Battening for Vertical Timber Cladding - Tips, Hints and FAQs

[Thorfun]

Greetings. while we still have the scaffolding up I will be embarking on fitting the counter battens and battens for our vertical timber cladding. In doing my research on this subject I found https://www.robbins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TTF-Cladding-Handbook.pdf but it doesn't really go in to detail how to batten/counter batten it just mentions 600mm centers really. I've been through the https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/141-general-joinery/ forum but there's not much information on there either.

 

so, either it's actually really simple to do and I'm worried about nothing or it's one of those special secrets that no one wants to share! 

 

I thought I'd start a thread where people could add their tips, hints, gotchas, what not to dos, mistakes, successes, photos and so on when it comes to battening.

 

In my situation, for vertical timber cladding I will be starting with the vertical counter battens. they will be 47mm x 47mm battens and then horizontal 47mm x 47mm battens to fix the vertical cladding to ((we need 80mm minimum to hide the external blinds behind the cladding) and I have a few questions.

 

1. do I put vertical battens on EVERY stud that is marked on the membrane by the timber frame company? even if those studs are less than 600mm centers?

2. do I start and end the vertical battens at the very edge of every corner of the house? And then I presume the fixing (horizontal battens) protrude out further to join with the horizontal battens on the other wall? something like this?

 

 

3. what do you do at gable ends. is it the done thing to cut the vertical battens to match the pitch of the roof or do you just leave them square and a little down from the top of the roof? e.g. which one of these?

 

4. and then with the horizontal battens do you cut to match the pitch of the roof or is that just excessive?

 

5. how do you detail around windows and doors for the battening? vertical battens in the way as the drawing in question 2 like the outside corner of a building?

 

6. fixings? with our 47mm battens I was just going to use 90mm nails from the nail gun. too much? 

 

7. is it just me that has all these questions and others just get on with it without making such a fuss?

 

looking forward to reading other people's input. thanks in advance.

[jamieled]

1. That's what we did unless they were extremely close together for some reason.

2. That's what did. How are you dealing with firestopping (do you need to?).

3. We left them square. Under a big overhang and nobody will see them.

4. We had a diagonal batten at the same angle as the roof just below the gable, otherwise the rest were square edged.

5. It depends on the windows and also firestopping requirements. We ripped a lot of timber to size in order to get it neat.

6. We didn't have a nail gun, horizontal battens had 100mm screws through vertical battens into studs.

7. No! Wait until you get to the cladding! The TRADA guide to timber cladding may be useful for you, can buy as an ebook.

[JohnMo]

Some other things to consider

 

Above windows and doors you need a drain slot so if water does get behind the cladding it can drain out.

 

Keeping insects etc out, stainless or plastic mesh at bottom of cladding and at any drainage slots above windows and doors.

 

Page 52 on the below download link has Some details.

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/timber-cladding-scotland/documents/

[Thorfun]

32 minutes ago, jamieled said:

How are you dealing with firestopping (do you need to?).

that is a very good question! none of the architects/BR drawings mention them, the TF company didn't supply them and BCO hasn't mentioned them at all. BUT....I am not going to assume they're not required and I will make some inquiries with the relevant professionals next week.

 

33 minutes ago, jamieled said:

We didn't have a nail gun, horizontal battens had 100mm screws through vertical battens into studs.

my nail gun is one of the best tools I've bought. ?

 

but, I quite like the idea of the horizontal battens fixing through the verticals and into the studs rather than just attaching to the vertical battens. I'll have a think about that one although the roofer has put 2 x 47mm battens at the ends of the roof to lay slates out and past the cladding and they're just nailed with 90mm nails and he stands on them to get off the roof and they've not come down yet so I'm thinking the 90mm nails should be strong enough.

 

35 minutes ago, jamieled said:

No! Wait until you get to the cladding! The TRADA guide to timber cladding may be useful for you, can buy as an ebook.

 

thanks. I'll check out the ebook.

 

any tips or hints or pearls of wisdom that you learnt when doing yours?

 

[Thorfun]

 

21 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Above windows and doors you need a drain slot so if water does get behind the cladding it can drain out.

 

is this still necessary with the vertical battening? won't any water drain down them? or is it wise to use cambered battens so that any water hitting the horizontal battens falls rather than sits on the horizontal battens?

 

21 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Keeping insects etc out, stainless or plastic mesh at bottom of cladding and at any drainage slots above windows and doors.

 

Page 52 on the below download link has Some details.

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/timber-cladding-scotland/documents/

thanks for the link. I did have that open in a tab to read but hadn't done so yet and this is a very timely reminder! ?

 

we've already planned insect mesh at the bottom of the cladding. in fact one reason we decided to not use open jointed cladding and are going for shiplap tongue and groove is to negate the need for an insect mesh all over (although some say it's not necessary).

[jamieled]

39 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

that is a very good question! none of the architects/BR drawings mention them, the TF company didn't supply them and BCO hasn't mentioned them at all. BUT....I am not going to assume they're not required and I will make some inquiries with the relevant professionals next week.

Irrespective of whether the BCO requires them they're worth considering. It may be that your structure is designed a bit differently to ours and hence there's no need for them. The only reason for asking is that if you do need them, then solid timber is a useful way of doing the corners. In that case run a vertical batten down each corner to form the firestop. We used intumescent barriers elsewhere.

 

41 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

but, I quite like the idea of the horizontal battens fixing through the verticals and into the studs rather than just attaching to the vertical battens. I'll have a think about that one although the roofer has put 2 x 47mm battens at the ends of the roof to lay slates out and past the cladding and they're just nailed with 90mm nails and he stands on them to get off the roof and they've not come down yet so I'm thinking the 90mm nails should be strong enough.

I'd imagine they'll be fine, if I'd had a nail gun I'd probably have chosen to use it. Our roofing battens use 90mm gun nails as I got the joiners to do them.

 

41 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

 

any tips or hints or pearls of wisdom that you learnt when doing yours?

 

Off the top of my head:

-Bevel the bottom of the cladding. Bevel joins if you have any.

-Carefully plan the layout before you get going - you don't want to end up with strange widths of cladding either side of windows or doors. Might be harder with shiplap t+g (we had board on board so a bit easier to adjust the gap).

-Think through the window reveal finishes and how the cladding meets them.

-We found it easier to do any bottom cladding in one go, ping a chalk line then cut them all at once to get a good edge.

 

 

 

[Gone West]

Horizontal cladding seemed straightforward with horizontal battens and vertical counter battens holding the EWI in place. For vertical cladding areas in order for air movement and possible water drainage I staggered the counter battens and had a very slight slope on them.

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Gone West

[Thorfun]

1 hour ago, Gone West said:

Horizontal cladding seemed straightforward with horizontal battens and vertical counter battens holding the EWI in place. For vertical cladding areas in order for air movement and possible water drainage I staggered the counter battens and had a very slight slope on them.

thanks for the photos, they're very useful. I see the staggering of the horizontal battens, how did that affect the fixing of the vertical cladding, if at all? and when you say 'very slight slope' was that a sideways slope to drain left to right or front to back slope (which I'm struggling to think how to do unless you put packers behind the top of the batten)?

[JamesP]

My frame had 600mm centres, underneath the membrane is 40mm Pavatherm so fixed vertical batten through to the studs. Horizontal battens at 400mm, cladding is western red cedar, about 195mm wide with a half lap. My window details took a few before I was happy. I put a 15 degree angle on the horizontal batten at the top of the window and cut a drip channel underneath the cladding. Fitted the reveals with the cill in place. Fitted some stainless steel mesh at top and bottom of batten just to keep rodents, insects out as much as possible.

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by JamesP

[Thorfun]

18 minutes ago, JamesP said:

My frame had 600mm centres, underneath the membrane is 40mm Pavatherm so fixed vertical batten through to the studs. Horizontal battens at 400mm, cladding is western red cedar, about 195mm wide with a half lap. My window details took a few before I was happy. I put a 15 degree angle on the horizontal batten at the top of the window and cut a drip channel underneath the cladding. Fitted the reveals with the cill in place. Fitted some stainless steel mesh at top and bottom of batten just to keep rodents, insects out as much as possible.

great photos and information, thank you! 

[Dave Jones]

6 hours ago, Gone West said:

Horizontal cladding seemed straightforward with horizontal battens and vertical counter battens holding the EWI in place. For vertical cladding areas in order for air movement and possible water drainage I staggered the counter battens and had a very slight slope on them.

 

 

 

 

windows would look a lot better pulled forward rather than recessed deep into the house.

[Gone West]

5 hours ago, Thorfun said:

thanks for the photos, they're very useful. I see the staggering of the horizontal battens, how did that affect the fixing of the vertical cladding, if at all? and when you say 'very slight slope' was that a sideways slope to drain left to right or front to back slope (which I'm struggling to think how to do unless you put packers behind the top of the batten)?

The cladding was fixed with hidden pins so the staggered battens didn't affect it. The counter battens were sloped slightly to the side so if any moisture got behind the membrane it would run off onto the lower counter batten.

[Gone West]

51 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

windows would look a lot better pulled forward rather than recessed deep into the house.

They're fitted in the middle of the 400mm of insulation.

[Thorfun]

we've made a start and before we get too far I thought it prudent to post a picture so people can critique our work. I'm happy for good and bad comments! I promise I won't take it personally. 

 

 

 

[Thorfun]

 

for the bit circled in red we were unsure if we should just join them half over the batten behind like @JamesP did or stagger them like @Gone West did! 

 

 

looking at it now it looks a bit 'wrong'. should we keep the run straight and sit them both joining on the same vertical?

 

btw, we did it like that as the battens we have aren't long enough to do that entire width.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Thorfun

[Gone West]

2 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

stagger them like @Gone West did! 

I don't think it makes much difference if you've got airflow behind the counter battens. The only reason we staggered them was because the counter battens held the insulation against the racking.

[jamieled]

It might not matter much for that little bit in the eaves, but in anywhere more prominent would the eye not be drawn to the nail line looking a bit wonky?

[Thorfun]

2 minutes ago, jamieled said:

It might not matter much for that little bit in the eaves, but in anywhere more prominent would the eye not be drawn to the nail line looking a bit wonky?

we thought that but we're planning on having hidden fixing shiplap cladding so hopefully none of the fixings will be seen!

Edited December 1, 2021 by Thorfun
added image of shadow gap profile

[JamesP]

3 hours ago, Thorfun said:

 

for the bit circled in red we were unsure if we should just join them half over the batten behind like @JamesP did or stagger them like @Gone West did! 

 

 

looking at it now it looks a bit 'wrong'. should we keep the run straight and sit them both joining on the same vertical?

 

btw, we did it like that as the battens we have aren't long enough to do that entire width.

Hi there, I would cut the horizontals short to meet the closest vertical ( cover half the vertical and half again with the next piece). You have enough timber in the example above.

I would also start at the bottom with some batten (400mm / 600mm) spaces to hold the horizontals in place for fixing.

[Thorfun]

16 minutes ago, JamesP said:

Hi there, I would cut the horizontals short to meet the closest vertical ( cover half the vertical and half again with the next piece). You have enough timber in the example above.

was discussing this all with the wife and we've come to the same conclusion. we'll do this from now on even though we're planning on having hidden fixings it's not too much effort to do it this way just in case we don't get the hidden fixings

 

16 minutes ago, JamesP said:

I would also start at the bottom with some batten (400mm / 600mm) spaces to hold the horizontals in place for fixing.

I'm sorry but I don't actually understand what you mean here! I am special sometimes so please forgive me but can you explain this a bit more?

[JamesP]

1 minute ago, Thorfun said:

was discussing this all with the wife and we've come to the same conclusion. we'll do this from now on even though we're planning on having hidden fixings it's not too much effort to do it this way just in case we don't get the hidden fixings

 

I'm sorry but I don't actually understand what you mean here! I am special sometimes so please forgive me but can you explain this a bit more?

My poor explanation probably, I used some cut batten spacers, 355mm in. my case for 400mm centres.  Once I start with the first horizontal at the bottom I place the spaces on top vertically and put the next horizontal on top of the batten and then fix. I built most of the house myself so needed a way to support longer lengths of batten. I still measured and levelled to keep it all horizontal.

Hope that makes sense.

[Thorfun]

1 minute ago, JamesP said:

My poor explanation probably, I used some cut batten spacers, 355mm in. my case for 400mm centres.  Once I start with the first horizontal at the bottom I place the spaces on top vertically and put the next horizontal on top of the batten and then fix. I built most of the house myself so needed a way to support longer lengths of batten. I still measured and levelled to keep it all horizontal.

Hope that makes sense.

ahhh, yes that makes perfect sense thank you. I have my wife out with me assisting but once she gets bored and I'm out doing it on my own this is a great tip! ?

 

[Thorfun]

just as a quick update here's a photo of some more of our battening. 

 

 

again, comments and criticisms are very welcome. it might be too late for me but for others reading at a later date my mistakes might stop them from making the same!

 

also wanted to thanks @JamesP again for the spacer tip. it makes it so much easier and it my number one top tip received for battening. ?