Batten and Board vs Plywood Shed

grnmtnboys · Jun 5, 2015

Howdy,

Wondering if anyone has built a shed/tractor house recently, and happened to price out differences between using rough cut lumber, batten board construction (post and beam frame) vs standard framing (2x6) and plywood/osb? Were the prices comparable?

Thank you in advance

paulharvey · Jun 5, 2015

It's really hard to beat 26 GA rib-12 metal wall panels for price and life span.

grnmtnboys · Jun 5, 2015

Hadn't thought about that angle; living in lumber country, there are a few mills within 10- 15 miles of home so that was first on my list. I will have to do some research.

Thank you.

s219 · Jun 5, 2015

Depends on how cheaply you can get the board/batten siding for. If you have a good source of milled lumber, it might be a good option. When we built our barn, we went with board/batten white pine, but it cost more since it came from a building materials supplier.

Pole barn construction is hard to beat for simplicity and cost, and if you're going with a dirt or gravel floor, it's a great way to go. However, if you are pouring a slab inside for the floor, you may as well go with framed and build on the slab. Eddie Walker points that out every time one of these threads comes up, and he's right.

Marveltone · Jun 5, 2015

Just about every pole barn I see in my part of the country has the metal rippled all over the place because of the shifting effect of frost heaving the poles up and down. The only way to get below the frost line in this area is to dig down 6' or more. That's some deep drilling and long poles! I'd go with a poured foundation and framed construction. Maybe Vermont isn't so bad.

Industrial Toys · Jun 5, 2015

I used board and baton. I love the look but am not a big fan of wood for exterior applications. I usually have an eight foot wall poured, half in the ground and half out, so the wood can't come in contact with the organisms in the ground. They eat the wood worse then the woodpeckers! Insulating that four foot wall, then becomes a bit of a problem though.

I put plywood (not ASB) behind the board and baton to strengthen the walls. Makes for a nice clean appearance inside.

Having said that, I don't like metal buildings. They are practical, but too prone to damage it seems.