Board and batten with plywood?

43704 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Gary in WA, Apr 2, 2017

diyinaustin

Discussion Starter · Jan 5, 2016

I'm thinking of putting board and batten siding on a shed I'm going to build. For cost reasons, I'm thinking of using southern yellow pine and of course applying a stain+preservative. Any reason why I shouldn't use exterior-grade plywood (but not PT) as the base layer and save myself the hassle of buying and installing dozens of boards?

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Windows on Wash

· #2 · Jan 5, 2016

Cost saving would be the only reason in my opinion.

Board and batten would let the siding drain out a bit better but as long as your water detailing is good, you should be fine.

Use a good housewrap with some rain screening grooves in it.

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diyinaustin

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 5, 2016

Windows on Wash said:
Cost saving would be the only reason in my opinion.

Board and batten would let the siding drain out a bit better but as long as your water detailing is good, you should be fine.

Use a good housewrap with some rain screening grooves in it.

Thanks. I suppose I could do: studs -> standard WRB -> furring strips -> plywood -> batten, but that might be overkill for a shed. The studs will be exposed on the interior, allowing for maximum drying (the shed will be vented) and inspection/detection. Grooved WRB should be plenty good.

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rjniles

· #4 · Jan 5, 2016 (Edited)

I have built several sheds with T-111 plywood siding. Nail directly to studs. Keep it 6-8" off ground. You can nail on battens if you wish.

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diyinaustin

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 5, 2016

rjniles said:
I have built several sheds with T-111 plywood siding. Nail directly to studs. Keep it 6-8" off ground. You can nail on battens if you wish.

Thanks. T1-11 is, effectively, a reverse board and batten look. Adding batten on top of that creates a three-layered siding. I've seen it done. Just not the look I'm going for.

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Gary in WA

· #6 · Jan 5, 2016

Real boards and battens wouldn't be nearly as good on your shed as plywood. No structural shear resistance, joints leak water when battens swell/when wet from rain, not air-tight or bug-tight as plywood can be. Rough sawn plywood, smooth face- T1-11 is called 303 siding, since I used it in the late '70's. http://www.apawood.org/plywood
It comes without the grooves, correctly mentioned already- in post above. Way faster on installation, hardly any water intake (unlike real boards) due to the exterior type glue layers. With only a thin outer plywood layer before the first waterproof glue layer, it would dry out way faster than a real board 3/4" thick (usually cedar) which gets the whole thickness wet. Add some solar gain after a good rain and the moisture is driven into the shed/contents when the surface paint breaks down. I've installed both, for years and the plywood base is far superior to individual boards and looks the same, if not better.
You don't need a grooved (stucco type) WRB with the panels, just builders paper is fine. The grooved housewrap doesn't do much to help dry from the backside;
"The air space created by these products is minimal, ranging from 0.02 inch thick for StuccoWrap to 0.008 for RainDrop®. Although these materials may allow for some drainage, it is unlikely that they will provide any measurable airflow to promote drying.
A more promising approach is a 1/4-inch nylon matrix, called HomeSlicker®, which has vertical drainage channels and installs between the sheathing wrap and siding. The material is rigid and thick enough to resist compression by the siding but thin enough that windows, doors, and trim can be installed without furring." -------also read up on builders paper here; http://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Sheathing_Wrap_Requirements.php

Gary

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diyinaustin

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 6, 2016

Gary in WA said:
Real boards and battens wouldn't be nearly as good on your shed as plywood. No structural shear resistance, joints leak water when battens swell/when wet from rain, not air-tight or bug-tight as plywood can be.

Thanks. Would have used let-in bracing or structural sheathing under true board and batten. Just didn't know if there was some advantage, aesthetic or other, to using individual boards instead of a plywood sheet. Just about every reference on the net describes B&B using individual boards. I'm now thinking that's because you can get any species of wood as boards, but very few as sheets. So, I guess the moral of the story here is--if you're not picky about the wood specifies, use plywood and matching wood batten, and make things easier and better all around.

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Gary in WA

· #8 · Jan 9, 2016

I agree. It is a LOT quicker to use plywood and furring strips, as you said earlier and waste of money to use a grooved WRB there. Never yet seen an install of boards directly on sheathing, always on strips so regular flat housewrap is fine. Sounds like you have installed it before or at least researched it to know about the install. On a house, you would need more shear resistance than 1x4 or metal straps provide, but for a shed it's fine; http://bct.nrc.umass.edu/index.php/publications/by-title/insulating-on-the-outside/

Gary

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diyinaustin

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 9, 2016

Gary in WA said:
Sounds like you have installed it before or at least researched it to know about the install.

Not my first rodeo building a shed, but it will be my first time installing board and batten. Thanks for your help. I'm going to go with plywood sheets (303 siding), regular house wrap and furring strips between the house wrap and plywood to "mind the gap" ;-)

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Narmstrong

· #10 · Apr 2, 2017

I live in Massachusetts and want to do board and batten on my house once vinyl is down. The house is plywood beneath the vinyl. Can I do a board and batten with PT plywood? If so how should I do it?

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Gary in WA

· #11 · Apr 2, 2017

--------------------------------Welcome to the forums!-------------------------

You could also start your own new thread on the subject rather than piggy-back on another for better response. No, PT plywood is not recommended, you need something that will take a stain to look like boards. Like 303 (no grooves) structural plywood; bottom of page 7; https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...lkUUvZ03oIJwH0lmXBrzdw&bvm=bv.151325232,d.cGc

Gary

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