Facade at the roadside - protection against salt and water

Dear forum,

I am currently in the middle of renovating an old wooden house in a small rural village. In the spring, the living area will receive external insulation, which will be clad with larch wood. Since the house is very close to the main road, I now fear that the heavy traffic in winter (ski resort) will soon leave visible marks on the larch wood when mud splashes onto the facade. I am now considering cladding the facade up to about waist height with another material that can withstand salt water. Do you have any ideas what might be suitable, something that looks good with larch and at the same time serves the purpose?

Thank you very much in advance & best regards!

just a thought: why different? impregnate/paint your panels with a good paint. In the Benelux countries, there are known to be many such houses. The specialist trade offers appropriate paints. If after 10 years the facade looks unattractive, it might be worth renewing the lower part with the money saved.

Larch wood does not need impregnation. Over time it turns wonderfully grey without rotting. This is how we do it with our house - although it is not located near traffic. The process will simply be a bit faster on the side facing the street than in protected areas. It also fits our life motto: "How fast is nothing done."

Larch wood does not need impregnation. Over time, it turns wonderfully gray without rotting. That's how we do it with our house—although it is not located near a busy road. The process will simply be a bit faster on the street-facing side than in protected areas. It also fits our life motto: "How quickly nothing is done."

Great answer and totally my opinion as well. In the region, you see a lot of untreated larch wood (often on farms), where the larch wood turns dark brown to black on the sunny side (looks very good!) and usually gray on the weather-facing side—unfortunately mostly unevenly, but that's just how nature is. I want it that way myself and wouldn't even think of painting here (my neighbor stained his shingles ocher...).

Still, salt is relentless, so I probably have to do something, but I really like the idea of impregnating the wood (instead of other materials, as Vicky suggested).

The uniformity of the discoloration develops over the years. Depending on how close the house is to the street, you can also plant something resistant in front of it or install a 50-80cm high plastic fence during the salt season - these are available for gardens in a wave shape.

Our neighbor has clad his house with wood. No idea which type. The base, about knee-high, was clad with sandstone. It looks harmonious. The wall is about 15 years old. You don't see any stains or salt damage. I don't know how it looked when it was new. With newly plastered houses, you often see in spring that salt paste splashes up to the upper floor and leaves stains. So it could also be visible with wood at the beginning.