Barn siding

[broker farmer]

I've about got the barn built that has taken every spare minute of my time this winter.  The roof goes on this weekend.  I'm wanting to use oak siding.  I haven't sawed this out yet.  My log pile has essentially disappeared  except for a bunch of 8 footers.  My walls will be 14'6" and I'm out of logs that long.  Has anyone ever used two different length boards to complete a siding job?  Does anyone have any pictures of barn siding that is not full length?  I'm wondering how this would look.
Also, how thick would you cut the boards used for siding and would random width boards look ok?

[Dana]

Most of the barns around here use two piece lumber for the gable end. The lower lumber is laid on first. Usually cut at the same height as the sides. (eve height) Then the second course starts from there overlaping the first slightly like a shingle would. I can get a picture if someone dosent.

[Tom]

broker farmer,
I've seen siding spliced but it is a rarity.   

You could just use a butt joint but that would let water enter and stand on the flat surface.

If you took the time to 45 the joint so that there was an overlap and the joint might remain dry, then it might work better.

I don't think that a horizontal batten over the joint would help at all. 

Overlapping on a splice when it's occasional boards would probably not work too good either.

The good thing about Board and Batten construction is that it is so easy to repair.  If your splices don't work and the boards rot, then a few more boards and some nails will fix it right up. 

[Rockn H]

I know it's for a barn and all , but what about using lap siding?  It wouldn't matter as much about the length of the boards then. ???

[TW]

We do not have oak here in Finland but we have board and batten. Butt joints end to end often rots within 20 or 30 years but the 45 degree joint that Tom talks about lasts better. I have seen sound 45 degree joints on weatherboards that are well over 100 years old. The battens can be lenghtened the same way.

There is also another method:
The first lenght is laid with even height. The tops of boards and battens are covered with a horizontal board sloping outwards. That board is protected by a Z shaped strip of galvanized iron sheet. The next lenght has it's lower end about 1 cm or 1/2" above the sheet. The sheet extends about 5 cm or 2" upwards behind the ends of the upper boards in order to keep drifting rain out. The lover ends of the upper boards are cut of at about 10 degrees angle to make the water drip from the outer edge.

If I did not explain it well enough please ask. I have no digital camera so I cannot illustrate the explanation.

[Lud]

Hey Randall,   I was wondering how that project was going.  Speaking of barns....

You have to ask yourself ,  "What am I going to use the barn for?  The old bank barn here at my farm was a hay barn and the long board siding had a goodly gap of a half inchor more  for ventalation.  Did they gap it as they sided or was the gap due to shrinkage since the barn dates to the 1840's.  Either way it was drafty!

So do you want it tight or not?

Another thing we did over the first 35 years we had it was paint it with red barn paint.  Dad used to describe it , "  Well,  you hold the sprayer and point it at an old board and just watch it suck the paint in 'til you'd decided you invested enough in that spot!"   Mom liked the place looking sharp and painting a barn every 5 years is a lot of work unless you got the kids trained to do it right.

What I did eleven years ago with Dad's help, was to side over that old girl with the powder-coated steel. Gray with white trim.  Looks as good as the day I put it on!!  Same stuff can be used on the roof.  I never have to paint again and I never get a drift in the barn anymore!  that stuff is functional and no maintenance.  Slice up  those 8 footers for doors and frames where metal'd just get too much contact.

By the way I didn't take off the old stuff- sided right over it so the inside feels just like it always did,  only drier and warmer.  You could hang any wood you wanted on the inside for purty.

So metal up the sides and wood near doors and down low where it's easy to touch up if it gets banged by a critter or tractor.


That's my 2 cents. 8)

[catvet]

How about furring out the top half with 1 x 3 horizontal strapping with the last being at say 7'.   Then bring the lower up to that.  When you side the top bring it just by the lower siding by say 1/2".  That will eliminate the joint since the upper will drip by the lower and the shadow line can give it a nice look.

Hopefully I've attached a file showing this on a shed we put up.  Don't know if you will be able to pick it out.
Note from admin: Photos must reside within your forestry forum gallery. please use the help link in the menu bar for instructions on how to post a photo, then you can replace this note with your gallery photo using your modify link.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Sorry about the picture foul up.  It's beyond me to get a picture posted on this forum.  Has always seemed easier on other forums. --Catvet

[Engineer]

Simple solution.  Similar to what catvet said.   Put your siding on up to the 8' mark, snap a line on the framing so the top is all at the same height.  You will have an open area above the siding.  Then put horizontal furring strips on the upper framing so that they are flush with the lower siding.  Then you can put the upper siding on over the furrin strips and overlap the lower siding, either evenly or randomly.  I like randomly, it gives a nice look.  If you have to go even higher, you can do it again, but three courses might look odd.   I'd draw it but it would take me all night just to figure out how to post a picture of my sketch.

[Stan P]

I know you want to use what you have, but would oak weather ok?  I would think ideally you'd want cedar or maybe even hemlock which is what I think a lot of old barns upstate have. 

[Ron Wenrich]

I've resided my old house.  It was built in 1850 with white pine board and batten siding.  Its all random width.  All joints were on a 45 and none were rotten. 

When I replaced the wood, I used random width and random length.  I staggered the joints, and it turned out pretty good.  I also used a 3/4" x 2 1/2"  batten.  Any smaller and it just looks like edging strips.  Any thicker and it doesn't give the right reveal. 

[mike_van]

I agree with Engineer on the method, i've done it - I don't think i've ever seen a barn sided with oak though, always softwood - pine, hemlock, whatever.  Where the sun beats on your barn, i'm pretty sure your oak will cup so bad it pulls the nails out.

[Bibbyman]

I'd suggest using deck screws instead of nails. And if you could air dry the lumber at least a few months, that would help too.

Had an ol'timer tell me the other day that they put up board and batten on a barn and only fastened the batten on one side.  Then some time later (maybe a year?) after the lumber had dried,  they came back in and nailed down the other side of the batten.

Another idea on the butt joint - in addition to the 45 cut and over lap, maybe incorporate a piece of flashing that would run up behind the upper board, out the 45 cut, and then extend out just a little.  That way any water that would run down would be channeled out over the top of the lower board.

I've seen fake board and batten panel siding on a two story house where they used like a drip molding between the two sections. It was basically about a 1x2 cut at an angle to provide a little overhang over the lower section.

[woodmills1]

yes use the new plastic coated deck screws.  Either 45 the butt ends or run a whole horizontal at 8' then shim out the uppers so the lay on top of the lowers.  Dont use butt joints they will leak and rot.