Weather Boarding, Wooden Weather Board Houses

¶ As to the various modes of covering the framework of wooden houses, much rhetoric has been expended to show that the perpendicular method of boarding is superior to the horizontal, and vice-versa; but each method has its merits, and we approve of the use of either, regulated by the style and pretensions of the house rather than by any difference in intrinsic value. The ordinary method of putting on the perpendicular boarding, is to cover the joint formed by the meeting of every two boards, as shown at A, picture 8.

Battened Boards

¶ A method preferable to this, but rather more expensive, is shown at B. The battens, 2 ½ inches thick, and rebated out to thickness of the boarding, are nailed to the horizontal ties, confining the boards so as to prevent the necessity of driving nails through them, which is a point of importance, as their splitting by shrinkage is rendered impossible.

¶ It must be acknowledged that the vertical is a truthful method of placing weather boarding: it is indicative of the nature of the material, and is so far entitled to regard, but it must also be admitted that it would be out of place applied to a residence in the Italian style. For a cottage of moderate cost and pretensions, particularly if that cottage have high-pitched roof; and a consequent leaning toward the Gothic style, we would give it a decided preference.

¶ There are several methods of putting on the horizontal boarding: the best of these is what is termed the plow and drop method, in which each edge of the board has a groove sunk of one-third the thickness of the board; the manner of putting it on is represented at A, picture 9. The method is shown at B, in which the lower edge of each board is rebated to one-half its thickness, and this rebate rests on the upper edge of the board below. Another method, which we believe has been patented, is to slit, by a circular saw, boards of 1 1/8 inches thickness and 5 inches wide, thus making two thicknesses, of which one edge of each shall be three-eighths, and the other edge a half-inch thick. These are put on with six-penny nails, with the thick edge downward, as shown at C.

Weather Boarding

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