Lynden Siding Board & Batten Siding Built for Kendall's Climate
Board and batten has picked up steam among Kendall homeowners over the last several years, and it's easy to see why — the vertical lines give a farmhouse feel to an older property and a clean, modern look to a new build, sometimes on the very same street. What tends to get skipped over in the excitement about the look is that board and batten isn't just a style choice. It's a joint pattern, with a vertical seam running behind every single batten, and in a stretch of Whatcom County that deals with salt-tinged air, wind-driven rain, and a moss season that can stretch for months on shaded walls, how those seams are built matters at least as much as which siding brand ends up on the invoice.
We install James Hardie fiber cement board and batten exclusively, and every seam, fastener, and flashing detail on a Kendall project gets built around what this specific climate does to a wall over ten, twenty, and thirty years — not around what looks good on the day the crew packs up.
What Kendall's Weather Asks of a Board & Batten Wall
Wind-Driven Rain Against Vertical Seams
Rain in this part of Whatcom County rarely falls straight down. It gets pushed sideways by wind, and a board and batten wall — with battens running the full height of the wall — gives wind-driven rain a lot of joint length to work against. A batten that's caulked tight instead of properly lapped, with room to shed water rather than trap it, turns from a design detail into a slow leak path.
Salt Air and Fastener Corrosion
The salt exposure common across this stretch of the county works steadily on any exposed metal. Board and batten uses more fasteners per square foot than a standard lap profile, since both the boards and the battens covering their seams need to be secured, which means fastener spec — corrosion resistance, correct size, correct spacing — carries more weight on this profile than on most others.
Moss and Trapped Moisture Behind Battens
Shaded and tree-covered walls around Kendall stay damp longer than sun-exposed ones, and that lingering dampness is exactly what moss and mildew need to take hold. A batten set tight against a board with no drainage gap traps moisture right where it can't dry, which over a few wet seasons shows up as staining at the seams, softening substrate, and paint failure that starts right along the batten line.
Why Product Choice Matters More on This Profile
Board and batten magnifies whatever weaknesses a siding material already has, because it has more seams and more exposed material edge than a standard lap profile. That's a big part of why we don't offer LP SmartSide, vinyl, Cemplank, Allura, primed spruce, or cedar board and batten. Those are legitimate products, and other contractors install them competently — we simply made the call that on a profile with this many seams, in a climate this consistently wet, standing behind one material system we trust completely serves Kendall homeowners better than offering a cheaper alternative that shifts the maintenance risk downstream.
| Material | Behavior at Batten Seams | Maintenance in This Climate | Realistic Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hardie fiber cement | Dimensionally stable; doesn't swell or cup at the joint | Low; factory finish resists moss and fading | 30+ years with proper install |
| LP SmartSide (engineered wood) | More sensitive to moisture at cut edges and fastener holes | Moderate; edge sealing needs ongoing upkeep | 15-25 years, climate-dependent |
| Vinyl | Can warp or gap at battens with heat and cold; seams less rigid | Low, but hidden moisture problems are hard to spot | 20-30 years, variable |
| Cedar | Absorbs moisture readily at every seam without regular resealing | High; recurring painting or sealing cycle | 15-25 years with consistent upkeep |
James Hardie's fiber cement core doesn't expand and contract with moisture the way wood-based products do, which is exactly the property that matters most on a profile built entirely out of vertical seams. The factory-applied ColorPlus finish also means the cut edges we prime on site are the exception rather than the rule, unlike field-painted materials where the entire board face depends on paint holding up outdoors, year after year, through this climate.
What a Correct Board & Batten Install Actually Involves
The finished look of board and batten is simple — vertical boards with battens over the seams — but a correct install has considerably more going on behind that surface than most other siding profiles:
- House wrap or weather-resistive barrier installed and lapped correctly before any siding goes up
- A drainage gap or rainscreen behind the siding so moisture that gets past the surface can dry out instead of sitting against the wall
- Boards fastened with corrosion-resistant fasteners at the manufacturer's specified spacing, not just "enough to hold it up"
- Battens set with the clearance James Hardie's install spec calls for, not caulked tight, so the wall can shed water instead of trapping it
- Properly flashed and lapped transitions at windows, doors, corners, and the base of the wall, where a vertical run meets a horizontal surface
- Factory-cured ColorPlus finish preserved by cutting boards face-down and priming any field-cut edges before installation
Skip any one of these and the wall can still look right for a year or two. The problems that follow — staining at seams, soft spots near the base, paint failure along the battens — take a few wet seasons to surface, which is exactly why a corner-cutting install can get away with it right up until it's the homeowner dealing with the fallout.
Our Process for a Kendall Board & Batten Project
Walkthrough and Assessment
We start by looking at the specific walls involved — which face the weather head-on, which sit shaded and slow to dry, and whether the existing wall assembly already has moisture issues that need to be addressed before new siding goes up. Installing board and batten over hidden rot or inadequate drainage just buries the same problem under new material.
Detailing the Plan Before Install Day
Batten spacing, corner details, and how the siding meets windows, trim, and rooflines get worked out before crews start cutting material. On a profile with this many seams, planning those details on paper first heads off the field improvisation that's usually where corners get cut.
Installation to Manufacturer Spec
Every fastener, gap, and flashing lap follows James Hardie's published installation requirements for this climate zone, not a generic national standard. That's part of what keeps the manufacturer's warranty intact, and it's the reason the wall performs the way it's supposed to for decades, not a handful of years.
Final Walkthrough
We walk the finished job with you, cover what real maintenance looks like for board and batten (there's not much with this material, but it's worth knowing), and make sure you know what to look for if you ever want to check the wall yourself down the road.
Why Hire a Crew That Already Works Kendall
Board and batten rewards familiarity with a specific climate in a way a lot of siding profiles don't, because the failure points are subtle and slow to show up. A crew that's installed this profile around Kendall through multiple wet seasons has already learned which wall orientations need extra attention because of shade and tree cover, how much clearance a batten actually needs in a climate this damp versus what a generic install guide suggests, and where a rainscreen gap earns its keep. That judgment doesn't show up on a spec sheet, but it's the difference between a wall that still looks and performs the same in fifteen years and one that's showing seam staining by year five.
Cost Factors for Board & Batten in the Kendall Area
Board and batten typically runs more per square foot than standard lap siding, mainly because of the added material — battens on top of boards — and the extra labor of fastening and detailing two layers instead of one. Beyond the base material, a few things move the price on a given Kendall home:
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Wall height and complexity | More corners, dormers, and transitions mean more cuts and flashing details |
| Existing wall condition | Rot or moisture damage found during tear-off needs repair before new siding goes up |
| Batten spacing and reveal | Tighter spacing uses more material and more fastening labor |
| Trim and window detailing | More openings mean more flashing and finish work around each one |
| Access and site conditions | Rural lots, longer driveways, and equipment access can add labor time |
We'll walk your specific home and give you real numbers rather than a rough estimate based on square footage alone — two Kendall homes of the same size can land on very different board and batten costs depending on how many of these factors are actually in play.
Getting It Right the First Time
Board and batten isn't a forgiving profile to redo. Because the battens cover the seams between boards, correcting a bad install usually means pulling battens, boards, or both, rather than a quick patch. That's part of why we treat the planning and detailing phase of these projects as seriously as the install itself — the cost of getting it right the first time is a lot lower than the cost of tearing out a wall that was installed wrong.
If you're weighing board and batten for a home in Kendall, we're happy to walk the property, talk through what your specific walls need given their orientation and exposure, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate. There's a form below — reach out and we'll set up a time to take a look.