Looking after a longrun-and-cedar home

The twice-a-year, one-afternoon maintenance routine that keeps steel roofing and cedar cladding looking sharp for decades, plus what to never do to either.

The materials on a Seventy are chosen because they last with very little help. But very little is not zero, and the small routine below is the difference between a home that looks sharp at year fifteen and one that looks tired at year five.

Twice a year, wash the cladding. A soft brush, a bucket of warm water with a little detergent, and a hose. That is it. The job is really about removing the salt and organic film that holds moisture against the surface. Never water-blast cedar and never let anyone else do it either; high pressure drives water into the timber and lifts the surface.

The roof mostly looks after itself in the rain, but the sheltered areas do not. Once a year, rinse under the eaves and check the gutters, especially if you are near trees or the coast. While you are up the ladder, look at the washers on any visible fixings; they should be snug, not crushed.

Cedar will silver over time if you let it, and plenty of owners prefer that. If you want to hold the original tone, plan on re-oiling the sunny faces every two to three years and the sheltered faces every five. It is a weekend job with a brush, not a scaffold job.

Keep gardens 300mm clear of the cladding line, keep the ground falling away from the slab, and that is genuinely the whole list. An afternoon in spring, an afternoon in autumn, and the home stays looking like the photographs.