Board Batten Siding? Help!

Here in central Va., we routinely air dry to 15% mc. You must really live in a swamp! A local lumber yard claims to sell 7% kiln lumber. Last time I went out to buy white oak I took my meter. Yep, 15%. They don't store it in a climate controlled shed and it goes right up to air dried levels in a short time. In Denver, we air dried to 7%.

The amount of movement will vary greatly depending on species and even more so, depending on the way the board was cut from the log. Quarter sawn is what you want if you're concerned with movement. Bruce Hoadley wrote a book, "Understanding Wood" which is fantastic for anybody interested enough.

Fred..... .....

You nail the wide board in the "center" only. Lay the board so the "bark side" (outer side) of the board is on the barn. This way "if" the board cups, the outer edges will come out. Then the batten goes over the edges and is nailed so the nails go through the batten and in between the wider boards under. This allows the wide boards under to expand and contract. The batten also holds the edges of the board down and flat. It also keeps the board from later drying out and splitting because it was nailed too tight.

I have a saw mill, and this is how i use the boards right off the mill. Ask your question at woodweb.com "sawing and drying forum", and i think you will get this same answer from the sawyers there too.

Robert

Over twenty five years ago, my brother gave me a book entitled, "The Architecture of Country Houses" by A.J. Downing. Mr Downing lived in the mid-1800's and was a renowned architect of his day. Board-and-batten siding was the one of the foremost styles of this period, and I think they pretty much knew what they were doing. In it, he shows a picture of the "correct" way to construct a board-and-batten wall. The boards ARE NOT nailed at all--the battens hold them in place. The batten is made in a 'T' shape, the leg of the 'T' the same thickness as the boards with the batten nailed perpendicular to the leg. The boards are slipped between the battens,and the battens are nailed to the studs. This allows the boards to be 'athletic' and move within the battens and not shear nails or cup. We did this style as a siding to a house my father and I build over twenty years ago, and, so far, has worked just as Mr. Downing said. It's worth a consideration.

Good luck!

Ron