Board and Batten Siding Question

HoustonBrama · Nov 28, 2008

I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I need to know the answer regardless.
Okay, I'm hanging green (from the mill) 1x8 siding. Is there a drying time or a time period I need to wait to hang the battens? If so, how long? Do I nail the battens directly through the boards and into the girts or try and nail through just the battens into the girts?

KentT · Nov 28, 2008

If you nail the battens on with a single row of nails, through the crack between the boards into the girts, you can put them on while everything is green. Do NOT nail through the boards themselves, or they will crack at the nails when they dry and shrink...

2manyrocks · Nov 28, 2008

See if you can find a copy of "Installing Board-and-Batten Siding" in Fine Homebuilding, July, 1992. The batten should go on as soon as possible after the boards are up so they don't cup as they dry out. The battens don't just cover up the joint. They also are to hold the edges of the boards flat. You may need to predrill your battens to avoid splitting.

Another tip is to lightly bevel the bottom edge of the boards and battens to form a drip edge.