Rain Screen Furring Battens.

Before we cut the 3/8” exterior plywood the back and front are painted the same color and paint as the finished siding has. This is done because the biggest enemy to them is water and the painting will reduce the effect of water on them. Once that has been accomplished and the paint is dry, I can rip them into 1&1/2” strips.

I hang these battens vertically I purchase Benjamin Obdyke Batten UV for the vertical, because theses can be run vertically or horizontal.

I install the bottom horizontal UV battens first and then I bump into them as I run my vertical 3/8 exterior strips. Each of the are screwed into place, but I do no nail or screw them normally because when I install the lap siding, they will become firmly secured by that process. I am sure to hold back ¼” from butting into window or door frames and off corners to allow for the flow of air in these areas.

Once these are in place I then put another paint coat on the wooden strips only. I do the with a heavy covering because I want the paint to act as a sealer between the sides of the wooden battens and the house wrap.

I then walk the exterior of the house and do any wrap trimming that needs to be done and look to insure all the piping runs are marked.

I then am ready to place a plywood strips or battens on top of the bottom UV batten. This doubling is done to allow the bottom run to have the proper angle as the rest of the lap siding. The angle also allows the water on the outside, which runs down during a rain, to land a little further out from the foundation. This may seem trivial but ever little bit helps. Water removal is not a one-step operation; it is a grouping of little steps which help prevent the damage done by water to your home. Wars are not won by one battel usually: they are won by several small victories of lesser battles.  Now that I have established a supplier for the UV battens, I’ll use them for my vertical and horizontal batten on my next project. I think this will be cost effective because of the labor reduction and the steps that can be missed. How ever if I do so I will need a few plywood strips to double up the bottom horizontal run. But it will need to be painted on all four sides before installation as to not clog the notches or rain groves in the system. Note:  I am not sponsored by any company or person therefore the use for the produce are my own and based on my personal empirical data. Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662.  He resides in Southern California.