Picking a siding type and material

[grover]

I'm close to the point I need to pick a siding. I want the look of the wood so I want to stain whatever we use instead of paint. Our thoughts now are to go with board and batten. There are some local sawmills I might be able to get some rough sawn boards.

I then had another idea. What about using the 4 x 8 sheets of reverse board and batten and adding some 2 or 3 inch strips over the recessed portion of the siding. I think this would get the look with a little easier install. I'm not sure about the price of the sawmill boards yet or even if they are available.

Anybody ever use the sheets and added the battens? Any thoughts on the idea?

[MushCreek]

By reverse board and batten- do you mean T1-11? You can get it without the grooves so you can put battens wherever you want. Random spacing would look more like authentic board and batten.

FWIW, I'm past the age of wanting wood for siding- too much maintenance. I'm going all fiber cement, including board and batten.

[rick91351]

.......snip.....................
FWIW, I'm past the age of wanting wood for siding- too much maintenance. I'm going all fiber cement, including board and batten.

That is what we are doing as well. 

[grover]

Yes, T1-11 is what I was talking about.  I didn't know you could get it without the grooves.  The fiber cement is not totally maintenance free.  Not sure how long the finish lasts on that.  I don't know how much you can make that look like real wood.  I guess the most maintenance free would have to be vinyl, stone, or brick.  I did see some vinyl that looks a lot like wood but I just can't make myself do that.   

[Redoverfarm]

I'm close to the point I need to pick a siding. I want the look of the wood so I want to stain whatever we use instead of paint. Our thoughts now are to go with board and batten. There are some local sawmills I might be able to get some rough sawn boards.

I then had another idea. What about using the 4 x 8 sheets of reverse board and batten and adding some 2 or 3 inch strips over the recessed portion of the siding. I think this would get the look with a little easier install. I'm not sure about the price of the sawmill boards yet or even if they are available.

Anybody ever use the sheets and added the battens? Any thoughts on the idea?

If you go w/individual board & batten consider plaining them down rather than leaving them rough.  Stain will penetrate a lot better and IMO give a lot cleaner look. 

[Squirl]

Rough 1x softwood boards for B&B are about $0.50 - $0.60 per board foot around me.

T1-11 is around $1.00 a square foot at the local big box store.  In my opinion T1-11 is less rot resistant and soaks up more stain.

Though, some people skip the sheathing and simply use T1-11, saving some money.

I can usually tell the difference between T1-11 and real wood from a distance.

[Windpower]

We went with James Hardie fiber cement

good news -- looks great !, maintenance free for 20 to 30 years (so says the warranty if you get it prefinished)some insurance companies give a discount on your home insurance

bad news-- slower to install, dusty (not good to breathe) and cost

we are very happy with it

we have had lots of compliments on how it looks

PS we sided a EAA chapter building with T1-11 and it rotted off in 12 years

[metolent]

I did exactly what you're proposing.  I used smooth, Doug Fir 4'x8' smooth (no groove) T1-11 sheathing on my cabin and then did 1x3 cedar battens for the board and batten look.  I'm happy with the results. 

I can't seem to find my thread right now, but I think it was titled something like 'ski cabin in the cascades' or something close.  There are pictures on that thread if you're curious how it looks.  I haven't updated that thread in forever, but hopefully soon.

Good luck...

[UK4X4]

We went with sawn timber- bat and board 1" X 10  above and 2" x 12-14" rough edge below
all with the same stain color.

Longetivity we'll see ! but I love the look,

the top was ring shanked-

the lower was ring shanked too but we went arround again with 8" screws and torqued them down to the frame to keep them from moving as it dries out. stain was sprayed on all sides before mounting


The GC has had loads of people asking about the siding and we are very happy too !

[MountainDon]

  The fiber cement is not totally maintenance free.  Not sure how long the finish lasts on that.  I don't know how much you can make that look like real wood. 

You can't make it look like real wood, if by real wood you mean to see the grain coloring as with a varnish or poly 'clear' coat.

Cement fiber board holds paint like steel holds a magnet. Start with great paint and the re-painting does not come along for many years. We have some here at home that is still looking good after 12+ years.

[MountainDon]

If low maintenance is desired I do not think any wood finish that lets the 'natural' look of the wood show through is a good idea.

[hpinson]

Uk4x4 may I complement you? Your cabin is just stunning. 

[UK4X4]

Why thankyou sir !

we love it- but we blew the budget so the interior now will take time - saving from paycheck to paycheck

[grover]

Still not a sure thing but we ordered a box of Maxitile fiber cement lap siding from Menards.  It is prepainted "Smokey Sage" and is the darkest color they had prepainted.  We are getting a box of 4 pieces just to check the color out and make sure it will work.  If we couldn't go with the natural wood look we wanted something dark that would blend in to the surroundings. http://www.maxitile.com/maxisiding.php