Wall Panel 87E Black: the 2cm build-up and what it clears

A clad wall is a thicker wall. The Wall Panel 87E in black is given as 2cm thick, so the finished face sits at least 2cm forward of where the brick is now, and further if anything is fixed behind it. On an open elevation nobody notices. Next to a gate, a door or a downpipe it is the measurement that decides whether the job works.

The panel and what a pack covers

Each board is listed as 14.7 x 290 x 2cm loose and 13.5 x 290 x 2cm once interlocked with its neighbour, with six boards to a pack and 2.35m² covered per pack when fitted. The 290cm is the length. Of the two remaining figures, 2cm is the thickness and the wider one the face width, but the listing does not label them, so have the shop confirm it if a tight reveal depends on it.

Two centimetres forward, and what it meets

Walk the wall before you order and look for anything the new face will come up against:

• Gates and doors. A gate that currently clears the brick by 10mm will bind on cladding. Check the hinge side and the latch side separately.
• Window and door reveals. Cladding that runs up to a reveal needs a trim, and the trim needs somewhere to sit.
• Taps, lights and external sockets. Each has to be cut around or moved out, and moving an outdoor socket is an electrician's job, not a cladding one.
• Downpipes and gutter brackets. Pipes are usually easier to take off and refit on longer fixings than to cut around.
• Ground level. Decide where the bottom board stops. Boards that touch soil or standing water are a different proposition from boards that stop clear of it, and the listing says nothing on the point.

If a batten goes behind

The 87E description describes the boards as interlocking and does not state a fixing method, a batten size or a fastener. Any batten adds its own depth on top of the 2cm. That is the number to carry into every clearance above, and it is a question for the shop rather than an assumption, because it changes the trim depth as well.

Black trims and corners

The Wall Panel 73/83 Trim in 290cm lists an E Black finish, and its option names it as the fit for panels 73E, 83E and 87E. The 73/83 Corner Trim also lists black, at 4 x 4 x 290cm, three to a pack. Black is one of the better served finishes here, which makes it a sensible choice where a wall has several edges and returns to close off. Both are sold separately from the panels.

Questions worth asking first

Nothing on the listing states a fire rating, a weight per pack or a fixing centre, and it gives no figure for expansion, which matters on a long dark elevation in full sun. Ask rather than assume. The 87D in dark brown shares the same measurements if black is too strong for the setting, and the outdoor wall panel range holds wider 21cm boards for large elevations. When the clearances check out, the Wall Panel 87E black cladding page has the photographs and the rest of the detail.