, zinc or aluminum. They have a thickness of 5 mm. Easy to install, resistant to negative impacts atmospheric precipitation and corrosion. You can sheathe with such material yourself, without resorting to the help of professionals.
• Wood siding. A natural material that is characterized by increased environmental friendliness, attractiveness and low thermal conductivity. However, wood panels cannot withstand moisture. And even if the panels are carefully treated with antiseptics and varnishes, wood has a shorter service life than metal or PVC.
• Fiber cement siding. The material is made from a mixture of cement and polymer fibers. The result is a material that is strong and resistant to various negative factors.

Important: siding can be installed on top of the ventilated façade system. The material does not interfere with air microcirculation.

Tree

To cover a house in a country style, you can use edged or unedged boards. The first option is lumber with perfectly smooth edges. The second type of board is lamellas, sawn from unprepared and uncleaned logs. As a result, bark, bast and sapwood remain at the ends of the boards. This type of cladding material is used for cladding walls with a herringbone or overlapping pattern. The panels overlap one another from bottom to top. With proper care, the cladding will last 15-20 years. Then the boards will need to be replaced. Although for a small country house This finishing option is ideal. After all, wood retains heat, provides walls with breath, and looks simply beautiful.

If you want to use wood as cladding, but in such a way that the house looks rich, then you can use a block house. These are the same wooden panels, but with a convex side. That is, it imitates a log. Cladding a house with a block house looks colorful and expensive at the low cost of the material.

Advice: if you want to save even more, you can buy siding for a block house.

Decorative tiles

Clinker tiles are often used for cladding a house. It can imitate brick, stone, etc. This material is made from a mixture of water, clay and glaze. The result is an environmentally friendly material of low weight. Therefore, tiling a house does not require strengthening the foundation. The tile interacts well with the sun, water, low and high temperatures. And such material is completely inert to fire. You can lay tiles yourself, following all the principles of laying. Thus, a budget finishing option will be available.

Panels for house cladding

You can cover your house with light PVC panels. This material is also inexpensive and attractive. The finishing can be done in the form of natural stone, marble, brick, wood, etc. The panels are light in weight and therefore easy to install. With the help of such facing slabs you can create a beautiful decorative finish for the entire cottage. Moreover, the panels can be combined by finishing the base and corners of the house as stone, and the walls as wood or simply decorated in a uniform shade.

Remember, a house finished with the right materials not only gets a new appearance, but also gets a longer service life.