Green Oak board and batton? on a rustic
I am getting ready to build a hunting and fishing cabin down on a slow moving creek within the flood-plain of a larger river that will need to be up on legs about 8′ to be above the 100 yr. flood-plain.
The timing is also going to coin-side with harvesting some timber from my Grandparents old home-place. I am thinking about sawing some of the some white oak to use for board and batten siding. I have a woodmizer LT 15, and will saw the lumber, so I won’t have much cost in it, which will have the rustic look, and longevity that I am after. I may not even paint it, but just leave it to weather naturally.
I was thinking about putting it up green, and am trying to figure out how I should go about framing for it. I thought that I would probably go with 2 X 4 studs 16″ OC. with blocking on 32″ ct. and using OSB sheathing, and nailing through that with galvanized ring-shanks. However, If I lay it directly on the OSB, I think it would be more prone to cup out due to it drying faster on the outside. So I am considering using 1 or 2 X 4 across the outside of the OSB leaving some air-space behind the boards, and leaving about an inch between boards, then coming back a year later and putting the battens on.
However this leads to the next big problem. When I nail the boards on, if they are say 1 X 10, I would probably use 2 nails on each cross member, about 2.5″ to each side of center, or 5″ apart, angling them inward in anticipation of about 5/16″ of shrinkage at that distance, which would leave about 2.5″ from the edge to do whatever it wants, whenever it comes to warping.
I feel sure that back in the old days, they were building with green wood, but as I think of it, there were no interior wall finishes, so the boards could dry from both sides equally.
Am I NUTS for thinking of putting it up green. Just check yes, or no.
Or feel free to offer any suggestions. thanks in advance, Keith
Replies
No problems with that. Leave an air space behind,or skip the osb.
I once used that foam "sill seal" cut into strips a bit less wide than the battens, tacked it to the batten back before install. After some drying out,a bead of caulk hid the seal gasket..worked like a charm.
edit for sloppy typeing
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
You think that's funny? Watch THIS!...I can only do it once tho'
Edited 8/11/2005 8:21 pm ET by Sphere
We've discussed this several times. In the search box near the bottom of the index frame on your left, enter
board batten green
When I did it just now, it found ten messages, most of which directly address your question.
I think I would have the stand of white oak appraised as it is a very vaulable wood to the Japanese as a veneer for stereo equipment.
Had a friend who bought 500 acres and paid it off by logging 50 acres of white oak.
ANDYSZ2
I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
why not just install the battens right away. Just one nail in the center, maybe a 3" wide batten strip. Make sure the batten nail doesn't catch the siding board. That will pin the siding board down while still giving it room to move.
I've got a book somewhere on building with green wood. I built a house from it back in the 70's. Written by a University of Va professor. I'll see if I can dig it up after calfest...and hey, maybe I'll even get my old handle back by then<G>
"what's in a name?" d'oh!
'The Greenwood House'
Larry Michael Hackenberg
How to Design, Build, and Own an Inexpensive, Beautiful House
(the 'Beauty' is very 70's)
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=hackenberg&y=6&tn=the+green+wood+house&x=45
snorttttt....har-har
sorry
"there's enough for everyone"
Last fall I built several cabins with a friend of mine. We finished with rough oak board and batten, as well as the interior ceiling with it too.
The sawmiller that sold us the stuff told us to nail up the oak (osb with tyvek) and leave the batten stips off for a couple months, pu them on, leave it a year and treat it. We tried that on one, and after 3 week the boards had cupped so bad that they were worthless. on the other one, we used strips of sill foam behind, and put the batten strips on, and they turned out fine.
Thanks David. I will see if I can find this one in the library. I still haven finished Quicksilvere. Were you the one who referred that one to me?
Were you the one who referred that one to me?
no - fraid not - have you pursued the recently found papers at all - figure they are not gonna be released till someone figures a way to make a buck -
nail the heart side of the board out, that will help with the cupping a bit - I concur with the previous poster as to the advisability of leaving the battens off - secure the battens well and the boards cannot cup -
"there's enough for everyone"
<no - fraid not - have you pursued the recently found papers at all - figure they are not gonna be released till someone figures a way to make a buck > No but I am anxious to here what they are about, and I'm sure someone will make some money.I know that putting the heart out would counter its natural tendency to cup away from the heart, but it seems like closing the gap with the batten right off would stop all drying from the other side, however I don't guess there is anything wrong with it drying only from the outside, it surely would be easier to go ahead and put the batten on at the same time.I think that if this is the way to go, I would put my blocking in the wall, so that the boards will be tighter to the felt / siding, leaving less room for the varmints to try to get in to nest.Thanks All for the help. Keith
How to Design, Build, and Own an Inexpensive, Beautiful House(the 'Beauty' is very 70's)ya, my digs were featured in Better Shacks and Hovels!So ya finally had to log back in...you shoulda gone with Sweet Peaches<G> "what's in a name?" d'oh!
oh yeah, forgot to mention....spray the wood down good with a bug killer (ie. fumigate it) before you install, cause oak (especially when wet) is a haven for spiders. I learned the hard way, and had spiders all over the place in my cabins for months.