Old time construction question.
dreher
Member Posts: 8,791 ✭✭✭✭
Even today if you are talking about the Amish but what was once true of most farmers before the 60s, if you were going to build a barn, shed, other outbuildings or a new house the first thing you would do is head for your woods to fall X number of trees.
Then the trees went to the local sawmill to be cut into the lengths and widths to build what you wanted to build. You then decided how long you would dry your lumber before you started construction. All well and good.
My question is, why are barns, sheds and other outbuildings sided vertically, as in the siding boards run up and down. Whereas the house is always sided horizontally starting at the bottom and going to the rafters. I have lived on two old farms and been on many other farms and every barn/outbuilding has been sided vertically attaching to 4X4 horizontal nailer's.
There has to be a reason for this but I have no idea what it is. I should add that this is the way it was in Ohio, I don't know about other parts of the country.
Comments
style. but a lot of houses were sided with board and batten running vertically
Because it was easier to find trees for the siding as tall as the barn vs finding trees as long as the barn!
Must be a regional thing, down here my 3 100+ year old barns are sided parallel, don't know why Grandpa did it that way but all around us was built the same. We've never had a problem but I could see where vertical sided boards would rot at the bottom on each board where as a parallel would rot only the bottom run, that problem we've encountered before.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
Less framing needed when siding is installed vertically. If you look at the barns you will see a post at say every 12 feet with 3 horizontal supports. Siding is nailed at each support.
Horizontal framing at bottom, center and top. Siding also helps support the roof load.
My granddads house, which I inherited and lived in it for a few years was built like that.
He even chinked the nails at each horizontal 2X. Very hard to dismantle.
Think it must be regional ,at least here in NC . Very few board and batten siding down here in the flatlands. You see a lot of it in the mountain region
Barns don't have to be air tight like a house. My neighbor's barn ha 12" walnut boards under the roofing metal and chestnut lumber for the framing. The old timers sawed what was handy and close by.
Took a barn or few down in different areas, one north of Gated City VA, it was framed and sided vertically with chestnut.
Looked at one in Clinch Valley TN. Framed and sided the same way, chestnut to. Owner thought it was made of gold, that old barn looked good but the siding had taken a beating over many years.
I think the vertical boards weather better, the batten helps the water run down, and if horizontal it might be prone to run in easier.
our old barn was vertical sided a lot of 18" to 20" + wide boards some 8 to 12" and 10' to 20' long I would guess
but all gone now 😥 well over a hundred years old
but high winds ( tornado maybe 1st and straight line winds second time plus hit by lightning twice tried to save it a few times but mother nature had it in for the bsrn
In my opinion I believe that rain water can run down the grain on vertical boards quicker and dry out sooner including the edges won't hold water it'll run down the edges too. Horizontal boards will soak up more water with the water able to sit on the top edge of the boards plus the water running down the horizontal board is running against the grain at a slower rate giving it time to soak therefore the horizontal boards will rot sooner than vertical boards.
jimdeere-Our best man in our wedding parents had a barn sided and roofed with full 1"+ walnut! But the area were they lived was full of walnut groves.
One of the main reasons for a barn was to store hay. Hay needs to be dry to avoid mold and heat build-up and, therefore, needs ventalation so barns were deleberately not weather tight. Vertical siding would shrink over time leaving the cracks for air to flow through.
Bingo