How is board and batten siding different to install than standard lap siding?

Board and batten has more vertical seams and fastener lines per square foot, which means more opportunities for water intrusion if flashing and gapping aren't done correctly. It also requires more attention to expansion clearance since the narrow battens show movement-related cracking faster than wider lap boards. The labor and detail work is generally more involved than a standard horizontal lap job.

What should I ask a contractor before hiring them for board and batten siding?

Ask whether they install a rainscreen or drainage gap behind the boards, how they detail flashing at windows and doors, and what fastener type they use given our salt-air exposure. Ask to see how they handle cut-edge sealing, since unsealed edges are one of the most common failure points. A contractor who can answer these specifically, rather than generally, has likely done the work before in this climate.

Why does this company only install James Hardie and not other board and batten brands?

We standardized on James Hardie fiber cement because it's non-combustible, dimensionally stable in wet climates, and backed by a strong transferable warranty when installed to spec. We looked at vinyl and engineered wood alternatives and found the long-term maintenance and moisture risks in a coastal Washington climate weren't worth the upfront savings. It's a standard we hold across every job, not just marketing language.

What's the difference between Hardie's standard fiber cement and the HZ5 product line?

Hardie engineers its HZ product lines for specific climate zones, and HZ5 is built for wetter, more temperate regions like the Pacific Northwest. It's formulated and tested for freeze-thaw cycling and prolonged moisture exposure rather than a generic one-size-fits-all specification. Using the zone-correct product is part of why the installation holds up here rather than in a drier climate it wasn't designed for.

Does board and batten siding need more maintenance in Skagit County than in drier parts of Washington?

It needs more attention, mainly around moss and algae growth on shaded elevations and periodic checks of caulk lines at battens and trim. With Hardie's factory finish and a correctly installed drainage plane, that maintenance is mostly limited to occasional gentle cleaning rather than repainting or patching. Homes on heavily shaded, tree-covered lots in the Burlington area will generally need that cleaning more often than open, sun-exposed lots.

Board & Batten Siding for Burlington Homes | Skagit County

Board & Batten Siding in Burlington: Built for This Corner of Skagit County

Burlington sits in a stretch of Skagit County where three things gang up on a house exterior at once: salt-laden air moving in off Puget Sound and the Skagit tideflats, driving rain that comes in sideways during fall and winter storms, and a moss season that can run eight or nine months out of the year in shaded, north-facing spots. Board and batten siding is one of the more popular looks we install in this area right now — the vertical lines read as clean and modern on newer builds, and they also suit the farmhouse-style remodels going up on older Burlington lots. But board and batten is not a forgiving style if the substrate, the fasteners, or the caulking get cut corners. This page walks through what the style actually requires here, and how we build it so it holds up rather than becoming a five-year maintenance project.

Why Board & Batten Behaves Differently in Burlington's Climate

Vertical board and batten siding has more seams, more fastener penetrations, and more edge exposure per square foot than a standard horizontal lap job. Every batten strip creates a joint where water can either be shed or trapped, depending on how it was installed. In a drier inland climate that margin for error is wider. In Burlington, with the region's average rainfall and the added salt exposure from the Sound, it isn't.

Salt Air and Fastener Corrosion

Salt-carrying air moves inland across the flats and settles on exterior surfaces, including fasteners. Standard fasteners can start showing corrosion streaks within a few years in exposed coastal-influenced areas of Skagit County. That streaking isn't just cosmetic on board and batten — because the battens are narrow and the fastener lines are visible, rust bleed shows up faster and looks worse than it would on a wider lap board.

Driving Rain and Vertical Water Paths

Vertical siding channels water straight down the face of the board rather than shedding it board-to-board the way horizontal lap does. That's fine when the battens are properly gapped, back-primed, and flashed at every horizontal transition. It's a problem when battens are nailed tight to the field board with no room for the assembly to move, or when window and door transitions weren't detailed for a vertical water path in the first place.

Moss and Shaded North Elevations

A lot of Burlington lots have mature fir and cedar cover, and the north- and east-facing walls of those homes stay damp and shaded for long stretches of the year. Moss and algae take hold fastest on siding that can't dry out between rain events. Board and batten's vertical grooves give moss more toeholds than a flat lap surface if the material and finish aren't up to it.

What a Correctly Installed Board & Batten Job Includes

There's a real difference between board and batten that looks good for a photo and board and batten that's still performing in fifteen years. The difference is almost entirely in what you can't see once the job is done.

A weather-resistive barrier installed and lapped correctly behind the field boards, not just stapled up as an afterthought
Rainscreen or furring strips where the wall assembly needs a drainage gap, so trapped moisture has somewhere to go
Battens fastened with enough reveal and clearance to allow seasonal movement without binding or cracking the caulk line
Corrosion-resistant fasteners appropriate for a coastal-influenced climate, driven at the correct spacing and depth
Factory-primed or factory-finished board faces and cut edges sealed on site, since raw cut edges are the fastest way moisture gets into fiber cement or any wood-based product
Proper flashing at every window head, door head, and horizontal trim transition — the spots where vertical siding is most likely to funnel water into the wall
Correct starter strip and base flashing at the foundation line, keeping the bottom of the field boards off standing water and splashback

Skip any one of these and the siding can still look right for a year or two. The problems that show up later — soft spots at the base, streaking under battens, cracked caulk lines — almost always trace back to one of these steps being shortcut during installation, not a flaw in the material itself.

Why We Install James Hardie for Board & Batten, Not Vinyl or LP SmartSide

Board and batten is sold in several materials, and it's worth being direct about why we standardized on James Hardie fiber cement instead of the alternatives most commonly pitched for this style.

Vinyl Board & Batten

Vinyl board and batten panels are inexpensive and install quickly, and for a homeowner on a tight budget that's a real advantage worth acknowledging. But vinyl expands and contracts significantly with temperature swings, which is exactly the kind of movement a tight vertical batten pattern doesn't hide well — panels can bow, warp, or show visible gapping at the seams over time. Vinyl also can't be painted a custom color without voiding manufacturer warranties in most cases, which limits Burlington homeowners who want a specific look. We don't install it.

LP SmartSide Board & Batten

LP SmartSide is engineered wood, and engineered wood is still wood at its core — it depends entirely on an intact factory coating and correctly sealed cut edges to keep moisture out. In a climate with the rainfall and humidity Skagit County sees, any breach in that coating (a scuff during install, a poorly sealed field cut, a fastener driven wrong) gives moisture a path into a wood-fiber substrate. That's a maintenance risk we're not willing to take on for our clients in a wet coastal county.

James Hardie Fiber Cement

Hardie's board and batten products are fiber cement: sand, cement, and cellulose fibers, non-combustible, and dimensionally stable across the temperature and moisture swings this region sees year-round. Hardie's HZ5 product line is engineered specifically for the kind of wet, temperate climate Skagit County sits in. Combined with Hardie's ColorPlus factory finish — a baked-on finish applied under controlled conditions rather than field-painted — you get a board and batten job with tighter color consistency, better fade resistance, and a materially lower long-term maintenance burden than either vinyl or engineered wood. It's also backed by a strong transferable warranty when installed to Hardie's specifications, which matters if you sell the home down the road.

Comparing Board & Batten Materials for a Burlington Home

Factor	Vinyl	LP SmartSide (Engineered Wood)	James Hardie Fiber Cement
Behavior in salt air	Doesn't corrode, but can chalk and fade	Coating can degrade with prolonged salt/moisture exposure	Non-combustible, stable; ColorPlus finish resists fading
Handling driving rain	Can warp or gap at seams over time	Vulnerable if coating or cut-edge sealing fails	Engineered for wet climates; stable when sealed and installed to spec
Moss/algae resistance	Textured panels can hold organic growth	Similar vulnerability to any painted wood-based product	Smooth factory finish sheds growth better; still needs periodic cleaning
Color options	Limited; repainting often voids warranty	Field-paintable, but finish quality varies	Wide ColorPlus palette or field-paintable primed option
Typical lifespan with correct install	20-30 years, seam issues common sooner	25-30 years if coating is maintained	30+ years, strong transferable warranty

Our Process for a Burlington Board & Batten Project

We run every board and batten job through the same sequence, whether it's a full re-side or a single addition.

On-site assessment. We look at existing sheathing condition, current moisture readings where accessible, sun/shade exposure on each elevation, and drainage patterns around the foundation — all of which affect how we detail the wall assembly.
Weather barrier and drainage plane. We install or verify the weather-resistive barrier and add a rainscreen gap where the wall assembly calls for one, which matters more on shaded north walls prone to trapped moisture.
Field board and batten installation. Hardie boards go up with correct fastener spacing, batten reveal, and expansion clearance, following Hardie's published installation specifications for this climate zone.
Flashing and transitions. Every window, door, and horizontal trim line gets flashed before the next course goes up — not caulked over afterward as a substitute.
Finish and detail work. Cut edges are sealed, caulk lines are tooled properly, and we do a final walk of every elevation before calling the job done.

What Board & Batten Costs to Consider for a Burlington Home

We don't publish fixed prices because every home's square footage, existing wall condition, and level of trim detail change the number. But homeowners planning a project should budget around these cost drivers rather than being surprised by them mid-project.

Condition of existing sheathing — rot or water damage found during tear-off adds cost but shouldn't be skipped
Number and complexity of window/door openings, since each one needs individual flashing detail
Whether a rainscreen/furring system is being added versus already present
Elevation height and access — two-story walls and steep lots take longer to stage and work safely
Trim package — corner boards, frieze boards, and window casing detail all add labor

Why Hiring a Crew That Already Works in Burlington Matters

Board and batten installation isn't uniform across climates, and a crew that mostly installs in drier parts of the state may not default to the flashing and drainage details Skagit County's rainfall and humidity actually require. A crew that regularly works Burlington and the surrounding Skagit County area already knows which elevations on a given lot layout tend to hold moss, how local moisture and rainfall patterns affect drying time between coats and steps, and what inspectors in the area expect to see at flashing and drainage details. That local pattern recognition is the difference between a board and batten job that's built for this specific climate and one that was built generically and happens to be standing in it.

If you're weighing board and batten siding for a home in Burlington, we're happy to walk your property, look at your existing siding condition, and put together a straightforward, no-pressure estimate — just fill out the form below to get started.