Wall Panel 83A Oak 02: picking the 180cm or the 290cm

The Wall Panel 83A in Oak 02 is sold in two lengths, and the choice is the first thing to settle because it changes both the coverage you get and the amount you cut off. Both versions are 21cm wide and 2.5cm thick, with six boards to a pack.

Two lengths, two coverage figures

Both coverage figures are the full 21cm width multiplied by the length and by six, so neither has an allowance for width lost at a joint. Boards that lap or lock together usually give up a little, so if your wall is close to a whole number of packs, ask the shop whether the fitted width differs from 21cm before you order to the figure.

Which length leaves less waste

Fitted upright, the rule is simple: pick the length closest above your wall height. A boundary wall at around 160cm takes the 180 board with a modest trim off the bottom. Taking the 290 board to the same wall throws away 130cm from every single piece, close to half of every board.

Fitted lengthways, the 290 usually wins, because a longer board means fewer joints along each row and fewer end cuts to line up. Measure the wall, divide by 290 and then by 180, and compare how much of the last board in each row you would be binning.

Oak 02 and Oak 03 are not the same listing

This panel is listed as Oak 02. The range also holds Wall Panel 83A in Oak 03, same code, different finish number, and the 73/83 Trim lists its oak as Oak 03, naming panels 73A, 83A and 87A. The listings do not describe how the two oaks differ. If you are buying trim alongside Oak 02 boards, that is a question to put to the shop rather than one to guess at from a photograph on a screen.

Brackets are the fixing this listing names

Unlike the other 83 finishes, this listing names no trim or corner piece. What it does name is the Bracket For Outdoor Panels, 50 to a pack, which the bracket's own listing describes as sliding onto the panel lip and fastening with a single screw. The listing recommends brackets for fitting but gives no spacing, so the number you need is not something you can work out from the page. Ask.

Before you order

• The slats are given as 3.5cm wide with 1.5cm between them. The listing does not say how many slats a board carries, so do not work it out from the 21cm width.
• The description's claims stop at UV resistance and a general reference to weather resistance, with no figures behind either. It gives no weight, no fire performance and nothing on what the boards may be fixed to, timber included.
• Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

Compare the finish against the 83B in grey if the setting is more modern than rustic, then size up on the Wall Panel 83A Oak 02 outdoor panel page or browse the full outdoor wall panel range.