Colorbond cladding. Never fades. Great colour choice.

we've done both: with the render finsh and painting the Hebel was more labour intensive, not cheaper than brick and the joints broke down after only two years It does provide good insulation but the same or better results can be achieved more efficiently...our next project will be reverse brick veneer with insulated Colorbond cladding..we concentrate on the shell of the building (roof, external walls, windows, doors and floors as the internal fittings can be added or upgraded over time...living without a proper kitchen for seven months allowed us to pay for better quality windows but you must plan to suit your climate and conditions, good luck

apennameandthata i don't know... vertical is more shed like style, while we still have a colonial style base and veranda. Dust will be an issue here (although its not so bad in that particular spot on a river, good protection from trees) but pressure wash will be regular practice anyway. Thanks for all your suggestions and I will take all on board, especially sandstone ideas. I don't this I want this house to look pretentious, but how can I describe that, I am after some subtle "wow" factor or something a bit different, but it must look like we knew what we are doing and YES, I want it to look like high quality build and not a transportable house or kit home. The house rectangle is so simple that I worry it may have that boring factor in its looks and that is why I am looking for some ideas. My problem is a tendency to overthink but I hope I will find a balance at some point :) At this stage I think: galvanised tin everywhere (or that zincalum), rusty steel posts, aluminum windows with timber look, sandstone features around main door and sandstone chimney. We had a big flood last year and the spot never goes under water, its on high grounds even though it is only meters from the river.

Hi Karen, I'm not a fan of colourbond cladding...you could put some modern fibro weatherboards on instead. Also those downstairs posts look like they have been joined? You could definitely clad the underside of the verandah roof, would improve the look. Although I have left mine unclad for the foreseeable future. If you do clad, you might need to double check with a builder if those rafters are ok to hold the cladding as well. If not, treated pine noggins can be installed. The railing balustrade should match the deck as well.