Cladding is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when building a garden room. It’s the first thing people see, the first line of defence against the British weather, and it will either save you maintenance headaches for decades or create them. Having built over ten garden buildings ourselves, we’ve used several different cladding types across our projects, and each one has taught us something.
This guide runs through the main options available, covering cost, performance, aesthetics, and real-world workability, so you can choose the right material for your build and your budget.
What Cladding Actually Needs to Do
Before getting into the options, it’s worth being clear about what you’re asking cladding to do. It needs to repel rainwater reliably, handle freeze-thaw cycles without cracking or delaminating, resist rot and insect damage over many years, and look good doing all of it.
In the UK climate, especially, that last point about moisture is non-negotiable. Whatever material you choose, it needs to be installed with a ventilated cavity behind it so any moisture that gets in can escape rather than sitting against your sheathing and frame.
If you’re still working through the structural side of your build, the wall framing guide covers how to construct the wall build-up that sits beneath your cladding.
Western Red Cedar
Western Red Cedar is our go-to cladding and the material we’ve used on the majority of our builds. If budget allows, it’s difficult to argue against it.
The timber has naturally occurring oils that make it resistant to rot, insects, and moisture without any chemical treatment. Left untreated, it weathers to a beautiful silver-grey. Treated with a clear or lightly tinted oil, it holds that warm, reddish-brown tone that makes a garden room look genuinely high-end. Aesthetically, it’s the best of the timber options and rivals composite for visual appeal.
From a workability standpoint, it’s a pleasure to use. It’s lightweight, cuts cleanly, and shapes easily with standard woodworking tools. Fixing through the face or secret-nailing featheredge boards is straightforward, and because it’s stable it doesn’t cup or twist the way denser softwoods can. We’ve found it far more forgiving than metal cladding during installation.
Cost: Western Red Cedar cladding typically runs between £30 and £60 per m² for the timber alone, depending on profile and supplier. That’s meaningfully more than spruce or steel sheeting, but the longevity and low maintenance requirement over a 30-plus-year lifespan make the premium easier to justify.
One practical note: Cedar isn’t as widely stocked as spruce. Many builders’ merchants don’t carry it, and you’ll often need to source it from a specialist timber supplier, sometimes with a lead time and delivery from further afield. It’s worth factoring this into your project timeline and getting quotes early.
Being Smart About Where You Use It
One approach we’ve taken on our own builds is to use Western Red Cedar on the visible elevations only and switch to a cheaper material on any sides that aren’t easily seen, such as the rear wall backing onto a fence or boundary. Steel box profile sheeting works well here. It’s quick to fix, weatherproof, and costs a fraction of cedar per square metre. As long as you detail the junction between the two materials properly, there’s no practical downside and you can save a reasonable amount on materials without compromising the look of the building.
For a deeper look at why cedar performs the way it does, the Western Red Cedar cladding article covers its properties in more detail.
Spruce Timber Cladding
Spruce is the budget timber cladding option and the one you’ll find most easily at builders’ merchants and timber yards across the UK. It’s widely available in featheredge, shiplap, and tongue-and-groove profiles, and it’s significantly cheaper than cedar, typically coming in at £10 to £20 per m².
We’ve used spruce on a couple of builds and the results can look genuinely good, particularly when the boards are oiled or stained to a consistent finish. The problem is longevity. Spruce doesn’t have the natural oils that cedar does, so it’s much more dependent on a maintenance coating to stay healthy. In a wet climate, unprotected spruce will start to show signs of deterioration within a few years. It will need retreating every two to three years to stay in good condition, and even with diligent maintenance, you’re unlikely to get the same lifespan out of it that cedar delivers.
For a garden room you’re planning to use for a decade or more, the lower upfront cost needs to be weighed against the ongoing maintenance commitment and the likelihood of needing to replace sections earlier than you would with cedar or composite.
Cost: £10 to £20 per m², widely available from local suppliers with no lead time.
Metal Cladding (Steel Box Profile or Corrugated)
Steel cladding is the most cost-effective option per square metre and delivers excellent weather protection. Box profile steel sheeting is essentially bombproof in terms of weather resistance, it will not rot, it doesn’t need painting or oiling, and a quality coated sheet will hold its colour for many years.
The trade-offs are real though. Steel is hard to cut cleanly without the right tools. A good angle grinder with a metal cutting disc will do the job, but working around windows, doors, and corners is fiddly and unforgiving compared to timber. Mistakes are more difficult to correct.
The other thing we’ve noticed on our own buildings is noise. Rain on cedar is quiet. Rain on metal cladding is noticeably louder, which isn’t a problem if the building is a store or workshop, but is worth thinking about if you’re planning to use it as a home office or music studio.
Aesthetically, box profile steel reads as agricultural or industrial. On the right building, that can work well. On a garden office surrounded by planting, it can look out of place. It’s best reserved for hidden elevations, outbuildings, or projects where budget is the overriding factor.
Cost: £8 to £18 per m² depending on profile, thickness, and coating.
Composite Cladding
Composite cladding is made from a blend of wood fibre and recycled plastic. The pitch from manufacturers is strong: it looks like timber, requires virtually no maintenance, and will outlast natural wood by some margin. All of that is broadly true.
The main barrier is cost. Composite cladding typically starts at around £40 to £70 per m² and can go higher depending on the brand and profile. You’re also working with a manufactured product that looks very good on a specification sheet but can look a little flat in person compared to real cedar. It’s worth seeing samples in natural light before committing.
Where composite earns its place is on builds where the owner genuinely wants to fit and forget. If you don’t want to think about oiling, staining, or checking for rot every couple of years, composite is a strong argument.
Fibre Cement Cladding (e.g. HardiePlank)
Fibre cement boards are another low-maintenance option, made from cement, sand, and cellulose fibres. They’re non-combustible, resistant to moisture and insects, and available in a range of finishes including smooth painted and wood-grain textures.
The main downside is weight. Fibre cement is heavy compared to timber or composite, which makes handling and cutting more demanding. Cutting also produces silica dust, so respiratory protection is essential. Installation requires more care and the boards are less forgiving to work with than timber.
Cost: £20 to £40 per m² depending on thickness and profile.
Larch Timber Cladding
Larch sits between spruce and Western Red Cedar in terms of both cost and durability. It contains more natural resin than spruce, which gives it better rot resistance without chemical treatment, though not quite at cedar levels. It’s more widely available than cedar and can often be sourced locally, which removes the sourcing challenges that come with cedar.
Visually it weathers to a similar silver-grey as cedar if left untreated. It’s a good compromise if cedar is out of reach on budget or availability.
Cost: £18 to £35 per m².
Comparison Table
| Cladding Type | Approx. Cost (per m²) | Durability | Maintenance | Aesthetics | Workability | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Red Cedar | £30 to £60 | Excellent (30+ yrs) | Low (oil every 3 to 5 yrs) | Excellent | Very easy | Specialist suppliers, may need delivery |
| Spruce Timber | £10 to £20 | Moderate (10 to 15 yrs with upkeep) | High (treat every 2 to 3 yrs) | Good | Easy | Wide, most merchants |
| Metal (Steel) | £8 to £18 | Excellent | Very low | Industrial | Moderate (harder to cut) | Wide |
| Composite | £40 to £70 | Excellent (25+ yrs) | Very low | Good to very good | Easy | Specialist suppliers |
| Fibre Cement | £20 to £40 | Very good | Low (repaint periodically) | Good | Moderate (heavy, dusty) | Moderate |
| Larch Timber | £18 to £35 | Good (15 to 20 yrs) | Low to moderate | Very good | Easy | Good, most timber yards |
Which Should You Choose?
If budget is flexible and aesthetics matter, Western Red Cedar is the answer. The combination of natural performance, workability, and appearance is hard to match. The sourcing challenge is real but manageable with a bit of planning.
If you’re building on a tight budget, spruce or metal sheeting are both viable. Spruce looks good and is easy to work with; just commit to the maintenance. Metal is excellent for hidden elevations or functional outbuildings where looks aren’t a priority.
Composite is a strong option if you want genuine low maintenance and are happy to pay for it upfront. Larch is an underrated middle ground that more people should consider.
The approach we tend to take on our own builds is cedar on the visible sides and steel on anything hidden. It gives you the best of both worlds without blowing the budget on premium timber for walls nobody will ever see.
For more detail on planning your garden room build from the ground up, the complete DIY garden room resource covers every stage from foundations to interior finishes, and the budget build case study shows how to make smart material decisions when cost is the main constraint.
