Open Joint Wood Siding

Where narrow siding is used such as the 4 inch cedar we used on figure 1.

Open joint wood siding.

On the project shown here we used a variant of rainscreen siding that i have installed several times in the past few years. Our open joint siding is more than just a pretty sur face. Instead they re deliberately spaced a fraction of an inch apart which lets air circulate even more freely. Boards with distinct embossed designs break the uniform and regular rhythm of façades.

These composite panels also perfectly imitate the open joint appearance of wood cladding. This trend will only continue to grow as decking manufacturers market their products as a durable long lasting siding option. The result is simple elegant and practical. The open joint method can be used with either board or panel siding.

Wood battens usually made from pressure treated 1x4s are a popular choice around here for open joint siding applications. The pronounced trapezoidal wave shape ensures good rain water run off. Natural forces impact how we design modern sheds and select the materials we use. Offered in a unique false open joint profile weo cladding is resolutely modern and attractive.

The concept of rain screen siding has been around since as early as the 12th century a d. Called open joint rainscreen it s made up of siding courses that aren t overlapped or butted together in any way. They can be ripped to a narrower dimension but i prefer not to do that because the exposed rips may not be thoroughly treated with preservative and treating the rips with a brush takes a lot of time. However form should follow function but how.

Those specifications call for a double layer of the material in areas near open joints in the siding. Specified for open joint applications. But technology has advanced a lot further since then. We need materials that protect from the elements while also providing a modern aesthetic.

Open joint siding isn t really a rain screen in the sense that most building scientists or our building code would describe one and the walls need to be detailed in a different way so that the layer behind provides all the water shedding details of a wrb layer but also gives the primary layer of protection we usually rely on cladding to provide.