What Cladding is Best for Coastal Homes

You've bought your dream section by the sea. The views are to die for and the golden and black sands of an idyllic beach are just a short stroll away. You are now eagerly approaching the design and build of your beach house with the goal of striking the perfect balance between appearance and weather resistance. Deciding on the right exterior cladding is an important choice that will have a long-term impact on how you feel about your house.

However, cladding is used for more than just aesthetic reasons. It provides weather protection and thermal insulation to your home, so when selecting the right cladding, you must consider more than just water, heat, and wind resistance. The corrosion caused by the salt in seawater must also be taken into account.

Why your coastal home needs the right cladding

When selecting materials for your beautiful new oceanfront home, one major factor to consider is salt. Because it carries an electrical charge, salt suspended in water is highly reactive. It can quickly penetrate and adhere to a variety of materials. That's bad news for building materials because salt is extremely corrosive, and corrosion is something you don't want to happen to the structural components of your beautiful new home.

Concrete structures such as foundations, pilings, pavements, and structural walls are notoriously susceptible to corrosion by salt water. It can eat into the metal reinforcements used in concrete architecture as well as penetrate concrete and gradually break it down, causing weakness and instability that may manifest years later. For bricks, mortar, and plaster, the same holds true.

Almost any building material can be used for coastal homes, but it's important to be aware of their weaknesses and choose material selections with them in mind.

Your home's design can also help to reduce salt damage. Using horizontal profiles for weatherboards and powder-coated steel cladding, for example, allows salt to accumulate in the small shelves, so placing these materials vertically allows salt to be easily washed away.

What cladding is suitable for a coastal home?

Nu-wall cladding

Nu-Wall is founded on the durability and strength of aluminium. Whether your house is modern or traditional, Nu-Wall cladding makes it a superior, low-maintenance structure. You get all of the desirable aesthetics, incredible durability, demonstrated weather-tightness, and low maintenance. It offers the rain an impermeable surface, preventing water from entering or accumulating around it. Moisture simply has nowhere to go.

Built to last, Nu-Wall aluminium cladding has a 100-year warranty, yet they are optimistic that it will last even longer. It excels in New Zealand's most challenging environments, including geothermal, alpine, and coastal ones. Nu-Wall won't corrode, warp, or rot. Additionally, because of its light weight, it won't put as much stress on the structural elements' foundations.

Aerated concrete panel and plaster cladding

An aerated concrete panel system with a drained cavity, and mesh plaster provides a solid and robust cladding which also looks amazing. Two systems we suggest using are Specialised EZ-panel and Resene Rockcote. Precast concrete panels are also a great cladding system and provides a solid and passive heating solution, so these design features will not only stand the test of time, even in a salty environment, but will also provide the interiors with a barrier to overheating in summer.

Timber cladding

Many Kiwi homes have weatherboards, which are attractive and lightweight. It harmonises with all building designs, from bold minimalism to modern, clean lines, and it blends in beautifully with the breathtaking Kiwi seaside landscape. In a coastal area, they also sustain a weathered, beachy look over time. Timber can be an extremely durable cladding option, but requires maintenance and re-staining every 3-5 years to keep it looking good.

You can stain it, paint it or even leave it to weather naturally!

Brick cladding

Due to its strength, insulation capabilities, and fire resistance, brick is a reliable and durable material. Additionally, it exudes warmth and sincere charm. Due to its straightforward design, timeless appearance, and ability to complement wood, we would suggest stack bonded straight edge brick. Next to the coast we suggest using stainless steel brick ties in the cavity space, so there are so galvanised fixings that will rust and corrode over time.

What cladding to avoid for ocean front homes?

When exposed to sea salt, stainless steel or metal cladding (and roofing) is not particularly resistant to rusting. In order to avoid corrosion, exposed steel needs to be carefully treated. As an ulternative, we suggest using Colorsteel Maxx, which is manufactured to withstand sea-spray and salt. It should be hot-dipped and galvanised.

Keep an eye out for steel that has been cut or exposed, rust will find a weak spot in these areas.

What maintenance is required?

No matter what cladding option you choose, regularly washing down the exterior walls and windows of your new coastal home is a crucial part of home maintenance because it helps prevent salt buildup. The most efficient way to do this is to install an outdoor tap that is connected to hot water. Even if you live a short walking distance from the ocean, your windows will still accumulate salt, particularly after a storm, so make sure they are all easy to clean. If you build your home on a cliff overlooking the ocean, you can be sure that your breathtaking views will be quickly blocked by salt encrustation unless you have a safe and convenient way to get to them when they need cleaning.

Lets talk

Our team will be happy to talk to you about some unique design and build possibilities if you intend to build a new coastal home in Taranaki or the Mid North of New Zealand. Due to our coastal settings, we build homes close to the ocean all year long. As a result, we are familiar with the requirements for building a home that will last for many years without the trouble of continuous upkeep. Contact us  now to discuss your choices in more detail.