Board & batten and cedar shake siding — quantity & cost
Board & batten and cedar shakes are the two most popular ways to break out of flat lap siding — and the two that most often surprise people on quantity. Both use more material and more labor than lap, in ways worth counting before you buy.
Two patterns, two counting problems
Board & batten (wide vertical boards with narrow battens covering the seams) and cedar shakes/shingles (small overlapping pieces) share a theme: they consume more material and more labor per square foot of wall than flat lap. But they get there differently, so they are counted differently. The field area is still the same net area you measured — what changes is how that area turns into units, and how much waste to carry. Cost, as always, is your own $/sq ft; quantity is geometry.
Board & batten: boards by area, battens by run
Board & batten has two material streams. The boards cover the field, counted by area over the board’s coverage: boards = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ board coverage). The battens run vertically over every seam, counted by linear foot: battens_lf = wall width × number of rows, or more simply the total vertical run of every batten line. The two are separate orders — the field waste factor covers the boards, not the battens, which are a linear-foot trim item like any other.
Worked example. A 500 sq ft accent wall in board & batten at $8/sq ft all-in, 10% contingency: cost = (500 × $8.00) × 1.10 = $4,000 × 1.10 = $4,400. If the boards cover 8 sq ft each (with waste), boards = ceil(500 × 1.10 ÷ 8) ≈ ceil(68.75) = 69 boards; the battens are counted from the seam layout on top of that. Run your wall in the board & batten calculator. The frequent error is pricing only the boards and forgetting the battens are extra linear material and extra labor at every seam.
Cedar shakes: bundles by area, at a stated exposure
Cedar shakes and shingles are counted by bundle, and two things drive the count: the exposure (visible height of each course) and the waste factor, which runs high here. bundles = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ bundle coverage), with a typical bundle covering ~25 sq ft at a ~5″ exposure. Two reasons the waste is 15%+: the small exposure means many courses, so many cut ends; and the pieces vary in width, so fitting and culling produces scrap. A tighter exposure than the rated one means more bundles still — roughly inversely with the exposure.
Worked example. A 500 sq ft area in cedar shingles at a 15% waste factor and 25 sq ft/bundle: area with waste = 500 × 1.15 = 575 sq ft; bundles = ceil(575 ÷ 25) = 23 bundles. Cost at $10/sq ft all-in with 10% contingency = (500 × $10.00) × 1.10 = $5,500. The cedar shake / shingle calculator handles both the bundles and the cost; the exposure reference lists the typical reveals.
Why both cost more than lap
Board & batten adds linear material (the battens) and a fastening pass for every seam. Shakes add labor because each small piece is placed by hand, and material because of the high waste. Neither is a like-for-like swap for lap at the same $/sq ft — both the material and the labor lines are higher, which is exactly why they are often used as accents (a gable, a dormer, a wainscot band) rather than the whole house. When you mix them with lap, size and price each area separately; their coverages and waste factors do not transfer.
What board & batten adds behind the surface
Board & batten is a vertical pattern, and vertical siding often needs horizontal furring or a solid nailbase behind it so the boards have something to fasten to at the right spacing. That is a labor and material line that flat lap over standard sheathing may not carry — easy to miss when you price only the visible boards and battens. On a re-side, confirm what the substrate requires before comparing a board-and-batten quote to a lap one; the fastening base can be a real difference in scope.
Mixing shakes or board & batten with lap
Both patterns are frequently used as accents — a board-and-batten gable, a shake-clad dormer, a wainscot band — over lap walls. When you mix them, resist the urge to average. Each area has its own coverage, its own waste factor (10–12% for lap, 15%+ for shakes) and its own trim at the transition line where the two patterns meet. Size and price each area on its own numbers, then add a trim allowance for the horizontal band that separates them. One averaged figure will be wrong for both.
What to confirm before ordering
- Exposure — the single biggest driver of shake bundle count; use the manufacturer’s stated exposure and coverage.
- Batten spacing — sets the linear-foot batten total; decide the look before you count.
- Grade and pattern — staggered or diagonal layouts push waste past 15%.
- Trim and terminations — corners, starter and trim are separate linear-foot items on both patterns.
Quantities here are pure geometry on your measurements and the manufacturer’s coverage; the dollar figures are planning estimates from the prices you enter, not bids. Measure the actual area, use the stated exposure, and round bundles and boards up.