Installing Board & Batten Siding

Board-and-Batten is a vertical pattern created using cedar boards and battens of various widths for a wide range of appearances. For nominal 6 inch boards spaced ½ inch apart, battens should overlap by a least 1/2 inch. With wider boards, increase batten overlap proportionately. While there are no set widths for board and batten siding, an attractive combination is 1×3 battens with 1×10 boards.

Siding should be nailed to horizontal blocking lines or to furring strips. Boards up to 6 inches wide should be fixed with one nail per bearing driven through the center of the board. The overlying batten covering the gap between boards should be attached with one nail per bearing, the shank passing between the edges of the under boards. Use two nails per bearing on boards 8 inches and wider placing the nails 2-1/2 to 3 inches apart.