West Bowhouse Steading

Achieving sharp design and durability with Accoya®

When a senior architectural technologist with over 30 years of experience in the architectural design sector specifies cladding for his latest self-build project, you can be sure it’s a reliable choice. When he also selected that cladding for both its sharpness and its superior performance on his first self-build home (Davaar House in 2007), that’s a double seal of approval. The architectural technologist-turned-self-builder in question is Gordon Aitken. The cladding? Accoya®.

West Bowhouse Steading | Accoya® cladding factory coated with Teknos paint system | Gordon Aitken | David Barbour Photography

A pioneering self-builder

West Bowhouse Steading, Gordon’s second self-build project, is a striking contemporary interpretation of a rural Dutch barn/Scottish Longhouse. Gordon’s goal with this project was to create a sustainable home with low running costs and a low-maintenance exterior. The design, done by him, meets Passive House standards, which immediately ticks the first two of those three boxes. We helped Gordon take care of the low-maintenance aspect by supplying coated Accoya cladding for the exterior finish.

The ideal timber cladding for a low-maintenance exterior

Accoya is very well suited to coating, meaning the factory applied Teknos paint systems last up to three times longer than on unmodified timbers. Gordon is confident that he’ll see even better performance, though, having observed how little the Accoya cladding changed over the years on his previous home.

In 2007, when Gordon built his first home, he pioneered the use of Accoya in the UK. Back then, it was a pre-production and experimental timber cladding. Gordon’s trust in the product paid off: over the following 15 years, he was to discover that combining Accoya with a factory-applied coating removes almost any need for maintenance.

“The durability of the Accoya cladding and factory-applied coatings far exceeds the manufacturer’s expectations,” says Gordon.

Russwood’s technical knowledge is second to none. They are the industry experts in timber cladding, for both trade professionals and general customers.
Gordon Aitken, Self-builder and Senior Architectural Technologist

All about Accoya

Accoya is made in the Netherlands from certified sustainable radiata pine, a fast-growing species that thrives in New Zealand and Chile. The timber is transformed into high-performance cladding through an acetylation process — an eco-friendly method that uses vinegar, heat, and pressure to essentially ‘pickle’ the wood. The result is a Class 1 durable, stable and dense cladding with a 50+ year warranty.

We apply coatings to Accoya in our factory at Russwood HQ, which further helps consistency of appearance and adherence. In the case of West Bowhouse Steading, the chosen paint coating was Teknos.

Specifier Tip: Accoya has outstanding durability thanks to its eco-friendly modification (Class 1 – 3 BS EN 350-2). We supply only the cleanest grade, which is A1.

Mix-and-match cladding

To more closely mimic the local agricultural ‘Dutch barns’ and rural vernacular Scottish Long House that inspired his new home’s design, Gordon opted to use the cladding in two ways. He specified light-coloured vertical cladding boards in a RW119 profile for the building’s first floor, and dark grey horizontal rainscreen cladding in a RW014 profile to wrap around the base of the house.

The darker paint shade matches the window colour to disguise the gap between the patio doors and adjoining lounge windows. This clever use of colour creates a trompe l’oeil: from a distance, this part of the home resembles a barn door, reflecting its rural setting.

Crisp detailing and a flawless finish

We can profile and surface plane the Accoya cladding boards to a very smooth finish. When we then apply the Teknos coating on top, the finish is very high quality, with no visible brush marks.

All of this means that this cladding can be used to achieve sharp detailing on a building’s exterior – a look that Gordon was keen to achieve. The use of our F-Bohr® ZB Screws supports this crisp finish.

“We always planned to use Accoya, and the end result looks really sharp,” says Gordon. “I’m particularly pleased with the light woodgrain that shows through the Teknos coating. The installation and on-site labour costs are also reduced with pre-coated cladding.”

As the bio on his employer’s website says, West Bowhouse Steading reflects Gordon’s emphasis on quality and his meticulous attention to detail in the design process.