The Japanese have been burning wood to preserve it for 700 years. Turns out they were onto something.
Charred Shiplap isn't timber that's been damaged by fire - it's timber that's been transformed by it. Using the ancient Japanese technique known as Yakisugi or Shou Sugi Ban, we take Australian hardwood that's already tough and make it untouchable.
High durability reclaimed and sustainable Australian hardwoods
Fire and termite resistance
End matching included
Low maintenance, natural greying option
External and internal uses
Charred Shiplap Cladding, precision profile milled from durability Class 1 Australian reclaimed and sustainable hardwoods.
Our Shiplap Cladding is an economical and attractive lining for exterior or interior uses in traditional and modern buildings, whether residential, commercial, or industrial.
This timber is finished with a charred face finish. These finishes are textured, showing saw-tooth markings.
Natural fire-resistant properties, Australian Standard AS 3959, and natural termite resistance.
Because timber is a natural product with many varieties, your final product may differ in both colour and character from how it appears in the photos shown here. This is dependent on many factors, including the wood species, soil, climate and local environment, as well as the lighting at the time of the photo capture.
Unless the product is faulty, we do not accept returns for timber that does not appear as you expected. We recommend asking us which pieces are currently available before ordering if you are after a particular style or colour.
Technical Specifications:
- Species: Australian Hardwood (Class 1 Durability)
- Profiles: 68mm x 19mm or 120mm x 19mm shiplap
- Finish: Traditional Yakisugi charred surface
- Fire Rating: Compliant with AS 3959
- Termite Resistance: Natural hardwood resistance enhanced by a carbon layer
- Applications: External & internal
- Maintenance: None required
- End-Matching: Included
- Colour Options: Deep charred black (silvers naturally over time if desired)
High Durability Reclaimed and Sustainable Australian Hardwoods
Start with reclaimed Australian hardwood that's already proven itself. Railway sleepers that carried the nation's freight. Structural timber from buildings that stood when your grandparents were children. Class 1 durability before we even light the torch.
Then we char it.
Not because it needs protecting—this timber has already survived decades of Australian weather. We char it because fire does something chemistry can't. It creates a carbon shield that turns tough timber into something almost supernatural.
The Japanese discovered this centuries ago, preserving temples that still stand today. We're just applying their wisdom to Australian hardwood that was already harder than most countries' best timber.
Every board is reclaimed heritage with a black armour that says, "I've survived everything, including fire itself."
Fire and Termite Resistance
Here's the beautiful irony: we set your cladding on fire so it won't burn down.
The Yakisugi process creates a carbon layer that fire can't penetrate. It's already burned. There's nothing left for flames to consume. While your neighbour's cladding hopes its chemical treatment holds up, yours has been pre-burned to AS 3959 compliance. Fire shows up at your wall and realises it's already lost this fight.
Termites? They see charred timber the way vampires see garlic. Not only is the hardwood naturally resistant, but the carbon layer is literally indigestible. They can't eat carbon. They won't even try. No chemicals leaching into your garden. No treatments that expire. Just timber that termites look at and think, "absolutely not."
This is what happens when ancient Japanese wisdom meets Australian paranoia about bushfires and termites. We win on both counts.
End Matching Included
Black walls demand perfection. Every join, every seam, every transition shows up like a mistake in a minimalist painting. That's why we include end-matching.
Low Maintenance, Natural Greying Option
Let's talk about what "maintenance-free" means when your cladding is already charred black.
Option one: Do absolutely nothing. The carbon layer is UV-stable, weather-proof, and literally cannot rot. It will look the same in 20 years as it does on day one. Midnight black, with the subtle texture of alligator skin catching light at different angles. Your maintenance schedule: non-existent.
Option two: Let it silver. Over many years, the raised grain will slowly reveal silver-grey highlights while the valleys stay black. It's like watching a photograph develop in extreme slow motion. The contrast between the silver peaks and charred valleys creates a depth you can't achieve with paint or stain.
Either way, you're not maintaining anything. You're just deciding whether you want eternal black or slow-motion silver. The neighbour, who rests their deck every summer, doesn't understand why you're never home on weekends anymore.
External and Internal Uses
Charred Shiplap doesn't care about boundaries. It's been through fire—you think it's worried about a bit of rain?
Outside, it's armour. The weather hits that carbon layer and bounces off. Sun, rain, hail - they're all equally irrelevant to timber that's already been through hell and came out stronger. That brutal western wall everyone warns you about? Charred Shiplap treats it like a gentle breeze.
Inside, it's drama. Pure architectural drama. A feature wall of Charred Shiplap doesn't just anchor a room—it transforms it. Restaurants use it to create intimacy. Offices use it to project power. Homes use it because once you've seen a living room with a charred timber wall, everything else looks like you're trying too hard or not trying at all.
The same product that shrugs off cyclones becomes the backdrop that makes your furniture look more expensive than it is, because nothing makes a statement quite like timber that's been literally forged by fire.
Two Profiles.
Same Uncompromising Presence.
- 68mm x 19mm - For refined, contemporary lines
- 120mm x 19mm - When you want the char pattern to dominate
Both are precision-milled from Australian hardwood. Both carry that distinctive crocodile-skin texture that only real Yakisugi achieves.
The Yakisugi Difference
This isn't paint. It isn't stained. It isn't some chemical treatment trying to look charred. This is timber that's been transformed at a molecular level by actual fire. Run your hand across it and feel the texture—peaks and valleys created by flame, not by machine. Each board is unique, yet part of a perfect whole.
The carbon layer isn't a coating—it's the timber itself, transformed. You can't scratch through to raw wood because there is no "through." It's char all the way down to where the fire stopped, creating protection that's measured in decades, not years.
What You're Really Buying
You're buying the right to never think about your cladding again. You're buying walls that look like modern art but perform like ancient armour. You're purchasing the conversation that starts every time someone sees your space for the first time, only to stop mid-sentence because that wall demands attention.
But mostly, you're buying proof that sometimes the old ways are best. Those 700 years of Japanese temples can't be wrong. That fire, properly applied, creates rather than destroys.
Installation Note
Charred Shiplap installs like regular shiplap because underneath the char, that's what it is. Your builder already knows what to do. No specialist tools. No certified installers. Just respect for handling something that's been transformed by fire into something extraordinary.
