Batten Strip Siding

Before you begin cover the sheathing with building wrap and install trim boards and flashings.

Batten strip siding.

The gaps or joins between the planks are covered by a thin strip known as a batten which is how the style gets its name. And unlike horizontal lap siding which has each board overlapping the next slight board and batten consists of two sizes of board. If your sheathing is not solid you will need to first attach horizontal furring strips. Batten trim or batten molding is a thin strip of trim typically with a rectangular cross section similar to lath used in lattice used to cover seams between panels of exterior siding or interior paneling.

Some manufacturers create a vented furring strip intended to be installed horizontally allowing for easy use with vertical siding. Furring strips work well with horizontally installed siding and therefore not well with board and batten siding. Rather than running horizontally over the building board and batten siding runs vertically. With a helper expect to spend a day installing 800 square feet of siding.

Board and batten can be installed onto solid plywood or osb sheathing. Barns and houses with board and batten siding were inspired by nordic european buildings and gained popularity in america sometime around the middle of the 19th century. Wide planks are installed first running vertically up the sides of the home.