How to Use Rough Wood for Siding

Install Furring Strips

Rough wood can be used as vertical board-and-batten siding.

1. Set up your sawhorses. Place the 1-inch-by-4-inch wood on top.

2. Chalk horizontal lines at 2-foot intervals on the face of the appropriate wall. The first chalk line should be 2 feet above ground level, the second chalk line 4 feet, and so on until you reach the top of the wall. You need two assistants for this step. Have each assistant hold the chalk line at opposite ends of the wall space while you read the line level. When the line is level, snap the chalk line to make your horizontal mark.

3. Nail the 1-inch-by-4-inch wood planking along each chalk line, using the No. 8 ring-shanked nails. Join two pieces of furring strip with a butt joint; the joint must fall in the center of a stud. Make a butt joint by cutting each piece at a 90-degree angle with your circular saw. Slide the two pieces tightly together before nailing.

Attaching the Rough Wood

1. Sort your wood boards according to quality. Set aside approximately two-thirds of the highest-quality boards to be used as your siding planks.

2. Put on safety glasses and ear protection. Rip the remaining wood stock--about one-third of your total supply--into 2-inch wide strips with the table saw.

3. Sand any rough spots on the narrow pieces of wood, using the electrical orbital sander. Apply wood stain with a 2-inch-wide polyester paintbrush. Let the stain dry. Set these narrow boards aside.

4. Cut the wider planks to length with the circular saw and speed square. Check the cut for squareness, using the framing square.

5. Place a 4-foot level next to each board as it's being installed, to check for plumbness. Nail the board with the No. 8 or No. 10 ring-shanked nails. Pound at least three nails at 2-foot intervals into each section of furring strip.

6. Continue adding vertical boards to the row of siding. Allow a 1/4-inch gap when placing a new board next to the previous board. This space will be covered by the narrow strips of batten you made.

7. Nail the narrower batten strips into place with the 16-penny galvanized, ring-shanked nails. Place the batten in the center of each vertical seam. Nail the right half or the left half of the batten tightly into the existing boards.