# Wall Cladding Assembly

Hang composite wall cladding on a metal frame, board by board, step by step

By Joaquin Salazar

Topic: Home & DIY

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/dE8jyuSnqqkF)

## Guide

### 1. Wall Cladding Assembly

Wall cladding is a skin of boards fixed over a wall\. These boards never touch the wall itself: they hang on a thin metal frame with hidden clips and screws\. Here are three furring channels, three clips, three boards, nine deck screws, an edge trim and a screwdriver\. Tap any part to see its name\.

The boards are long and heavy, so handle them with two people\.

### 2. 1 · Fix the Channels

Furring channels are thin steel rails with a hat\-shaped bend\. Fix them across the wall, 40 cm apart and square to the way the boards will run\. Here the boards will stand upright, so the channels lie flat\.

Check that the wall is flat, level and clean first\.

### 3. 2 · Fit a Clip on Each Channel

Screw one metal clip onto each channel, about 4 cm from where it starts next to the side wall\. Each clip has a folded slot that will catch the first board\.

### 4. 3 · Hook In the First Board

On the back of each board is a hooked rear tab\. Slide the first board sideways until its tab locks into all three clips\. Leave a 1 cm gap at the side wall, because the boards grow and shrink a little with heat and cold\.

### 5. 4 · Screw Through the Side Flange

The other long edge has a side flange with a small groove along it\. Drive a deck screw through that groove into the middle channel until its head sits flush\.

### 6. 5 · Screw the Other Two Channels

Fix the flange to the top and bottom channels the same way\. The first board is now held by clips on one edge and screws on the other\.

### 7. 6 · Hook On the Second Board

Slide the next board in so its rear tab tucks behind the flange you just screwed\. Its edge now covers those screws, so no fixing shows on the finished wall\.

### 8. 7 · Screw the Second Board

Drive a screw through its side flange into each of the three channels, just like the first board\.

### 9. 8 · Hook On the Third Board

Hook the third board behind the second one the same way\. Every board locks to the one before it\.

Cut boards with a fine\-toothed wood blade \(75 to 100 teeth\), not a hand saw\.

### 10. 9 · Screw the Third Board

Screw its flange to all three channels\. On a real wall you keep going like this, board by board, and leave a 1 cm gap before the last board too\.

### 11. 10 · Cover the Edge

An L\-shaped edge trim hides the last board's flange and the frame behind it\. Push it over the edge and fix it with deck screws\.

### 12. Done

The wall is clad: clips and screws are all hidden, and the boards float a few centimetres off the wall on their frame\. The same method also works on ceilings\.