We are running into an issue with affixing cladding to our first build; in New Zealand, battens need to be attached to structural studs with around 70mm of penetration for the nail/screw, but the Wikihouse wall block face is only 18mm thick.
Has anyone done a standard batten/timber cladding on a Skylark build?
Hi Lachlan, try using a suitable THS Clip from Rondo, Studco or Karagaroo Site supplies AU/NZ.
They all have direct surface mount fix variations with 4/5 Screw holes/clip, but short screws for the 18mm thick ply/OSB. They could be paired back to back to give you 8/10 screw support. maybe Wiki house.cc may have to have an optional ply/OSB backer behind/ along the face edges to give 36mm Screw length?
Graham Osborne
Thanks for these suggestions - we were able to get approval from council for standard 20mm fluted battens after we demonstrated that the 75mm 10g stainless screw through the batten and exterior face of the Wikihouse blocks can withstand 100kg of weight pulling on it for over 20 minutes (was a fun experiment to construct!). We can then just affix our exterior cladding to the batten as usual; I believe it’s to simulate pull from particularly severe windstorms.
With structural engineering signoff it seems like the council accepts the solution.
That’s great, well done.