Practical and Elegant Board and Batten Siding

Eye Catching At First Sight I thought I’d been given the wrong address when I pulled into the drive.

Instead of a normal, vinyl, masonry or stucco sided structure, my brother’s new home was Gothic in appearance with vertical board and batten siding.

It was gorgeous! He had held out on describing the home’s architectural differences form the average home, and I indeed was pleasantly surprised. My wife commented that she first thought the place had just been immaculately maintained over the years. What I learned about board and batten siding led me to remodeling my own home with this time-tested exterior.

Practical, Simple, Durable From Their inception

Back in the middle ages, the people in Sweden and Norway had confronted winter’s bitter cold, season-lasting snow buildups and cold, bone-chilling winds, so it was an imposing task to keep out the ensuing wetness, draftiness and to preserve the inner structure and primitive insulation. To deal with this problem, architects designing their churches developed the concept of vertically applying tall, wide boards, with tar or tarred ropes pushed into the seams and thin wood strips applied over the seams. This is the concept commonly known as board and batten. From the application of boards and battens on these magnificent structures grew the carpenters utilization of this concept on all the buildings in those lands.

In our own country, log or stone structures were at first the fundamental style of buildings in the eastern states, but by the mid 1800’s, a renewal of Gothic architecture was revealed in the implementing of ultra-steep roofs and gables and the middle ages characteristic arches throughout these structures which had, naturally, board and batten siding. As Americans moved westward, practically everything built, from outhouses to palatial estate mansions, was sided with boards and battens hewn from the trees native to their regions. As opposed to horizontal coverings, these structures were more weather tight and lasted longer.

I began researching the best way to remodel my own home with board and batten siding.

My first inquiry was to a highly recommend outfit called Alside. Their knowledgeable representative explained the ease of installation and the outstanding value of their affordable products. Alside’s board and batten siding is vinyl, which carries a lifetime warranty and comes in a variety of notably vibrant colors (which are guaranteed to not fade). Their board sections are 5 1/2″ wide and have a light, rough texture for a nicely characteristic rustic style.

The batten strips are 1 1’2″ wide and protrude 1/2″ from the surface of the boards. My rep also described the complete line of matching trim and fastening materials, as well as all the precise pricing.

board and batten siding

The look is distinctive and is unlikely to be mimicked by any of your neighbors’ homes. If you’d really like to add a unique feature to your siding design, Alside also offers their siding in a horizontal board and batten configuration. This concept has really taken off with some imaginative architects!

The second vinyl siding supplier I contacted was a company named Royal. They also offer their board and batten siding in the customary vertical and less common horizontal configurations. Once again my questions were addressed and the advantages of board and batten siding were brought out by a well informed representative. He pointed out the safety aspects of vinyl, which include non-conductivity of electricity (safe from lightning and deadly grounding mishaps), their resistance to UV fading, extreme temperatures and hail. They offer their products in 28 imaginative colors, as well as common wood, hazelwood, oak, rustic cedar and some other popular siding appearance options. Windy climate dwellers will appreciate the 240 mph (not a misprint) wind resistance allowed with this durable house covering. See if standard wide-sheet siding can provide you with this!

royal board and batten siding company

Maybe Maibec?

Being a traditionalist and loving natural wood, I know there are some others out there who’d insist on natural wood covering our homes. The third outfit I contracted was Maibec. This company offers natural wood sidings, shingles, interior wall coverings (Dining rooms to die for!), bathroom walls, hallway accents and all flavors of trim for any room in your home. Maibec covers all their products for decay for a full 50 years. Their wood choices number 8, with 6 solid colors offered as well. This array of wood products will present your home in the grandest manner, either if it’s contemporary in style, classically elegant or marvelously Gothic in design. Maibec’s 1″ x 10″ natural wood boards and battens is a fabulous coupe de’ gras in presenting your home.

Right Choice.

Whether you’re building or remodeling, wouldn’t you like to enjoy the unique appearance, convenience of maintenance and peace of mind of surrounding your home’s inner structure with classic, sturdy board and batten siding? I’ve made my choice. What’s yours?

My name is Donald and I am the main author of this little page. I love working around the houses during the day and writing articles about house improvement in the evening. If you have any questions, just ask in the comments! If you need professional siding services use the form.

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