Ferndale Exterior Board & Batten Siding for Lummi Island Homes
Lummi Island sits out in the water on its own, reached by ferry rather than a bridge, and that changes more than just how you get there for a project walkthrough. Homes on the island take a more direct, more constant version of the marine exposure that inland Whatcom County only sees occasionally — open water on multiple sides, wind with nothing much to break it, and a moss season that stays active on shaded walls for most of the year. Board and batten is a striking profile for this kind of setting, with clean vertical lines that suit both older island homes and newer builds, but it's also a profile with more seams than standard lap siding, and every one of those seams is a place water can try to get in. On an island where a callback means loading a crew and material onto a ferry instead of driving across town, getting those seams right the first time matters even more than it does elsewhere.
We install James Hardie fiber cement board and batten exclusively, and on Lummi Island specifically we plan every detail — fastening, flashing, drainage — around the fact that this house is surrounded by water and getting a crew back out here isn't a same-day fix.
What Island Exposure Does to a Board & Batten Wall
Salt Air With Nowhere to Buffer It
Homes on the mainland often have some distance, trees, or terrain between them and open water. On Lummi Island, a lot of homes don't have that buffer — salt-laden air comes off the water directly and settles on siding, trim, and fasteners more consistently than it does even a few miles inland. Board and batten uses more exposed fasteners per square foot than lap siding because both boards and battens need to be secured, so a fastener spec that's slightly wrong shows up faster here than on a less exposed wall.
Wind-Driven Rain From Multiple Directions
Being surrounded by water instead of backed against it means wind and driving rain can come from more directions over the course of a year, not just off one prevailing exposure. Vertical board and batten seams give that wind-driven rain a lot of joint length to test. A batten that's caulked tight instead of properly lapped with the clearance it needs will eventually let water track down behind it, and on a profile with this many seams, "eventually" tends to arrive sooner than homeowners expect.
A Moss Season That Doesn't Really End
Shaded and north-facing walls on the island hold dampness longer than sun-exposed ones, and that dampness is what keeps moss and mildew going for most of the year. A batten set flush against a board with no room for the wall to breathe traps that moisture right at the seam, which is exactly where you don't want it sitting for months at a time.
Why the Island Logistics Change How We Plan the Job
Ferry-dependent scheduling isn't just an inconvenience to work around — it's a reason to be more careful about material choice and install quality, not less. A siding system that needs field painting, recurring caulk maintenance, or periodic edge sealing means more return trips over the life of the wall, and every one of those trips involves a ferry schedule instead of a quick drive. That's part of why we standardized on one material system for board and batten instead of offering several options at different price points.
| Material | Ongoing Maintenance | Trips Required Over 20 Years | Behavior at Batten Seams |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hardie fiber cement | Low; factory finish resists moss and fading | Minimal beyond normal upkeep | Dimensionally stable; doesn't swell or cup |
| Cedar | High; recurring sealing or repainting cycle | Several, on a recurring schedule | Absorbs moisture readily at every seam without upkeep |
| LP SmartSide (engineered wood) | Moderate; cut edges and fastener holes need attention | Periodic, tied to edge condition | More sensitive to moisture at seams and edges |
| Vinyl | Low, but hidden moisture problems are easy to miss | Low routine, but repairs can be urgent | Can warp or gap at battens in temperature swings |
None of these are bad products in the right setting, and other contractors install them well. We just made a professional call that on an island jobsite, with a profile that has this many vertical seams, a material that doesn't depend on field-applied paint holding up for decades is worth standardizing on. James Hardie's ColorPlus finish is factory-baked, so the only paint work our crews do on site is priming the occasional field-cut edge — not maintaining a full-wall finish against salt air and rain.
What a Correct Board & Batten Install Involves
The finished look of board and batten is simple, but the assembly behind it has more going on than most other siding profiles, especially on a wall exposed the way island homes are:
- A weather-resistive barrier installed and correctly lapped before any siding goes up
- A drainage gap or rainscreen behind the siding so moisture that gets past the surface can dry out instead of sitting against the wall
- Corrosion-resistant fasteners at the spacing James Hardie's install spec calls for — not a generic "enough to hold it up" pattern
- Battens set with proper clearance rather than caulked tight, so the wall can shed water instead of trapping it
- Flashing correctly lapped at windows, doors, corners, and the base of the wall, where the vertical run meets a horizontal surface
- Field-cut edges primed before installation to protect the substrate where the factory finish doesn't reach
Skip any one of these steps and the wall can still look right for a season or two. The problems that follow — staining at the seams, soft spots near the base, paint failure along the battens — take a few wet seasons to show up, which is a long time to find out an install was rushed on a jobsite that isn't easy to get back to.
Our Process for an Island Project
Scheduling Around the Ferry, Not Around Us
We plan material delivery and crew scheduling around the ferry, not the other way around. That means staging material efficiently, batching trips, and having a clear plan for the job before crews and equipment are on the boat, so the project doesn't stall out waiting on a supply run that would take five minutes on the mainland.
Walkthrough and Assessment
We look at the specific walls involved — which face open water directly, which are shaded and slower to dry, and whether the existing wall assembly has moisture issues that need addressing before new siding goes up. Board and batten over a wall with hidden rot just buries the same problem under new material.
Detailing the Plan Before Install Day
Batten spacing, corner details, and transitions at windows and trim get worked out on paper before crews start cutting. On an island jobsite, field improvisation is expensive in a way it isn't elsewhere — a detail that gets missed can't be fixed with a quick trip back to the shop.
Installation to Manufacturer Spec
Every fastener, gap, and flashing lap follows James Hardie's published requirements for this climate zone. That keeps the manufacturer's warranty intact and is a big part of why the wall performs the way it's supposed to for decades, not just for the first few dry summers.
Final Walkthrough
We walk the finished job with you and cover what little maintenance board and batten actually needs, so you know what a healthy wall looks like and aren't left guessing the next time you're checking it yourself.
Why Hire a Crew That Already Works Lummi Island
Board and batten rewards experience with a specific site's exposure, and island homes vary a lot depending on which direction a wall faces and how much open water it looks out on. A crew that's already worked on the island has a feel for which walls need extra attention because of direct wind and salt exposure, how much batten clearance actually holds up in this environment versus what a generic install guide suggests, and how to plan a job around ferry logistics instead of getting surprised by them mid-project. That experience is also just practical — a crew unfamiliar with island scheduling can turn a straightforward project into a slow one, and a slow project on a ferry-dependent site costs more in wasted trips than in wasted time.
Cost Factors for Board & Batten on Lummi Island
Board and batten generally costs more per square foot than standard lap siding because of the added batten material and the extra labor of fastening and detailing two layers instead of one. On top of that base cost, a few things tend to move the price for an island project specifically:
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Wall exposure and orientation | Walls facing open water directly need more attention to fastening and flashing detail |
| Existing wall condition | Rot or moisture damage found during tear-off needs repair before new siding goes up |
| Material staging and ferry logistics | Efficient delivery planning keeps the project moving instead of waiting on supply trips |
| Batten spacing and reveal | Tighter spacing uses more material and more fastening labor |
| Trim and window detailing | More openings mean more flashing and finish work around each one |
We'll walk your specific property and give you real numbers based on your walls, your exposure, and your access — not a rough estimate based on square footage alone.
Getting It Right the First Time
Board and batten isn't a forgiving profile to redo, since the battens cover the seams between boards and correcting a bad install usually means pulling both apart rather than patching a small area. On an island jobsite, that math gets even more lopsided — a callback isn't a quick trip back across town, it's a ferry crossing and a rescheduled crew. That's exactly why we treat planning and detailing as seriously as the installation itself here: the cost of doing it right the first time is a lot lower than the cost of redoing a wall that was rushed.
If you're weighing board and batten for a home on Lummi Island, we're happy to come out, walk the property, talk through what your specific walls need given their exposure, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate. There's a form below — reach out and we'll work out a time that fits the ferry schedule.