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Board and batten siding is vertical siding with narrow battens over the panel joints and at a regular spacing between them. The Board and Batten Calculator divides the wall width in inches by your target spacing and rounds up to whole spaces, so every space is equal and none is wider than the target; the batten count is the number of spaces plus one. 12, 16 and 24 in spacings divide a 4 ft panel evenly, so a batten lands on every panel joint — 16 in is the most common and lines up with studs. It turns the battens into boards of the length you buy, counts nails the way LP SmartSide Technical Note 028 specifies — two nails at each end, then no more than 12 in apart along alternating edges — and counts 4 ft vertical siding panels from the wall area less windows and doors, plus 10%. LP also requires battens of at least 0.5 × 2.5 in, a 3/16 in gap between panels and no panel or batten bridging a floor line. A 40 × 9 ft wall at 16 in has 30 spaces of exactly 16 in: 31 battens, 279 lineal feet, 372 nails and 11 panels of 4 × 9 ft with two windows.
Board and batten spacing: divide the wall width in inches by the target spacing, round up to whole spaces so every space is equal, and add one batten for the end. 12, 16 and 24 in divide a 4 ft siding panel evenly. LP SmartSide Technical Note 028 requires battens at least 0.5 × 2.5 in, nailed with two nails at both ends and then no more than 12 in apart along alternating edges, over vertical siding gapped 3/16 in.
| Wall width | 12 in o.c. | 16 in o.c. | 24 in o.c. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft | 9 (12.0 in) | 7 (16.0 in) | 5 (24.0 in) |
| 10 ft | 11 (12.0 in) | 9 (15.0 in) | 6 (24.0 in) |
| 12 ft | 13 (12.0 in) | 10 (16.0 in) | 7 (24.0 in) |
| 16 ft | 17 (12.0 in) | 13 (16.0 in) | 9 (24.0 in) |
| 20 ft | 21 (12.0 in) | 16 (16.0 in) | 11 (24.0 in) |
| 24 ft | 25 (12.0 in) | 19 (16.0 in) | 13 (24.0 in) |
| 30 ft | 31 (12.0 in) | 24 (15.7 in) | 16 (24.0 in) |
| 40 ft | 41 (12.0 in) | 31 (16.0 in) | 21 (24.0 in) |
12, 16 or 24 in on centre are the usual spacings because each divides a 4 ft siding panel evenly, so a batten always covers the panel joint. 16 in is the most common and lines up with studs. On a wall that does not divide evenly, split it into equal spaces no wider than your target — a 15 ft wall at 16 in gets 12 spaces of 15 in.
Divide the wall length in inches by the spacing, round up to whole spaces, then add one for the end. A 40 ft wall at 16 in has 30 spaces and 31 battens; on a 9 ft wall that is 279 lineal feet.
LP SmartSide Technical Note 028 calls for two nails at both ends of each batten, then nails at most 12 in apart along alternating edges, no more than 3/8 in from the ends and edges, long enough to pass through the siding. A 9 ft batten takes about 12 nails.
LP requires battens of at least 0.5 × 2.5 in actual size over its vertical siding. Common choices are 1×3 (2½ in) and 1×4 (3½ in) trim boards; wider battens suit wider spacing.
Not with LP SmartSide: vertical siding and battens may span only one floor plate-to-plate. On a two-storey wall leave a horizontal joint with sloped Z-flashing at the floor line so shrinkage of the floor framing does not buckle the panels.
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