Any ideas on how we can successfully install cedar board and batton and keep water from infiltrating the seams and the soldier course of stone? I love this look but I’m getting many words of caution from my frammer, etal. We intend on wrapping the house with tyvek, then possbiley using a rubber bladder material used for shower pans to go behind the siding and over the soldier course of stone. We will also use metal flashing behind the horizontal trim and cut the top of the trim at a 45 degree so any water will shed off. See picture.
I tried to get some hardieboard board and batton but they didn’t want to ship any to Texas unless we ordered a truckload.
Replies
Check out the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association. I think its wrcla.org but maybe search for that first :-) Never know what'll come up.
They may have some detailing on that. Nice looking house. Please post pics when you get it finished.
The file size of your attachments are way too big. Resize them to less than 100 kb.
The tannins in cedar will disintegrate tyvek. You should use tar paper or Typar. I prefer 30# felt. Do not nail the edges of the boards. The boards need to expand and contract with the humidity. I use one nail in the center of the 1x12 board and one nail in the center of the 1x3 batt. Space the boards about 3/4". If the boards are low grade and do not lie flat then you might use two nails at one third the distance from the edge. Instead of horizontal blocking between the studs use 2x4 horizontal sleepers at 2' centers behind the B&B to provide nailing and to let it breathe. Try to get cedar that is at least 1" thick. Spooge the back of knots that may work loose with a little gorilla glue or PL 400. Use stainless steel nails.
I would use copper flashing between the stone water table and the B&B. Let the stone masons come in later and build up to the flashing.
I think a 45 degree bevel at the top of your trim is too steep. I would prefer a 10 degree.
A little critique of your front elevation.... Try to make your overhang continuous so that the dormers appear to grow out of the roof.. It will greatly increase the curb appeal. The window trim needs a few more pieces like a cornice above the head piece and a continuous sill with a 10 degree bevel. The four piece trim is quick but forever boring. Frankly... I hate the four piece with a passion.
The knee braces should die into a substantial vertical piece and not just into the wall.
I like the shutters. The four gable cupola is a lot of work for very little effect. I think just two gables would be just fine and look better too.
I hope you are not in snow country because that metal roof will dump on all your entries. Go with a 50 year arch comp.
No Tyvek, 15# or 30# felt.
Install flashings at bottom of boards before the stone work is done.Felt after flashings installed , or at least ensure the felt goes on top of the wall flashing leg. (DUH... but have seen it done the other way!)
I was taught one nail per board within 1/3 of the board width, then float the other side of the board, the batten when nailed will hold it in place and let the board shrink and swell with moisture content.Two nails if 1 x 12 boards, as detailed by Mike in his post above. Do not nail the batten into the boards. Blocking in the wall 24" o.c. or strapping over vertical lathe for drainage.
I don't allow quite the gap that Mike does, the boards should be reasonably dry when installed and I leave about 1/2" gap, if very wet less, if very dry a bit more.
It helps if you use some mix of different width boards because it allows you to mix and match so that you can more readily match the length of various walls. Layout is important.
Think of the cedar as just there to keep the sun and wind off the typar or felt and the flashings at the top of the stone. The main thing is to get those flashings done right and to allow any water that soaks through the stone to escape through weep holes at grade. Once your flashings and house wrap can keep all the water out of the house the only issue with the cedar is making sure it can dry quickly when it gets soaked (an air gap at the bottom, perhaps a rain screen or cedar breather type product)this should keep it from drying un-evenly and warping all over the place. Think about the expansion and shrinkage as you place your nails. about a third of the way in on the boards and make sure your battens are well secured to your purlin blocking.
The other issue with Board and Batten is the window and door detailing. We pack em out with one by two around the RO so the cladding is out 3/4 from the sheathing. It's a funny looking detail and it works better with house wrap and tape rather than tar paper. The point is it allows you to run your 5/4 window trim over the boards and in plane with your 3/4" battens. I hope this is clear as I don't think I have any photo's of it.
------------------
"You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."
I could just about wrap a house in the time it would take to download thos attachments. The file size eliminates about half your viewing audience.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
For my dial up friends. Thanks for all the help. Good suggestions out there. What size for furring strips? 2x4 seems too big but that would help with having less area over the stone that would get wet.
you have had some good advice already. Just keep in mind the rainscreen wall concept because B&B is one of the worst sidings for keeping wind driven rain out.Tarpaper behind and a drainage plane.Allow for shringage in your nailing.I use about 15° for that sort of flashings and agree that B&B should stay free of the flashing a bit.
Now then this is where I overstep my bondsThat is a lovely house and overall great design. It has good features and the stobne work suggests that they are looking for quality.There are already vertical lines in the roof plane withthe standine seam roofing and the porch posts. Thios facade would look better balanced to my eye with horizontal run clapborads and they would be a better quality siding. just a thought.BTW, thanks for the resize. That is a beautiful rendering and worth the wait.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I agree with all that the others have said. And there is one more important point that some builders here seem to have forgotten.
Keep the bootom end of each board, and each batten, up off of the flashing by about 1/8". Although this will leave a tiny shadow line that some might find unattractive, it will keep the boards from sucking up the water.
You also asked about how to handle the seams. The nailing methods mentioned by others are good for the vertical seams. If you must have any butt joints (horizontal seams) in a board or a batten, be sure to cut the joint on a bevel. It will hide the joint better, and will shed water if done properly.
Support our Troops. Bring them home. Now. And pray that at least some of the buildings in the green zone have flat roofs, with a stairway.
We looked at some vertical cement siding today and I liked the look but I want it to look more like wood, not painted. It has a grain that looks good, any ideas on how to faux finish it to look more natural?Any reason to furr it out?The battens were Aztek and double the cost of the cedar. Any thought on going with a cement board and a cedar batten? If I could get a finish that would match the cedar batten I'd consider this.
We looked at some vertical cement siding today and I liked the look but I want it to look more like wood, not painted.
Two comments:
If you want it to look like wood that has not been painted, then you'll have to use wood, and I strongly recommend cypress. The stuff never rots when left bare, unless its in contact with the ground. I recvently worked on a cypress-sided house that was about 75 years old -- never a drop of paint or stain, and in quite good condition. (And FWIW, it was board and batten)
But if you want your siding to look like a nicely done wood sided house that's been painted, you need to stop thinking in terms of that faux grain that many manufacturers are stamping in the fake stuff. Go look at an historic home that has painted wood siding -- no grain is visible, just a nice smooth surface.
And well-done new houses are the same way -- no grain. Unfortunately, that can be a difficult look to get without spending extra bucks. The surfaces have to be almost perfectly flat, because waviness is exagerated by the smooth paint. And any flaws in the paint job will be exagerated too.
But it really is a "Fine Home" look.
Support our Troops. Bring them home. Now. And pray that at least some of the buildings in the green zone have flat roofs, with a stairway.