Ecoply - exterior cladding war stories

I am building a new house and the architect has specified 12mm exterior grade texture 2000 ecoply as the cladding material. My neighbour is currently building a house using this material and has meticulously followed the installation guidelines including painting all surfaces/edges prior to fixing, and painting additional coats after install. He has found two sheets have developed surface cracking after installation, due he believes to voids in the sublayer sheet lining up with minute cracks in the outside layer. This has resulted in visible cracking and lifting and will require some form of repair to stop water entering the sheet.

I've also had builders mentioning that the vertical shiplapped edges tend to lift over time, but I'm not sure if this is due to poor installation.

Does anyone have any good or bad stories to share on this product? I'm particularly interested in how it fares over time.

I have used a product called shadowclad and recommend it highly. It comes in plain or grooved. I clad my holiday house near Mt Buller with it a year ago and it still looks like new, even though we get harsh winters and hot summers there.

I would strongly recommend you get the boards pre primed at the factory, costs a bit more but believe me, saves you time and money.

Couple of further tips:
- apply a top quality exterior paint - 2 coats
- cut sheet side always at the top
- lap with direction of prevailing wind
- seal any laps that dont quite meet well
- use recommended flashing....ALWAYS

Hope this helps