Installing vinyl board and batten on my ranch house. Have reached the gable side of the house which is taller than the 10 foot B & B panel. I want to continue the B & B all the way up to the gable with a horizontal piece going across the house to make the bottom of the triangle. What is used to do that horizontal piece and should the siding at the upper level stick out beyond the siding on the lower level or does that horizontal piece act like a drip line out over the lower level of B & B. I am working with a carpenter friend/handyman and he wants to be sure he does it the right way since this is a first for him. Too dark to take a pic now, but I can add one later if needed. Thanks. Kathy

If the height of the siding is less than that of Hardie Panel Vertical fiber-cement siding you should consider covering the wall with it and adding cellular PVC battens. The panel siding is 5/16" thick x 4 ft x 8, 9, or 10 ft. There is little advantage in ripping boards. Will it be painted or stained? It should be cedar or composite. When describing panel sizes it is best to say if dimensions are nominal or actual. What you described would result in 2" & 8" in Rough sawn lumber or 1 1/2" & 8 1/4" in 4S nominal lumber. The best way to design the spacing is to measure something that looks good to you and then mock it up on your house.

Here are some interior changes we are considering that will affect the exterior of the house...the goal is to reduce square footage: Completely remove the jack n jill bath and add a half bath near the garage entrance...the kids will have to share a bath that's equally accessible. Create room on the left side of the porch for the porch swing that's in the first inspiration picture. Move Tool & Storage area with Carport further back (maybe in line with the kitchen). I feel it competes with the front porch. The master bath & closet seems overly large to me...maybe there's a way to cut back there? We do homeschool and will be using the dining room for school but at 17' I wonder if it's too large. The Kitchens forum was very helpful in removing the corner pantry in the kitchen and making a walk-in pantry accessible from the laundry room and kitchen. The pantry will take up the space between the Tools & Storage and the kitchen (if that makes any sense.)

Just a thought: Ideally, studs are installed with "16" centers" -- the center of each stud is 16" away from the adjacent studs. That means you should be able to nail a piece of 4'x8' plywood or particle board, etc., to the studs of your home with the two (4') side edges of each panel overlapping half a stud and also be able to secure each panel to two more studs evenly spaced in between. So, if your home is wrapped in 4'x8' panels and your vertical batten boards are 8" apart, the vertical boards should cover every seam between the panels and can be securely nailed to two other studs, minimizing the likelihood of any warping that might otherwise loosen the vertical boards that are nailed to the panels but not nailed into a stud.