Lynden Board & Batten in Kendall: A Style That Has to Earn Its Keep
Board and batten shows up a lot on homes around Kendall and the rest of northern Whatcom County, and it's not just because people like the look. The vertical lines read well against the tree line and the mountain backdrop, and the style has a long history on barns, farmhouses, and cabins in this part of the state. But board and batten is also a demanding style to get right. Every seam between the wide boards is covered by a narrow batten strip, and that seam is where water either sheds cleanly or finds a way in. On a home in Kendall, where the siding deals with driving rain off and on most of the year, salt-laden air working its way inland, and a moss season that can stretch for months, a poorly detailed board and batten job will show its weaknesses fast. A correctly detailed one will outlast the people who installed it.
This page is about that one job, done right, in this one area. We're not going to give you a generic rundown of what board and batten siding is — you can find that anywhere. We're going to walk through what this style specifically needs to hold up on a Kendall home, what our crew actually does differently because we work this area regularly, and why board and batten in fiber cement is a different animal than the plywood or vinyl versions you may have seen fail.
What Kendall's Climate Actually Does to Siding
Three things do most of the damage to exterior siding in this part of Whatcom County, and board and batten is exposed to all three in ways a flat lap profile isn't.
Driving Rain
Rain that comes in sideways during a storm doesn't just run down the face of the siding — it gets pushed sideways and upward under laps, joints, and battens. On a board and batten wall, the batten itself creates a raised seam that can catch wind-driven water if it isn't fastened and flashed correctly. Water that gets behind the boards and can't dry out is the single biggest cause of rot and failed paint on any vertical siding style.
Salt Air
Air moving inland off the Salish Sea carries salt that settles on exterior surfaces and accelerates corrosion on fasteners, flashing, and any exposed metal trim. Untreated or improperly coated fasteners are one of the first things to fail on an older board and batten installation, and once a fastener corrodes and loosens, the seal around it goes with it.
A Long Moss Season
Shaded, damp conditions for a large part of the year mean moss and algae get a real foothold on north-facing walls and anywhere siding stays wet longer than it should. Moss holds moisture against the surface, which is exactly what you don't want touching a board and batten seam. It also breaks down paint and factory finishes over time if it's never addressed.
None of this means board and batten is a bad choice for a Kendall home. It means the material and the installation details matter more here than they would in a drier, calmer climate.
What a Correct Board & Batten Job Actually Involves
A lot of what separates a board and batten job that lasts thirty years from one that needs rework in five happens behind the boards, where you'll never see it once the job is done.
- Rainscreen gap: A drainage gap behind the siding lets any water that does get past the surface drain out and lets the wall assembly dry. Face-nailing boards directly to the sheathing with no gap traps moisture against the wall.
- Weather-resistive barrier and flashing: A properly lapped water-resistive barrier under the siding, with flashing at every window, door, and horizontal transition, is what actually keeps bulk water out of the wall — the siding itself is the second line of defense, not the only one.
- Fastener placement and type: Board and batten needs to be fastened to allow for the material's expansion and contraction, using corrosion-resistant fasteners rated for the coastal-influenced air this area gets. Fasteners driven through both the board and batten in the same spot, or overdriven, are a common source of early cracking.
- Batten spacing over the seam: The batten has to fully cover the gap between boards with enough overlap on each side to shed wind-driven rain, not just sit centered for looks.
- Bottom clearance: Board and batten needs proper clearance off decks, patios, and grade so the bottom edge isn't sitting in splash-back or standing moisture — a common failure point we see on older installs in this area.
- Caulking only where it belongs: Sealant at the right joints, not as a substitute for correct flashing. Over-reliance on caulk to "fix" a bad detail is one of the more common shortcuts on lower-bid jobs.
Every one of those details is invisible once the siding is up. That's exactly why it matters who's doing the work and not just what material they're using.
Why We Only Install James Hardie for This Style
Board and batten shows up in several materials — plywood (T1-11), engineered wood, vinyl, and fiber cement among them. We install James Hardie fiber cement exclusively, and board and batten is actually one of the clearer cases for why.
Plywood and engineered wood board and batten are wood products at their core. They can look great going up, but wood-based sidings depend heavily on paint and caulk staying intact to keep moisture out, and in a climate with this much rain and moss pressure, that maintenance window is short. Vinyl board and batten is low-maintenance in one sense, but it's a thin plastic profile that can warp, fade, and doesn't hold paint if you ever want a different color — and it flexes in a way that can stress the fastening details this style depends on.
James Hardie's fiber cement board and batten panels are non-combustible, dimensionally stable in wet climates, and come with a factory-applied ColorPlus finish that's baked on and warranted against fading and peeling — not brushed on at the jobsite and left to fend for itself against salt air and driving rain. That's the whole reason we standardized on Hardie rather than the alternatives: it's the product that matches what this climate actually demands from a board and batten wall.
What Drives the Cost on a Kendall Board & Batten Job
| Factor | Why It Matters Here |
|---|---|
| Wall height and roofline complexity | Steep rooflines and tall gable walls common on Kendall properties require more staging and cutting, and more flashing detail at transitions. |
| Tear-off vs. install over existing wall prep | Removing old wood or vinyl siding lets us inspect and fix sheathing and rainscreen details that are invisible until the old material comes off — this is often where hidden moisture damage from past driving-rain exposure turns up. |
| Trim and corner detailing | Board and batten reads as a "clean" style, which means corner boards, window trim, and fascia details have to be done well or the whole wall looks off. |
| Number of window and door openings | Each opening needs its own flashing sequence integrated with the board and batten layout — more openings mean more labor, not just more material. |
| Access and site conditions | Tree cover, slope, and setbacks common on rural and semi-rural Kendall lots can affect staging and material handling. |
We give real numbers after we've actually looked at the house — anyone quoting a firm price over the phone for board and batten work hasn't seen your walls yet.
Our Process on a Kendall Home
The steps don't change much house to house, but what we're specifically checking for changes based on what we know this area does to siding.
- On-site walkthrough: We look at existing siding condition, moisture staining, moss coverage on north and shaded walls, and how water is currently draining off the roof and around the foundation.
- Wall assessment during tear-off: Once old siding is off, we check sheathing condition and confirm what's needed for a proper water-resistive barrier and rainscreen before anything new goes up.
- Flashing and barrier install: Every window, door, and horizontal transition gets flashed and lapped correctly before the first board goes on.
- Board and batten install: Hardie panels and battens go up with correct fastening, gapping, and clearance off grade and hard surfaces.
- Final detail and cleanup: Caulking only at intended joints, touch-up as needed, and a full site cleanup — nails, offcuts, and packaging don't get left in your yard.
What to Ask Any Contractor Before You Hire Them
- Do you install a rainscreen gap behind board and batten, or fasten directly to the sheathing?
- Who handles flashing at windows and doors — your crew, or is it assumed the barrier alone will handle it?
- What fastener type and spacing do you use, and is it rated for coastal-influenced air?
- Will you tear off existing siding or install over it, and why?
- Can you show me examples of board and batten work you've completed, not just lap siding?
Living With Board & Batten in a Moss-Prone Climate
Even a correctly installed board and batten wall benefits from a little attention given how long moss season runs here. A soft wash or gentle rinse on north-facing and shaded walls once conditions start favoring moss growth keeps it from getting a foothold in the first place — a factory-finished fiber cement surface doesn't need repainting to look right, but it does better when moss and grime aren't allowed to sit on it for months at a stretch. Trimming back tree cover that keeps a wall in permanent shade also goes a long way, when that's practical on a given lot. Beyond that, the maintenance burden on a correctly installed Hardie board and batten wall is genuinely low — that's a large part of the point of the product.
Why a Local Crew Matters for This Specific Job
Board and batten is unforgiving of guesswork, and guesswork is what happens when a crew is installing an unfamiliar style in an unfamiliar climate for the first time. A crew that regularly works in and around Lynden and communities like Kendall already knows how driving rain behaves against these walls, what moss does to north exposures out here, and where salt-influenced air causes the earliest fastener and trim failures. That's not marketing — it's the accumulated difference between a crew guessing at flashing details from a manual and a crew that's already seen what happens when those details are skipped on a house down the road. We're not a national outfit rotating through the area on a install-and-leave basis; we're working this county, on this style of siding, under these conditions, repeatedly.
Get a Straight Answer for Your Kendall Home
If you're weighing board and batten siding for a home in or around Kendall, we're glad to come take a look, walk you through what your specific walls need, and give you a real, no-pressure estimate — no scare tactics, no pressure to sign anything on the spot. Fill out the form below and we'll set up a time to come out.