Is Composite Cladding Low Maintenance?

Is your composite cladding a low maintenance option – we often get asked.

Let’s consider what “maintenance” actually means in regard to traditional timber cladding. (This does not apply to composite cladding).

With timber cladding, whether you stain it or paint it, within a few years, that stain and paint will start to fade, chip, and peel away. Depending on the timber used, you may also need to have it treated with termite protection throughout its lifetime.

Once the sealant and treatment start to age, as it does sooner rather than later in our extreme Australian climate, the timber boards lose their protection and start to disintegrate.

Composite Cladding A Low Maintenance Option

Yes, not all timbers are equal. Some species offer moisture and decay resistance and are more durable than other types, but regardless of the wood species, unprotected and unmaintained timber cladding will start to rot, warp, splinter, and pop their nails due to the natural weathering process. (Not to mention, it looks super ugly!)

So, every few years, you will be hiring someone (or doing it yourself) to sand back the boards, reprime and repaint or re-stain them (better put some extra in your savings account because this will be ongoing long term, for the lifetime of your timber cladding). Hardly what you would call low maintenance, right?

Imagine a life where you didn’t have to do that!

Ta-da! Enter composite cladding, like NewTechWood, for example. When you say low maintenance, you think our composite cladding.

Low maintenance composite cladding

Source: Recommended installer – Noakes Carpentry, NSW, NewTechWood UH61 in Ipe

Many composite products are considered maintenance-free or low-maintenance cladding options (because we recommend washing down with a hose occasionally to remove the dust and dirt and make it look new again – if the rain doesn’t beat you to it). And that’s it. 

No more sanding, sealing, staining, or painting needed to extend your composite materials life and looks – ever. Now, that’s what we call low maintenance!

The Low Maintenance Nature Of Composite Timber Cladding

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? So how can this be?

For starters, some composite cladding, like NewTechWood, is a pre-finished product, which means there is no need to even think about stains or paints – you just choose your colour, and that’s it.

Secondly, high-quality composites, like NewTechWood, are fully protected by a capping made from a special engineering-grade polymer and additives with extremely low water penetration. Using a co-extrusion process, the shield is heat pressed onto the core, creating an impermeable protection system against moisture, ultra-violet (UV), insects and bacteria.

For you, this means saving time and money, and if you are a NewTechWood owner, you have the peace of mind of a 25-year warranty.

In addition, NewTechWood cladding is eco-friendly, offering a much lower carbon footprint than other options, like cement cladding for example. This makes our cladding a durable, guilt-free option that is the ideal choice for Australian homes.

Are All Non-Natural Timber Cladding Products Maintenance Free? 

Unfortunately, no. Some pure plastic cladding and some types of fibre cement are more prone to damage and the elements than others. It’s advisable to use a suitable product to protect heat-treated or thermally modified natural timbers from the damaging effects of exposure to UV radiation.

Then there are other types of cladding made from metals which also require less maintenance – some are long-lasting and others, not so much.

The purpose of this blog, however, is not to discuss other products suffice to say they exist and as a homeowner, you should do your homework before buying exterior cladding. Do your own research; ask the hard questions.

We can reassure you that fully capped composite cladding, like NewTechWood, is a fully finished product that requires no sealing, oiling, staining or painting over its lifetime. It has unrivalled durability and has stain and UV protection. It is also of no interest to termites or other wood-boring pests. It is environmentally friendly, being made from 95% recycled materials. In short, this timber-look cladding will stand up to all weather conditions, sun or snow, without requiring maintenance from you.

Why Would Regular Maintenance Be A Problem?

Well, if money is no object and you can afford the ongoing maintenance (even if you provide the labour yourself, you must still buy the products) and you don’t mind spending your free time doing this type of work, then we guess you don’t have a problem. But there are those who can’t afford the ongoing maintenance and are not interested or able to do the work themselves.

In addition, tall multi-level homes make any simple painting job more complex, as do ceilings, requiring ladders and scaffolding, as well as meeting safety regulations that the average homeowner is not equipped to meet. Also, the elderly and disabled are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to home maintenance of this nature.

Source: Binet Homes, NSW (NewTechWood cladding US31, Teak)

However, if timber-look, long-lasting, no-maintenance cladding that is sturdier and more durable than real timber weatherboards appeals to you, simply visit our Store Locator page to find your local retailer and then visit them to get our composite timber samples and free quotes.

Architects, builders and installers are welcome to contact our experts for more in-depth or technical information and NewTechWood sample packs.

Does a NewTechWood composite deck cost more than a timber deck?

In the short term, it does. However, when you compare the maintenance, material, time and labour cost on traditional timber decks every year the costs really add up. In less than three years, you will be able to see all the time and money you would have saved by using NewTechWood composite timber.

We are the wholesale importers and thus we only supply the stores that sell NewTechWood and are unable to provide pricing because we don’t sell direct to the public. You can find the stores who do sell NewTechWood on our website here: or you can submit an enquiry through our website, and we will make sure to connect you with the nearest NewTechWood reseller to get an exact quote for you.

NewTechWood is an American family-owned company, which began in Houston, Texas. They then built their own, quality controlled, manufacturing plant in China. The American owners now manage the complete manufacturing process on site. (Manufacturing in China enables them to provide top quality products at an affordable price.)

What state are you in? Please send us your postcode and we will advise the closest reseller store to go, see display, get free samples and quote for your deck. Otherwise, you can find where the stores are listed on our Store Locator page. They all carry samples as well. Some have large displays, and some do not – you can give them a call.

We’re wholesalers and we don’t do the installation. However, we have a list of recommended installers on our website and you can find comprehensive Installation Guides on our website.

Whether or not any building product meets an Australian building standard depends on the application and the class of building on which it is being installed. For this reason, it is best to consult your architect, or Planning Officer at your local authority, for the particular standard(s) you need to meet. This will determine how it is to be constructed/used to ensure it meets the required Standard(s).

BAL Fire ratings and energy efficiency ratings are not absolute values specific to a particular product, but apply to the way in which the product is installed, or the system of building in which the product is an element.  

NewTechWood Cladding does not have a BAL bushfire rating. Refer to your building engineer as you may not require a BAL rating, and may be able to be used with an engineered, fire-rated system in place. Refer to the Materials Safety Data Sheet downloadable here:

https://newtechwood.com.au/technical-information/

NewTechWood, like all wood plastic composite products, will expand in hotter ambient temperatures and contract in the cooler temperatures. The degree of expansion will largely depend on the type and ratio of timber & plastics used.

NewTechWood profiles will expand around 1.1mm per metre from a 15°C to high ambients.

Our hidden fix systems allow for this natural expansion & contraction to occur without affecting board creep or the design of the deck.

When installed properly, taking into account the ambient temperature at the time of installation and leaving a sufficient but not excessive gap, the spacings between the boards should always be negligible.

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