We have a house with awful Tudor cladding which needs repainting (I eventually plan on rendering the house, but that’s cost-prohibitive right now). However some bits of the wood are completely rotten so I need to replace some bits – can I use regular softwood (rated for interior use) or would I need to use pressure-treated exterior wood?

I am using Zinsser All-Coat Exterior Satin paint if that helps.

If it is one the interior of the house you can use interior treated wood.
If it is one the exterior of the house you can use exterior treated wood.

There is this weird naming convention that sometimes needs explaining

Pressure treated will last longer but if you are painting it then regular softwood may well last long enough. I’d go with pressure treated, for the small extra cost it’ll save doing it twice, especially as it has rotted before.

Planning to paint or varnish? What’s the exposure like? Facing West?

@rysdster

I am using Zinsser All-Coat Exterior Satin paint if that helps.

If I remember right larch cladding doesn’t need preserver and goes a lovely silver grey over time.
I might be wrong tho so check 🙂

Nah you’re right sweepy.

Then as @kayak about sugi ban

Someone mentioned Larch

Make sure yo know it is Larch

Re: Larch – I had considered this but it would look massively out of place with neighbouring properties. Rendering I could get away with as some are plain, some have Tudor planking and some have Tudor planking and render. None have any larch though.

I have the same challenge at some point, except mines mock Tudor and pebbledash.

One house near us has covered the lot over with composite cladding in a light grey, with dark grey windows. Looks pretty smart, but out of place. Probably a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than rendering and painting the lot

Re: Larch – I had considered this but it would look massively out of place with neighbouring properties.

Why is that a bad thing? The best advice we took from our architect was to make our property stand out from the others. On the assumption that it’s mock tudor rather than actual, and you’re not in any conservation area, you should be able to do what you want. Personally I’m over the moon at the fact that we have next to no wood on the outside of our house, only a garage door that hopefully will get changed at some point this year. No need for any maintenance as all the windows are Al clad which also they can be in any colour you want.

Do what YOU would like with the cladding. Get rid, replace with composite, do it in neon pink if you like. Don’t be bound by what others might prefer.