# Board and Batten - Corner boards - best method?



## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm building the shed for my wife and using 1" rough sawn fresh hemlock board and batten. Going up wet and drying on the shed. The 10 inch boards have been up a couple weeks and the spaces opened up as they're shrinking so the battens went up. So now I could put up the corner boards, but wondered what's the best method for this.

The 10" boards are still shrinking I would think. If I attach the corner boards to each other the remaining shrinkage of the 10" boards could just take them apart or split them all to hell and back. The corner boards have to get nailed to the 10" boards.

Should I just nail each "half" of the corner board to its respective wall and wait and see how much separation I actually get in the corner? And then either caulk a small space or pop one of the halves of the corner board off and reposition to close a large gap?

I have 10 inch boards with 3 inch battens. For the corners I was planning to rip a 4 inch and a 3 inch to make it look visually equal.

Thanks for any input. Meanwhile I have tons of other trim to do


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## DanKrager (Apr 13, 2012)

Charlie, it's an interesting question. I would be inclined to secure the corner boards to each other and then secure the "short" one with a space behind the long one which is not secured to the siding board it covers. This assumes that the siding board to which the short trim will be applied is not nailed at the corner, i.e. it will move some more. So your trim board nails should not penetrate beyond the siding board. 
You could use screws on the corner trim so that you can remove and adjust the trim as necessary, not a big job. Use "finishing" screws (small head) to look more like your nails???
DanK


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Dan,
It's kinda "rustic". My wife calls it "Cute Rustic", hehehe. So nail holes aren't really a problem. She'll stick a hook or something in them and hang something.

I had considered what you're saying as well. Build the corners as units, and attach them to only one wall with a gap at the other that would (theoretically) close as the board they're nailed to shrinks. If the gap closes up tight, at that point I could pop the whole corner off and reposition it before anything gets split.

That kinda where your thinking is at?


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

Maybe something like this:


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

OK, here's what I just got from a guy near me that builds board and batten all the time…

"Put your wide board on such that it will be proud of the narrow board by around 3/16. You can do 1/4, but at this stage 1/8 probably isn't near enough. Just tack the narrow board to use as a spacer so you can judge where to place the wide board. With the wide board secured, now get the narrow board tight against it and nail it on. If you have 1 inch boards and battens, you should use 2 inch nails. Things are going to move as the boards dry. You have to LET them move or you're going to break stuff."

heheheh…. You know, I wondered why his outbuildings' corner boards didn't meat flush in the corners, but never thought to ask. Now I know. He says the simplest thing to replace is the narrow half of a corner board.

"Next year you'll know if you want to just caulk a small gap or move that half of the corner board. Either one only takes a few minutes."

Anyone else? I know there are several ways to do this.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Clint,
I was typing while you were typing, but yeah. Your drawing is one of the ways that came to mind. Just let one side "float" and give it room to do that.


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## DanKrager (Apr 13, 2012)

Yes, Charlie. You seemed to understand what I was suggesting. Clint's drawing makes me wonder why the siding board towards the top of the drawing doesn't split? It's fastened in the corner and (I assume) the center with no where to go. What am I missing? Other than that one nail, I think we are all on the same page.
DanK


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

Good point, Dan. May be best to leave that nail out. The corner would still be OK.


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