Ferndale Siding Board & Batten Siding, Built for Custer
Custer doesn't get talked about as much as some of the bigger towns in Whatcom County, but the homes out here face the same weather, and in some ways face more of it. You're close enough to the water that salt-laden air reaches properties well back from the shoreline, and far enough from any downtown core that a lot of lots carry mature tree cover, which means shade, slower drying, and more moss than a sun-exposed wall would ever see. Board and batten has become a popular choice for homeowners here who want the vertical, clean-lined look on a new build or a re-side, but that look comes with more seams than a standard lap profile, and every one of those seams is a place water can try to get behind the siding.
We install James Hardie fiber cement board and batten exclusively, and we've built our process around what Custer's specific mix of salt air, driving rain, and a long moss season actually does to a vertical-seam wall over ten, twenty, and thirty years. This page is about that one profile, in this one area, not a general overview of siding options.
What Custer's Climate Asks of a Board & Batten Wall
Board and batten amplifies whatever a siding material is weak at, simply because there's more joint length and more exposed edge per square foot of wall than a horizontal lap profile has. That makes the climate factors below matter more here than they would on a simpler siding style.
Salt Air Reaching Inland Lots
Custer's proximity to the water means salt exposure isn't limited to waterfront homes. It settles on siding, trim, and fasteners across a much wider footprint than people expect, and board and batten uses more fasteners per square foot than lap siding does, since both the boards and the battens covering their seams need to be secured. A fastener spec that's undersized or the wrong corrosion class is a bigger liability on this profile than on most others, because there are simply more of them holding the wall together.
Driving Rain Against Vertical Seams
Rain in this part of Whatcom County rarely falls straight down for long. Wind pushes it sideways, and a vertical batten seam running the full height of a wall gives that wind-driven rain a long, continuous joint to work against. A batten that's caulked tight instead of set with proper clearance and back-priming doesn't shed that water, it wicks it toward the fastener line, which is exactly where you don't want moisture concentrating.
A Long Moss Season on Shaded Lots
Mature trees are common around Custer, and shaded, north-facing walls here stay damp longer after a rain than a sun-exposed wall would. That's the exact condition moss and mildew need to establish. A batten set tight against its board with no ventilation gap traps that moisture right at the seam, which is where a lot of long-term siding problems on this profile actually start — not on the open field of the wall, but hidden behind the batten strip.
Why Product Choice Matters Even More on This Profile
Because board and batten has more seams and more exposed material edge than other siding styles, whatever weaknesses a material already has get magnified. That's a real part of why we don't offer LP SmartSide, vinyl, Cemplank, Allura, primed spruce, or cedar in this profile. Those are legitimate products, and other contractors install them competently. We looked at how each one behaves specifically at a batten seam, in a climate this consistently wet and salt-exposed, and standardized on one system we're willing to stand behind completely.
| Material | Behavior at Batten Seams | Maintenance in Custer's Climate | Realistic Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hardie fiber cement | Dimensionally stable; doesn't swell, cup, or shift at the joint | Low; factory finish resists moss growth and fading | 30+ years with correct installation |
| LP SmartSide (engineered wood) | Wood-fiber core is sensitive to moisture at cut edges and fastener holes | Moderate to high; edge sealing needs to be kept up over time | 15-25 years, heavily climate-dependent |
| Vinyl | Can gap or distort at battens with temperature swings; seams less rigid | Low visible upkeep, but hidden moisture behind the panel is hard to catch | 20-30 years, variable |
| Cedar or primed spruce | Organic material absorbs moisture readily at every seam without regular sealing | High; repainting or restaining on a recurring schedule | 15-25 years with consistent upkeep |
Fiber cement's inorganic core doesn't expand and contract with moisture the way a wood-based product does, which is precisely the property that matters most on a profile built almost entirely out of vertical seams. Hardie's factory-applied ColorPlus finish also means the field-primed cut edge is the exception on a job, not the rule the way it is with a site-painted material where the whole wall's protection depends on paint holding up outdoors year after year.
What a Correct Board & Batten Install Actually Involves
Board and batten looks simple from the curb — vertical boards, a batten strip over each seam — but there's more happening behind that surface than most other siding profiles require. A homeowner comparing quotes should be able to ask about each of these and get a straight answer:
- House wrap or weather-resistive barrier installed and correctly lapped before any siding goes up, not patched around existing gaps
- A drainage gap or rainscreen behind the siding so moisture that gets past the surface can drain and dry instead of sitting against the wall sheathing
- Corrosion-resistant fasteners at the manufacturer's specified spacing for both boards and battens, not just enough to hold the material in place
- Battens set with the clearance James Hardie's install spec requires rather than caulked tight, so the wall can shed water instead of trapping it at the seam
- Flashing properly lapped at windows, doors, corners, and the base of the wall, where the vertical run of board and batten meets a horizontal surface
- Factory-cured ColorPlus finish preserved by cutting boards face-down and priming any field-cut edge before it goes up
Skip any one of these and the wall can still look right for a year or two. The consequences — staining at the seams, soft spots near the base, paint failure along the battens — usually take a few wet seasons to surface, which is exactly why a corner-cutting install can get away with looking fine on handoff day.
Our Process for a Custer Board & Batten Project
Walkthrough and Assessment
We start by walking the actual walls involved: which face the weather most directly, which are shaded by trees and slower to dry, and whether the existing wall assembly already has moisture or rot issues that need to be addressed before new siding goes on. Installing board and batten over a wall with hidden damage just buries the same problem under new material for a few years.
Planning the Detail Work Before Install Day
Batten spacing, corner treatment, and how the siding meets windows, trim, and rooflines all get worked out before crews start cutting material. A profile with this many seams rewards planning on paper; figuring it out in the field as you go is where corners tend to get cut, intentionally or not.
Installation to Manufacturer Spec
Every fastener, clearance gap, and flashing lap follows James Hardie's published installation requirements for this climate zone. That's not a generic national standard applied loosely — it's what keeps the manufacturer's warranty intact, and it's the actual reason the wall performs the way it's supposed to for decades rather than years.
Final Walkthrough
We walk the finished job with you, cover what little maintenance board and batten actually needs with this material, and make sure you know what a healthy seam looks like if you ever want to check the wall yourself down the road.
Why a Crew That Already Works Custer Matters Here
Board and batten rewards local experience in a way a lot of siding profiles don't, because its failure points are subtle and slow to show up. A crew that's installed this profile across Custer and the surrounding parts of Whatcom County through multiple wet seasons has already seen which orientations need extra batten clearance because of shade and tree cover, how much a joint actually needs to move in a climate this damp versus what a generic install guide assumes, and where a rainscreen gap earns its keep on this kind of lot versus where it's less critical. None of that judgment shows up on a spec sheet. It's the difference between a board and batten 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 Custer
Board and batten typically runs more per square foot than standard lap siding, mostly because of the added batten material and the extra labor of fastening and detailing two layers instead of one. Beyond that baseline, a few things move the price on a given Custer property:
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Wall height and complexity | More corners, gables, and transitions mean more cuts and flashing details to get right |
| Existing wall condition | Rot or moisture damage found once the old siding comes off needs repair before new siding goes up |
| Batten spacing and reveal | Tighter spacing uses more material and more fastening labor per wall |
| Tree cover and shade exposure | Shaded walls may need extra drainage detailing given how long they stay damp after rain |
| Site access | Rural lots and longer driveways common around Custer can add setup and material staging time |
We'll walk your specific home and give you real numbers off what we actually see, rather than a rough per-square-foot estimate. Two houses with similar square footage can land in very different places once wall condition, tree cover, and detailing needs come into play.
Getting It Right the First Time
Board and batten is not a forgiving profile to fix after the fact. 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 a big part of why we treat the planning and detailing phase of a project as seriously as the installation itself — the cost of doing it right the first time is a lot lower than the cost of tearing out a wall that was installed wrong and finding out the hard way, a few wet seasons in.
If you're weighing board and batten for a home in Custer, we're glad to come take a look, walk 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 stop by.