# Forum Home Renovation Cladding  Polystyrene Cladding vs Weatherboard

## mattwilliams78

I've been approached by one of the polystyrene render mobs who are offering to take off the old vinyl cladding and fibro underneath, taking my old 3-bedder back to the studs and replace it with brand new 100mm polystyrene, rendered over the top. I can even get my electrician to rewire the place too at the same time. Insulation value is fantastic (R2.7) and its airtight too so all of this should mean much lower bills in winter and summer  :Smilie:  
Trouble is I'm not sure about the whole rendered look..... I had been thinking of replacing it all with weatherboard (weathertex or hardiplank) which I feel would fit the style much more but are there people around who will do the whole process whoa to go? It seems like because its such a straight forward run-of-the-mill product that when I spoke to the suppliers they told me they just sell it to Bunnings/Mitre 10/Hardware and General etc. and all they could suggest was that I ring my local one and ask if they know anyone who comes in and buys alot it?! (can just imagine Bunnings being helpful with that one  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): ) 
Price doesn't seem ridiculous with the polystyrene and so convenient to just have one mob do it all. Anything I should be aware of with the polystyrene? Can anyone recomend any installers for weathertex/hardiplank? I'm in the southern suburbs of sydney (Sutherland Shire)

----------


## mattwilliams78

sorry, just to add - the polystyrene suppliers are manufacturers and installers so they know the product inside and out. They give a 25 year warranty (I need to check exactly what is covered).  They pointed me to about 10 houses that had been done in surrounding suburbs over the past 10 years and finally they reckon they will give me a 25% "discount" for being the first in my suburb with this new 100mm product but in order to do that I have to do it by the end of Feb (this last bit seems a bit of a con to me, I never believe the "act now for a discount" spiel but to be fair they were not really pushy at all, seemed like a nice guy). 
Appreciate people's thoughts.

----------


## shauck

Sounds like a hassle free experience but even so, if you aren't sure about the look of render for your house, weatherboard is dead easy to do. You might find somone to do the whole thing. Coordinating others can be tricky but if the look of weatherboards suits, I would go with that. Just one other thing, be prepared that there may be some repair work to the frame (you never know what lurks behind cladding) so make sure whoever you get is capable of sorting this out if necessary.

----------


## Overkill

I would be very interested to see how this works out as I was looking at replacing old metal cladding with weatherboard and this might be a better alternative. Do you have any links for the product? If the polystyrene is 100mm thick, how does it work around doors & windows?

----------


## BLWNHR

> I would be very interested to see how this works out as I was looking at replacing old metal cladding with weatherboard and this might be a better alternative. Do you have any links for the product? If the polystyrene is 100mm thick, how does it work around doors & windows?

  I'm assuming the same as all the other polystyrene-type panels on the market such as Unitex, Thermawall or Exintex. 
@ mattwilliams78
Did they mention a price? Here in Tas (everything is dearer in Tas) the guide price for 75mm Unitex is $160/sq.m supplied, installed & rendered. That gives an R value of 1.2 or 1.5 I believe.
Thermawall is around $95/sq.m supplied, installed & rendered, but it is only a 40mm panel and the R value is around 0.75, however you can buy R2.0 insulation for $10/sq.m so you end up with R2.75 for $105/sq.m as opposed to $160/sq.m for R1.5.
Of course the cost is higher if you have a lot of door/window openings, but both systems increase proportionately and Thermawall always works out cheaper.

----------


## mattwilliams78

@BLWNHR - I just reverse engineered the total quote based on my approximate areas - I reckon I have about 100m2 and relatively simple access wise so at the quoted price (less windows and removal of fibro etc.) I reckon it was about $170/m2 which seems steep based on what you have suggested. I'm looking into more quotes at the moment. 
@overkill - reveals are created at the windows so that it looks like a typical brick veneer that has been rendered. I think one of the main benefits with something like this is that you have the opportunity to replace old windows so I assume that it all looks good. My understanding of the blueboard type solution is that the architraves around the windows bridge the gap between the frame and the sheet so they scream "blueboard render" which in my experience is poor because of the visible seams and cracking etc. which this solution promises to avoid. 
Website is www.texa-cote.com.au - website quality is poor but honest enough sales guy, old school semi-retired, not pushy. 
The feedback about the weatherboards is interesting, I'm thinking I should look at that again as it was my first thought and more true to the construction method. I just want someone to do the whole thing for me - I have bitten off too much in the past and this would easily become that.....

----------


## mattwilliams78

sorry, actually BLWNHR, price seems spot on with Unitex. I was comparing to Thermawall - don't forget R2.7 out of polystyrene 100mm thick (I believe that as I work in a related field). 
This is of course taking into account the "first-house discount" which is likely no real discount at all  :Biggrin:

----------


## TermiMonster

Don't forget, if you replace the weatherboards, you can wack batts in the wall and sisalation to increase the R value of the existing wall, without compromising the features of the house, if that is important to you.
TM

----------


## sundancewfs

Do the polystyrene and then put the weatherboards over the top instead of rendering  :2thumbsup:  
Just a thought..... Its quite popular in the USA

----------


## LukeW

Hi matt, 
I have received a same letter from the same company as you mentioned in this thread. 
Just curious to see if you went through and if it turned out alright? 
Thanks 
Luke

----------

