Nailing Vertical T&G Cedar Siding with a Cor-a-Vent Sturdi Batten Rainscreen
North Texas, Zone 3
I am putting up vertical cedar 1×6 T&G cedar boards on a few walls of my backyard office. My rain screen ideas have evolved and I want to experiment with a full Sturdi-Batten rain screen in this small application.
My issue is, what should my nailing approach be? The plan was 18 gauge 2 1/8″ SS nails through the male tongue, through the 7/16″ Sturdi-Batten, through the 7/16″ Zip sheathing, and into the 2×4″ blocking (20″ OC vertical) behind the battens and leave the face untouched. However, I’m thinking that 18 gauge brad nails at an angle wouldn’t get me deep enough into the blocking.
Is a 15 or 16 gauge, 2 1/2″ SS nailer through the tongue better here? Or is that overkill and risking splitting the T&G? An 18 gauge would normally be enough if I was doing a 1×3″ wood based rain screen, but not a lot of info for this siding application with this kind of rain screen.
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What you propose will work. I've not had issue with 2.5" 16guage nails through T&G. Do a test run of where and what angle works the best.
Wood like this tends to move a fair bit, I don't think 18 gauge nails will keep it in place. The best solution is one of the clip setups but requires special T&G profile.
Rather than put 2x4 blocking between the studs behind the battens, consider just laying 2x4s on the flat horizontally on the exterior of the sheathing beneath the Sturdi-Battens. You could backfill exterior 1.5" rigid insulation or AFB between the 2x4's if you wanted at that point (though you might want to change the spacing to match insulation width). You could also eliminate the Sturdi-Battens at that point if so desired. Lot less work than cutting blocking for between the wall studs (which would also hamper interior insulation).
As much as I’d love to put of some exterior insulation I am over budget already. If this was my home I would have taken the exterior insulation approach immediately. It’s my backyard office shed so not trying to overbuild it as I would a home.
Also, if I don’t put in insulation, the 2x4 backing on the outside would acts as a water table that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with. Thank you for the suggestion though, hadn’t thought through that possibility.
Understood regarding the additional cost of exterior insulation. The experts can chime in, but horizontal wood battens (with or without exterior insulation between them) behind vertical siding should still be an improvement from a water management standpoint than nailing the vertical siding directly to the sheathing.
I would use 15ga or 16ga nails; I don't think 18ga would last long enough, even in your dry climate, especially against potential wood movement. Some guns have an optional T+G tip.
If the tongue splits, and you have chisel-tipped nails, try orienting them so the chisel tip is going across the grain. It may require finishing the nails off with a hammer and nail set. If the tongue still continues to split, then predrill and hand-nail; it won't take very long for just a few walls. In that case I would use ring-shanked nails so they hold better. In any case I would use stainless steel nails, as bright or galvanized nails will eventually leave black strips on your cedar.