Board and batten siding green or dry?

[Rob in NC]

 I know there's some people on here with more experience than me I'm looking at running some cypress board and batten on a pole barn do you typically install it green or dry?

[donbj]

You'll want it dry. Especially the wide boards underneath. The battens will secure the edges and prevent the wider boards from moving as they dry and can and do split down the middle.

[barbender]

What better place to store and dry the siding than on your wall?😊 Make the battens more than wide enough to cover any possible shrinkage (3/4" shrinkage per foot of width is a good rule of thumb) nail only in the centers of the boards so they can move without splitting or pulling out nails.

[Mike W]

I'm with Barbender x2

[cutterboy]

Green is OK, but dry is better. Use what you have.

[WV Sawmiller]

  I'm with barbender X3. I think he explained it very well. 

  As I remember you should turn the smile in towards the barn (Someone jump in and correct me if I have this backwards). I used green poplar to side my barn and did not bother with battens and now 15+ years later there is probably a 1" gap so I'd suggest about a 3" batten with an 8"-12" board. Good luck.

[jimbarry]

For green wood, I'd recommend the bark side of a flat sawn board should be facing the barn. The weather facing side will expand and contract with moisture. If you install the boards with the pith side facing the bldg, over time the expansion/contraction may loosen the bats (thinner boards).



 

[moodnacreek]

This is the way to do wide boards and nobody can tell me different and this comes from long experience that I and my customers live with. Dry on sticks well of the ground under a roof away from water through the dry time of the year [here it is march]. Tack the boards up on the building [where they will be] and after some windy and sunny days they should be cupped some to the weather. Remove the now finish dried in place boards and screw them up for the final time. Paint, stain, motor oil, whatever and batten with one screw in the middle to create an expansion joint.

[123maxbars]

in TN most use it green and are using oak, we do it green for the easiness of installation. If we air dry the oak first we are then committed to drilling holes to install. 

[jimparamedic]

Go green that's how they did it 100+ yrs ago and they are still standing. just don't use any board with the pith in them they will split. With 8 to 12 inch boards I use a 3 inch batten.

[xlogger]

I'm getting close to do 150 ft of board and batten. Waiting on logger to bring pine logs and plan on cutting boards 8" and putting up green with a nail in center of them and then after they dry using 3" battens to cover gaps.

[Don P]

Depending on exposure, siding is pretty harsh drying conditions. Exposing green wood to direct sunlight and wind will dry and shrink that surface rapidly. The other face in the shade and away from the wind will remain green and full dimension for longer. That is why siding and decking cup to the "hot" side irregardless of whether they are flipped heart or bark out. Uncontrolled drying causes checking as that hot face shrinks over a still green core. I've done it both ways but whenever possible I saw, dry, plane flat and then apply siding. The battens also lay flatter. That is "best" for the siding but is certainly not best for economy of construction time. With battery drills nowadays predrilling doesn't really confront me the way it used to when having to drag another long cord around. 

[moodnacreek]

Don P. thanks for telling it like it is. That laying boards by the curve of the rings is a waste of time even though all the books say to do it. For years people have been told by carpenters not to buy rough cut lumber for 'barn' siding because it shrinks, splits, and pulls the nails/screws out. This is of course because of cheap green boards being slammed up. Boards taken from a flat sticker pile and stood up to the sun will shrink a little no matter how long they where dried but never enough to self destruct.

[hopm]

Since yall talking board and batten.... i started putting some up today. I'm using pine that has air dried 5 or 6 years. I was planning to follow all the directions of one screw in the middle instead I alternated side to side with 2 ft spacing with the hope I could cover the screws with the batten.

Have I messed up with something that will cause me problems? 

[Don P]

It stands a good chance of splitting. Dry pine is pretty forgiving, more if it is narrower boards. I'd go back and put the screws on one edge only and remove the screws from the other edge as you put up the battens, that will also hide the screws but allow the boards to move.
I've posted this picture several times, it is how I do the bottoms to seal the bug cracks. I put a 15° bevel on the bottom horizontal board and cut my board bottoms at the same bevel to help shed any water out. The battens run to the bottom of the trim board. When it's done most people never notice it but it is tighter.


 

[bluthum]

Speaking from a carpenter's perspective I'd much prefer it fully air dried.  Far lighter, saws nicer, etc. etc. Nail gunned to fasten, mostly. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Remember - the OP was planning on using this on his pole barn. Sounds like dry is better but green is very commonly used to get your equipment under cover and out of the elements. 

    I'd say if for a house use dry lumber for B&B but for outdoor equipment storage, hay storage, animal barns, etc. there would likely be very little degradation of intended use if he used green lumber.

[Bearpau]