Replies

1. 
   Steinmetz | Aug 11, 2003 07:18pm | #1

   GI 13, I believe it's because the barnbuilders of old (olde?) used 'Board and batten' technique to insure weather tightness. The panels or boards were installed vertically and narrow strips (Battens) applied over the joints (Usually joined on a vertical beam.)  An old timer once told me this practice was centurys old and while not beautiful to look at, was efficient, simple and tight.  Beauty, (They say,) is in the eye of the beerholder.

   Stein.

2. 
   ETG | Aug 11, 2003 07:58pm | #2

   I have three buildings over 100 years old - a summer kitchen now attached to the main house, a large horse barn and a corn crib.  The smmer kitchen and the corn crib both have horizontal German siding (essentially clapboard) while the barn has vertical board and batten.

   The best explanation I've heard is that the horizontal siding has been dried so that there is little shrinkage after it is applied and is used more on "good" applications like my summer kitchen.  The corn crib needs air circulation for the corn to dry and horizontal siding if properly spaced will allow air circulation - and shed the water from rain.

   Barns are usually not insualted, hence boards cut right from the logs - green lumber - can be used for barn siding.  Appling it vertically with nails on one side only with the batten allows the boards to dry on the barn and the batten keeps them from severly cupping while they dry as well as covering the space between the boards as they shrink.  Green board and batten siding is much cheaper than milled horizontal boards and goes up quickly - all the factors you would want for a barn.

1. 
   johnnyd | Aug 11, 2003 11:12pm | #3

   Two other points:

   1.  The barns were typically timber framed with HORIZONTAL framing members to support the siding.  So it was much easier, faster, and stronger to run wide boards vertically, nailed into the horizontal framing members.  The way I heard it, the boards were nailed up green, with the batten nailed to only one edge the first year, and then nailed to the other edge the next year after shrinkage had increased the gap to where it would be for awhile.

   2.  Even when barns were timber framed, sawmills could turn out 2X4 studs, which like now were run vertically, for balloon framed residences, making horizontal siding easier and faster.  The siding was thinner and narrower so therefore most likely dryer than the wide barn boards.