Shed cladding

[mitchino]

I am about to clad a shed frame. I was going to use 12.5mm T&G boards, but then got worried about expansion and contraction. Will they be ok or should I use Shiplap instead?

 

[foxhole]

Any cladding is subject to expansion etc .

 

[^woody^]

It's the species of timber that shrinks and expands, not the profile.

Any cheap pine softwood cladding will have greater movement than more stable cedar or larch or hardwoods.

Thinner boards also have higher risk of cupping and spliting - especially of the tongues and rebates when secret nailed.

 

[ray.birch]

Ultimately I would say it will come down to the quality of the timber in the first place. Given we're talking 12.5mm thickness, my initial sense is there could well be a decent amount of expansion and contraction to factor in. You can help yourself out by treating the wood appropriately (I usually use a couple of coats of wood preservative following by 2-3 coats of decking oil), but you'll still expect some.
For most sheds, I would go with shiplap - it's typically not much more than T&G and is arguably better suited. That being said, I'd rather take decent T&G vs low quality shiplap any day!