How To Clean A Board And Batten House Before I Seal It

Architecture Styles of America and Europe

Photo by Tom Paradis, ArchitectureStyles.org

Honey This Old House:

I need help with replacing the rotted bottom edge of white pine board-and-crossbar siding. It was resting on a 2x8 that trapped h2o. This needs to be corrected, and I'k weighing the pros and cons of various trim materials to put in its place. Can you help?

—James Becker, via email

Board-and-batten siding has an highly-seasoned rustic expect, is quick and easy to install, and can make use of inexpensive materials such every bit white pino and bandbox that are non typically put on exteriors.

But because this siding is installed vertically, it is very vulnerable forth its bottom edge. That's where the forest'south thirsty end grain lies exposed, eager to suck upwards any moisture that comes its way. Often this edge has no trim at all, and that'southward fine every bit long equally the siding sits at least half-dozen inches above the ground and the end grain is primed or given a h2o-repellent coating. That way, if whatever moisture manages to go in the end grain, it has a fashion to escape and the wood tin dry out. Unfortunately, that 2x8 water table captured h2o and kept the end grain wet. (I suspect the installer didn't coat the siding's end grain, either.)

Okay, that's the diagnosis. Hither'south the fix.

Prep the old siding

To get rid of most of the rot and allow y'all to remove the 2x8, make a horizontal cut through the siding ane½ inches above the 2x8'due south top border. Tack a batten to the h2o table horizontally to guide the saw and ensure a directly xc-degree cut. Set the blade at a 5-caste bevel and a 1½-inch cutting depth. Rest the saw'due south shoe on the batten, making sure the blade is askew up, and brand the cut.

Remove the 2x8 and bank check the freshly cut border of the siding for soft spots. If you discover whatever, have another run at it with the circular saw i inch higher up the starting time cut. If that cut exposes soft rotted wood, replace the affected boards with new ones. Trim the house wrap or architect'due south felt protecting the sheathing so information technology is even with cut cease of the siding.

Accoya is radiata pino that'due south been treated with a vinegar-like chemical to remove the molecules that ordinarily invite rot and insects into untreated woods. Accoya hardly moves with changes in humidity, and carries a 50-year above-basis warranty. Bachelor in some lumberyards; accoya.com

Photo past Courtesy of Accoya

Choosing materials

For the replacement h2o table, the combined thickness of the lath and the crossbar means the textile has to exist 1½ inches thick, which limits your options. If your siding is stained, y'all probably want the water tabular array to exist natural forest as well. In that case, your choices are Accoya and western cherry cedar.

Accoya is plantation-grown radiata pine that's been acetylated—treated with acetic anhydride, a derivative of vinegar, to remove the woods's gratis hydroxyls, which sustain mold and forest-eating insects. It's sanded polish and can be painted. Install it with stainless-steel nails and seal the stop cuts with a primer or a h2o-repellent articulate coat.

Western red cedar contains extractives that give the cinnamon-colored wood its color and natural resistance to rot and insects. You tin get it rough-sawn or smooth, depending on the look of your siding.

If your siding is painted, both Acoyya and western red cedar can be painted to match. But in this case you have a 3rd choice: cellular PVC. This foamed thermoplastic looks like primed pine, but it won't rot, won't suffer insect impairment, and won't warp, cup, or divide. The only visitor that makes cellular PVC that's the aforementioned thickness every bit a 2x is Versatex. It carries a 30-year warranty. The primal affair to know about PVC is that unlike forest, it expands along its length as temperatures increase and shrinks forth its length as they go down. You go on the joints tight when installing in hot weather and then they have the take a chance to compress as it gets libation. And in cool weather, y'all exit the joints open then they can abound tight equally temperatures warm upward. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines to the letter.

If you made ane cut in the siding i½ inches higher up the top of the water table, then order 2x10s to supplant it. If you had to make ii cuts in the siding then order the aforementioned number of 2x4s as 2x10s. These 2x4s will shim the water table upward against the siding.

Western reddish cedar is a expert choice for apply on siding considering it'due south stable, and rot and insect resistant. Information technology comes in both rough sawn and shine textures. Install it with stainless steel nails. Information technology's widely available in lumberyards; realcedar.com

Photo by Courtesy of Western Ruby-red Cedar

Guarding confronting water

Before putting any material dorsum, take these steps to ensure the rot won't return. If the siding is painted, brush the cut ends with a generous coat or two of an exterior-grade oil-based (alkyd) primer. If the wood is stained or left natural, treat the cut ends with a water-repellent forest preservative such as Wolman's Woodlife Classic.

Adjacent, comprehend the sheathing that was exposed when you removed the 2x water tabular array with a strip of self-adhering waterproofing membrane, such as Vycor Plus (grace.com). It should be tucked almost 3 inches nether the existing wrap. You'll probably have to dorsum out some siding nails temporarily to do that. Then slip some metallic deck-ledger flashing under the existing wrap. Tap the siding downwards tight confronting the flashing to hold it in place, leaving a ⅛-inch gap between the flashing and the battens. The flashing protects the superlative edge of the water table and ensures that any water that gets behind the siding is routed away from the sheathing.

Ledger flashing is sold in 8-foot lengths. If the repair is longer than 8 feet, run a vertical bead of caulk near the end of one strip and overlap it with the next strip by 6 inches. That volition stop water from getting effectually the ends of the flashing strips.

Installation

Take the 2x10 water table you've chosen and rip a 15-caste bevel forth one edge. (If you need to add together the 2x4, rip a parallel bevel along the 2x10s opposite edge.) With the bevel facing out, snug the water table confronting the ledger flashing, then nail it to the sheathing at each stud location with stainless-steel nails. If yous're using cellular PVC, you can also screw the trim in place using the Cortex subconscious fastening organisation and cover the heads with matching PVC plugs. Using a slice of scrap wood, tap the flashing down against the water table's bevel. There will be a gap between the siding and the h2o table that will allow the pine siding to dry out subsequently it gets moisture.

If you demand 2x3s to finish this job, rip a 15-degree bevel along the bottom edge of the water table before installing information technology. Then brace the 2x3 edge-up on a workbench, prepare the circular-saw blade to a 2 ¼-inch depth and a 15-degree bevel, and cut a kerf into the top edge as close as possible to the board's corner. At present place the 2x3 on the flat with the kerfed side facing upward, and brand a rip cut ¼ inch from the side reverse the kerf, to reveal the bevel's full width. Cut a shallow kerf in the side opposite the askew face about a one-half inch from the thinner edge to prevent water from migrating forth its underside.

Gun a thick bead of caulk to the back edge of the 2x3, then install information technology bevel up against the h2o tabular array past toe-screwing from the underside into the sheathing and the studs. Use stainless-steel screws and prime or seal the terminate grain; and you won't have to worry near the border always rotting once again.

Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/siding/21015054/how-to-repair-board-and-batten-siding

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