Tudor half-timber battens and exterior stucco — rainscreen assembly
Hi, I am having a house built in a Tudor style.
What are the effects of Tudor half-timbered battens on a stucco’s rainscreen layer?
The lower half of the house will have a stone exterior.
The upper half will have a stucco exterior.
I have read the article “To Install Stucco Right, Include an Air Gap” and understand the importance of having a ventilated rainscreen gap in the stucco assembly.
I can’t find any cutaways/cross section/diagram of how the Tudor half-timbered battens are attached to the stucco exterior wall. I understand they could either be attached directly to the sheathing and then stucco applied or attached to the stucco right before the finish coat.
But, how are the Tudor half-timbered battens attached without compromising the rainscreen layer?
What other solutions are used to give the exterior a typical Tudor look? What would those assemblies look like?
Some of the exterior Tudor half-timbered battens patterns are very complex with many angles.
Thanks!
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Replies
Ani,
The timbers you see in Tudor buildings were the structural frame which held the building up. The stucco was a cover of the infill material which might be masonry, waddle and daub or other variants.
I wish I could be more positive about this but to be blunt, the reason you are having trouble finding details for ersatz Tudor detailing is that it is a really bad idea and almost impossible to do in a way that leaves you with a functioning cladding.
Ani,
First of all, a Tudor building had a true timber frame -- with the timber posts and braces visible on the exterior and the interior. These posts and braces were infilled with lath (or wattle) and plaster.
You are describing a faux-timber exterior on a conventionally built stick-frame wall. Right?
In general, if you use lumber for the faux-timbers, the lumber is likely to rot. I suppose that you could use wide PVC trim or some other sort of synthetic material. What material were you thinking to use to create the faux-timbers?
Your are describing a faux-timber exterior on a conventionally built stick-frame wall. Right? Yes
The architect specifies “cedar boards”, but as Martin said, the lumber is likely to rot.
Honestly I’m open to suggestions. I have heard about fiber cement, cellular PVC, and LP SmartSide, as alternatives to the cedar faux-timbers.
I’m not sure which would be best.
Also as my original question asks, what would be the construction method that would attach these to the stucco exterior without being intrusive to the rainscreen layer that is part of the stucco assembly?
Ani,
Of course, the best way to proceed would be to have a simple stucco exterior without the faux-Tudor battens.
Even better would be to choose a different cladding -- something other than stucco.
But assuming you have your heart set on stucco cladding, you should follow the recommendations in this article: To Install Stucco Right, Include an Air Gap. If you follow my advice, you will have a three-dimensional plastic drainage mat behind the expanded metal lath.
I assume that you could attach your faux-Tudor battens on the exterior side of the expanded metal lath before the first coat of stucco is installed, but I advise you to talk to your stucco contractor to see if this makes sense.
As I said earlier, the best idea would be to skip the faux-Tudor battens.
We are in the process of building two 5,000 sf Tudor houses. We could have done the flush timbers as you suggested, but I would have applied a liquid moisture barrier to the bottom of the timbers and about 1” on the sides, before I attach them over the rainscreen. In my opinion, Home Slicker would be the best rainscreen for this application.
However, I specified the use of fiber cement Stucco boards and trim. It may not be the perfect application of the “old ways”, but on this day and age, we are all looking for less mistakes and maintenance, and I believe it’s a good compromise. I’m attaching the 3Ds for reference. You can ask me for pictures of these houses in 6 or 7 months.
Thanks Martin, I will follow up with a stucco contractor.
Armando, thank you, I will have to look into fiber cement Stucco boards and trim as an alternative to regular stucco.
What other solutions are used to give the exterior a typical Tudor look? What would those assemblies look like?