Yes, our harsh Australian environment does hammer our external finishes but if exposed timber is coated with a good quality finish initially ( i recommend 4 coats minimum ) then an ongoing maintenance coat every couple of years, your timber can still look great many years down the track. People just need to understand if you want that beautiful natural timber look you have to put time in to maintain it.

Hi Katrine, The renovation went really well - thanks! It's been finished for more than a year now - hard to believe!! I could only find one pic of the cladding that was easy for me to upload - here it is. We've been really happy with the FC cladding and how it looks. We replaced all the existing exterior weatherboards (which ran on an angle parallel to the roof) with the same Duragroove FC cladding that we covered the new extension in. Our builders said it is very easy to work with and it certainly went up very quickly. Their only comment was that you can end up with a fair bit of wastage as it often gets damaged in transit. The supplier they used said this is pretty common, however, and so they actually allow for it and oversupply somewhat to allow a proportion of damaged sheets - sorry I can't quantify this aspect for you. The cladding was very easy and quick to paint and we're very happy with how it has come up. If you're interested in details, it's painted in a new Colourbond colour called Gully. The darker trim (fascias, gutters, downpipes etc) is Woodland Grey. Good luck with your decision making. If you'd like more photos, let me know and I'll try to take and upload a few more. Cheers, Kate

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The eave ones are fairly standard. The cladding joins are quite ordinary.