proper nailing for cedr board and batten
Doing some work on an old farm house in texas. The time is coming near to start removing the old cedar board &baton and replacing it. The current cedar is cracked and splits running up 3/4 of their 14 ft lengths.
I know cedar moves alot. I am not a big fan of it and I have tried to dissude the homeowner from using it but he wants to duplicate the look. I read once, somewhere,..along time ago that the baton should only be naild to one of the wider boards to allow for movement. Does this still apply? The current cedar has been nailed with hand driven 8 penny Galv fnish nails. Is this ok. The homeowner has done a few with a 15 gauge nail gun and the pins are so smooth and thin,..I cant imagine how they would hold cedar at all. I suggested using 6 penny commons but the nails will show. The boards are 1×12 and I need a nail in the center..or do I ?
OK let me know..especially if I am gonna act like a know it all and tell this guy the proper way. For the record..I said 6’s are a better choice..was I right?
thanks
Replies
the 1X12's should have one nail in the center of the board - I don't see finish nails giving good service over a long term - galvanized spiral decking nails are good - galv hand driven finish nails if the heads are that big a deal, see last paragraph -
battens should not be nailed thru the 1X12's at all - one nail thru the cracks between the boards - then the cedar can move all it wants, sliding underneath the battens -
battens do most of the work of holding the siding - I use galv or epoxy coated screws -
You can look up board and batten installation instructions on the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association website. You need horizontal blocking in the wall, 2' to 3' on center. At each nailing location put in two nails, each one about 2" from the center of the board (i.e. a pair of nails about 4" apart). The board should be spaced about 1/2" apart. The battens are nailed thru the space between the boards.
We have been doing 1x10 board + 1x3 batten lately. The walls are 9' (interior height) and have two courses of blocking, at 3' and 6'. So, each board gets nailed with 8 nails, two at the top, two at the bottom, two at the 3' line, and two at the 6' line. Each batten gets nailed with 4 nails. We have been using 2-1/2" x .092 HDG siding gun nails for the board and 10d HDG common nails for the battens. The battens do most of the work like David says.
I would expect some splitting over time. 1x12 is a wide board to put out in the sun. So is 1x10 for that matter.
The 8d hand-nailed finishers are fairly common here; some guys use 6d oval-head siding nails instead. The look is different but not a problem. Most board-n-batten here is done with unplaned lumber, and it tends to get painted. In the old days it was whitewash. The oval heads vanish unless you're looking right at 'em.
I generally use a 16ga finish nailer shooting 2½'s. Yes, the nail is thin and smooth, but the glue that holds the sticks of nails together is heat-reactivated. The friction of it being driven makes the glue melt then set up nice and hard, holding that nail in the wood like you wouldn't believe. Try prying up a board 15 seconds after the nail is driven and chances are you'll pull the head right through it and need a pair of dykes to lever the nail out of the framing.
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