Open Joint Wood Siding

The concept of rain screen siding has been around since as early as the 12th century a d.

Open joint wood siding.

An open joint wood rain screen is a construction method that uses wood siding as the outer rain screen layer creates a wall cavity space between the back of the siding and the outer building envelope and has an open joint in the wood siding to allow for ventilation. Offered in a unique false open joint profile weo cladding is resolutely modern and attractive. 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. From rustic reclaimed wood details to dramatic composite planks or panels homeowners are gravitating to the open joint siding trend.

The open joint method can be used with either board or panel siding. 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. On the project shown here we used a variant of rainscreen siding that i have installed several times in the past few years. Called open joint rainscreen it s made up of siding courses that aren t overlapped or butted together in any way.

This trend will only continue to grow as decking manufacturers market their products as a durable long lasting siding option. 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. These composite panels also perfectly imitate the open joint appearance of wood cladding.

However form should follow function but how. Natural forces impact how we design modern sheds and select the materials we use. Boards with distinct embossed designs break the uniform and regular rhythm of façades. We need materials that protect from the elements while also providing a modern aesthetic.

The result is simple elegant and practical. Wood battens usually made from pressure treated 1x4s are a popular choice around here for open joint siding applications. But technology has advanced a lot further since then. Specified for open joint applications.

The pronounced trapezoidal wave shape ensures good rain water run off.