Birch Bay Siding Board & Batten Siding for Custer Homes
Custer sits close enough to Birch Bay and the Strait of Georgia that homes here deal with the same coastal weather pattern as the rest of the bay: salt-laden air moving in off the water, long stretches of driving rain through fall and winter, and a moss season that can run most of the year on north- and west-facing walls. Board and batten siding has become a popular choice out here because it fits the rural-coastal look a lot of Custer properties are going for — barns, outbuildings, and newer builds alike — but that vertical-plank profile only holds up if it's built for this specific climate. A board and batten wall put together the way it's done in a drier inland market will not perform the same way three miles from saltwater.
This page covers what board and batten siding needs to do for a Custer home specifically, what a correct installation actually involves, and why we only install it in James Hardie fiber cement rather than the wood or vinyl versions of the same look.
What Board and Batten Siding Is
Board and batten is a vertical siding pattern: wide flat boards installed side by side with narrower strips (battens) covering the seams between them. It's one of the oldest siding profiles in North American building, originally a way to cover gaps in rough-sawn barn boards, and it's had a resurgence over the last decade as a design choice for modern farmhouse, craftsman, and rural-coastal homes — a look that suits a lot of the building stock going up around Whatcom County right now.
The pattern reads as clean, linear, and a little more architectural than standard lap siding, which is part of why it shows up so often on accent walls, gables, and porch surrounds even on homes that use horizontal siding everywhere else.
Why It Matters More on the Coast Than Inland
Every vertical seam in a board and batten wall is a place where wind-driven rain can be pushed upward and sideways instead of simply running down and off, which is the normal behavior on horizontal lap siding. In a drier inland climate that's a minor detail. In Custer, where storms regularly come in off the water with real horizontal force, those seams and the battens covering them need to be built to shed water actively, not just cover it up.
What a Correct Installation Involves
A board and batten wall that's going to last in this climate isn't just boards and battens nailed to the sheathing. The details behind the surface matter as much as the surface itself.
- A weather-resistive barrier installed and lapped correctly behind the boards, with all penetrations and seams sealed
- A rainscreen gap (vertical furring strips) between the barrier and the siding, so any water that does get past the boards can drain and the wall can dry instead of trapping moisture against the sheathing
- Fasteners placed and spaced to manufacturer specification — board and batten sees more wind load per fastener than lap siding because of the panel width, so this is not a place to cut corners
- Battens sized and spaced to actually cover panel seams with room for material movement, not just tacked on for looks
- Correct flashing at every horizontal transition — window and door heads, roof-to-wall intersections, and the base of the wall where it meets grade or a foundation
- A factory-finished, moisture-stable board material so the boards themselves aren't the weak point once everything else is done right
Skip the rainscreen gap or shortcut the flashing details, and you can have a board and batten wall that looks correct for a year or two before moisture problems start showing up behind boards where nobody can see them until the damage is already done.
Why We Only Install This in James Hardie Fiber Cement
Board and batten is available in a few materials — cedar, engineered wood products like LP SmartSide, vinyl, and fiber cement — and we get asked fairly often why we only do this profile in James Hardie. It comes down to how each material actually behaves against Custer's specific combination of salt air and sustained wet weather.
Cedar board and batten looks great new, but real wood siding needs ongoing maintenance — refinishing, caulking, and vigilant moisture management — to hold up against constant coastal moisture, and it's the material most likely to show rot at cut ends and fastener points if that maintenance schedule slips even one season. Vinyl board and batten is low-maintenance but it's a thin, flexible material that can warp or crack in temperature swings and doesn't hold up well to direct impact; the vertical panel profile also makes any waviness in the wall more visible than it would be on horizontal lap. Engineered wood products like LP SmartSide use a wood-strand core, which means the entire panel is only as good as the factory coating protecting it from moisture — if that coating gets compromised at a cut edge or a fastener point, the strand core underneath is vulnerable to swelling and rot in exactly the kind of damp, salt-air environment Custer sees for most of the year.
James Hardie fiber cement is not wood-based, so it doesn't have that same failure mode. It's non-combustible, dimensionally stable in wet-dry cycling, and holds a factory-applied ColorPlus finish that's engineered to resist fading and doesn't need repainting on the schedule cedar does. Hardie's HZ5 product line is formulated specifically for climates with sustained moisture exposure, which describes Whatcom County's coastline about as well as any spec sheet could. That combination — a material that doesn't rot at the core, a finish that holds up to salt air without repainting, and a warranty that's transferable if the home sells — is why board and batten leaves our crew in Hardie and nothing else.
Board and Batten Material Comparison
| Material | Moisture Behavior | Maintenance | Typical Lifespan Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hardie Fiber Cement | Non-organic core, stable in wet-dry cycling | Occasional wash; no repainting on factory finish | Decades, per warranty terms |
| Cedar | Absorbs moisture; vulnerable at end grain and fasteners | Regular refinishing and caulk inspection | Shorter without consistent upkeep |
| Engineered Wood (LP-type) | Wood-strand core depends on coating integrity | Coating touch-up at damage points | Depends on coating condition over time |
| Vinyl | Doesn't rot, but can warp/crack with temperature swings | Low; but panel replacement if damaged | Variable; UV and impact-dependent |
This isn't a claim that the other materials are unusable — cedar and engineered wood siding are on plenty of Custer homes right now. It's why, as a company, we decided we'd rather stand behind one product system we trust for this climate than install several and hope the maintenance keeps up.
Our Process on a Custer Board and Batten Project
Because we already work this specific stretch of Whatcom County, our process starts with what we already know about how the coastal exposure hits a given lot, not a generic walkthrough.
- On-site assessment — we look at the existing wall assembly, note which elevations take the worst of the wind-driven rain and salt exposure, and check for any moisture damage already present behind the current siding
- Plan and quote — board width, batten spacing, trim details, and HZ5 color selection, with a clear written scope so there's no ambiguity about what's included
- Removal and prep — old siding comes off, sheathing gets inspected and repaired if needed, and any existing moisture issues get addressed before anything new goes up
- Weather barrier and rainscreen installation — the part of the job that isn't visible once it's finished, and the part that determines how the wall performs in year five, not just year one
- Board and batten installation — panels and battens installed to manufacturer fastening spec, with flashing detailed at every window, door, and transition
- Final walkthrough — we go over the finished wall with the homeowner before we consider the job done
Living With Board and Batten Through Moss Season
Even with the right material and the right installation, any siding in Custer benefits from a periodic rinse to keep organic growth from getting a foothold in shaded corners and north-facing walls, which is where moss season shows up first. Hardie's factory finish holds up to that washing far better than a repainted surface would, but the maintenance habit is still worth keeping — it's a five-minute task with a hose, not a project.
What to Ask Before Hiring a Board and Batten Contractor Here
- Do you install a rainscreen gap behind board and batten, or fasten directly to the weather barrier?
- How do you flash window and door heads on a vertical siding profile specifically?
- What board and batten material are you recommending for this specific wall, and why that one for this climate?
- Can you show the manufacturer's fastening spec for the product you're installing, not just a general contractor standard?
- Do you have current experience working in Custer or Birch Bay specifically, or is this your first project on this stretch of coastline?
Any contractor doing this work correctly should be able to answer all five of those without hesitation.
Why Local Experience on This Job Matters
Board and batten's vulnerable points — vertical seams, batten coverage, flashing at transitions — behave differently depending on how much wind-driven rain and salt exposure a wall actually sees. A crew that's already worked Custer and the rest of the Birch Bay area has already seen which elevations take the worst of it and adjusts the installation accordingly, instead of applying a generic spec that was written for a different climate. That's the difference between a board and batten wall that still looks and performs correctly in ten years and one that needs attention behind the boards long before then.
If you're weighing board and batten siding for a home in Custer, we're glad to walk the property, talk through what the specific exposure on your walls calls for, and put together a straightforward, no-pressure estimate — just fill out the form below to get started.