Don’t Buy Weetbix

Cladding and weather tightness are the most important things you need to check before buying your next property. You may need to spend 200K+ to fix cladding related issues. One of the problematic cladding is the weatherside. Weatherside was used in the early 1980s until its problem was discovered. Weatherside is a product made from wood and glue. The issue happens when moisture or rainwater go inside the weatherside and convert it to something like Weetabix. Some property owners in the 1980s get money from the council to fix this cladding but spend that money on something else. Then potentially there are a couple of weatherside houses which you need to be aware of it.

Weatherside vs Hardiplank:

It is difficult to identify Weatherside because it looks like HardiPlank cladding but with some small differences:

• It is thicker than HardiPlank.
• The nails went inside weatherside completely. On Hardiplank you can fill nails on the surface of the cladding.
• Inside weatherside is brown while HardiPlank is grey.

How to identify weatherside:

• The easiest way is to ask the agent.
• Another option check by yourself with the above description.
• Get help from experienced people.
• And as a good practice do property inspection before you buy property.

There are a lot of other issues which you need to consider when you inspect the property to purchase, make sure you have enough knowledge to identify most of them. If you want help with best practices on how to inspect the property before purchase please let me know.