Hi. I believe that photo was taken before the final finish was applied, so what you see is a raw birch door. Blackened steel plate was applied shortly after the photos. Hope that helps. John DeForest

Hi, Chris. I don't remember the exact color. I do recall that it took some trial and error to find a stain that had some pigment without covering up too much of the natural variation in the color of the cedar. DA

Hi DA, For the board and batten look..what material did you use? I was going to use this look for house design in Austin. Thanks, GG

Hi, GG. We used 4x8 sheets of fiber cement (from James Hardie) and applied battens over that. The battens hide the vertical joints where they occur. Horizontal joints have a discreet z shaped flashing to keep water out. Nowadays you can look for composite battens that require less maintenance than the wood ones we used. This is a relatively economical and durable approach that requires less maintenance than wood siding. Good luck with your project. Let us know if you ever run into anyone who needs an architect in Austin. It is a very cool place and we work all over these days. John

Thanks John for the info. I will let you know about anyone need architect in Austin b/c you folks seem to have some nice designs. BTW since you made the comment on the wood. I'm going to ask i'm using stone and horizontal siding. For this particular area I was going to use this board and batten look as a vertical trim. I was going to use a composite for the board and batten then paint as you suggested. Then I saw this great wood trim at then new whole foods store coming up in Austin using Ipe wood (i hear pretty durable wood...also where the board is batten is facing very shady). From your perspective would do you think the composite material would be much better from maintenance perspective compared to a hardy wood like Ipe? Thanks, GG

Ipe is beautiful, has natural decay resistance, and requires less upkeep than some wood siding if it is left to weather to a silver gray like teak. If you want to keep it reddish-brown, you'll need to refinish it fairly often. It is way more expensive than fiber cement, however. I know of one source that supplies a profile that can be lapped but otherwise it needs to be installed in an open rainscreen system which adds some cost, requires more careful detailing, and can become a nice little habitat for insects. Closed rainscreens are a good idea behind wood siding; but I try to avoid open ones. I our moist climate, I have heard of some people who had trouble with mildew on vertical ipe surfaces. In short, ipe is really a different animal than hardie. we have used it on fences,gates and decks where cost was less of an issue than appearance. Probably more than you wanted to know!

BTW I did not get to write, but thanks for your feedback on the Ipe. I will avoid based on your feedback. Would that be the same for wood like cedar? Based on your feedback I'm going to most likely stick with Hardie. BTW on your above description of the composite battens -- would that be available from the Hardie products (fibre cement) as well?

You're welcome. I haven't used them but Hardie does have trim boards http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/products_trim_hardietrim.py you may need to rip them to the width you want. There are other manufacturers, too. I would ask around at your local lumber yard. John

John one last question and I noticed this only when my builder's builder supply mentioned it. The one issue where I was going to put board and batten and not much different from your design is that my length is much more than 8 feet. So he said is those cases based on flashing that needs to be put you will notice a horizontal line at around 8 feet (using the 4x8 boards). Now looking at your picture I do notice this line. Does this bother people in general or is there a way to trim around this so the horizontal line is not so obvious? I'm trying to decide if I should keep the board and batten look or go with horizontal cedar wood also in your design of the house. I should show you my design plan of that side of the house :-)

Well, I guess it's up to you to decide what looks best. I have not found the flashing joint to be objectionable. There are other ways to trim out that line but I would be getting into too much detail without knowing the project. Good luck!

Thanks!! If I go the board and batten and want to trim that line at all, I will seek you out for a consulting fee

John, One more question as I was going over your previous notes, how wide were your battens? I have seen it in certain designs, where the battens were wider and I did not like it. I like the width of your batten, which are similar to others that I liked as well. Thanks.

In addition to my question above on the batten width, do you know what color of blue that you used of batten (color code)? Also outside of this I may seek you guys on a project if I buy this lot in Austin that recently came to my attention. It is a challenging lot that slopes off that does not have a lot of depth to work with. It seems from your designs on your website you have worked on these kind of houses. Earlier you mentioned of interest in work in the Austin area. I can see yourself and a firm out of Austin that could design a house for this area if I pursue this lot..I'm working with my current builder if I should pull the trigger on this new lot.

the battens are 1x2 16" oc per the answer to another question they gave