High-Quality Cladding Factory & Product in Toronto

Forestar WPC cladding profiles are engineered to meet both OBC Part 9 (Housing and Small Buildings) and Part 3 (Fire Protection, Occupant Safety and Accessibility) standards. For residential and low-rise commercial structures under 4 storeys, our products serve as primary non-loadbearing exterior veneers within ventilated rainscreen assemblies. When specifying on combustible or mass timber framing, the system is installed over approved weather-resistive barriers with non-combustible furring. For Part 3 applications requiring non-combustibility approvals, test data referencing CAN/ULC-S102 surface flame spread and CAN/ULC-S134 full-scale assembly compliance are available for submission to municipal building officials across Toronto, Peel, York, and Durham regions.

Yes. Unlike wet-trade materials (such as stucco, masonry mortar, or EIFS) which require costly exterior heated hoarding below +4°C, Forestar composite cladding is installed completely dry using concealed mechanical clips and stainless-steel screws. However, installers must strictly adhere to our cold-weather expansion spacing matrix. Because materials expand when summer arrives, boards installed at -10°C require slightly larger butt-joint expansion allowances (typically 4.5mm to 6mm depending on profile length) to accommodate high summer thermal expansion.

Under modern Canadian building science best practices and OBC requirements, a clear, unobstructed continuous ventilation cavity of at least 19 mm (3/4 inch) is required behind the rear face of the cladding boards. This is typically achieved using vertical structural furring strips (aluminum, galvanized steel, or treated wood battens) spaced at 400mm (16 inches) on center. Continuous insect screens must be installed at all bottom air intakes and top exhaust terminations along the parapet or soffit to facilitate unobstructed stack-effect drying.

While natural cedar carries an initial material cost comparable to or slightly higher than high-performance composite cladding, its long-term lifecycle expense in Toronto’s harsh climate is substantially greater. Western Red Cedar requires chemical washing, pressure washing, sanding, and re-staining every 2 to 3 years to prevent moisture rot and black fungal mildew. Commercial repainting scaffolding in downtown Toronto costs thousands of dollars per floor. Forestar WPC cladding eliminates re-staining entirely, resulting in complete capital payback within 4 to 6 years of installation.

Our direct-factory fulfillment typically works on full-container-load (20ft or 40ft FCL) basis, which holds approximately 800 to 1,800 square meters of cladding profile depending on board dimensions and hollow versus solid core choices. Standard factory production lead times are 14 to 21 business days, followed by ocean transit and Canadian rail intermodal freight to the Toronto CN/CP intermodal yards taking approximately 25 to 35 calendar days. For project tenders, physical sample boxes and complete architectural binder packages are dispatched via priority air courier within 48 hours.