Battening for Vertical Timber Cladding - Tips, Hints and FAQs

[Thorfun]

2 hours ago, BrackensBuild said:

We're about to embark on our vertical and horizontal battens to support vertical cladding and found this thread really helpful! Hoping @Thorfun might share what type of battens you purchased as we also need 50x50 (or 47x47) battens and want to make sure they are sufficiently treated. Also, did you angle the horizontal battens at all (either side to side, or creating an angle along the top of the batten to drain any water away)?

Just standard 2”x2” for us (ends up about 45mm/47mm). No angling at all, figured that as the cladding was tongue and groove very little (if any) water would get behind. 

[gavztheouch]

On 17/07/2025 at 18:17, Thorfun said:

Just standard 2”x2” for us (ends up about 45mm/47mm). No angling at all, figured that as the cladding was tongue and groove very little (if any) water would get behind. 

Were they the green pressure treated variety? I have pressure treated but I noticed my screws are only mildly galvanised so they may not last with the copper in the treatment eating the zinc. Stainless screws would be good but I have external insulation so that would be a large expensive screw in stainless. 

 

Even the blue and red 25mm roofing battens are pressure treated with a copper based treatment which I think will shorten the life of the screws and nails.

[Thorfun]

2 hours ago, gavztheouch said:

Were they the green pressure treated variety? I have pressure treated but I noticed my screws are only mildly galvanised so they may not last with the copper in the treatment eating the zinc. Stainless screws would be good but I have external insulation so that would be a large expensive screw in stainless. 

 

Even the blue and red 25mm roofing battens are pressure treated with a copper based treatment which I think will shorten the life of the screws and nails.

i can only presume so but tbh i didn't even remember asking. i just asked my BM for 2x2 and they sent stuff over. 🤣

 

we used 90mm nails to fix the battens. they're also mildly galvanised afaik. but our cladding is tongue and groove and so very little water should get behind it so i wasn't worried at all.