Board and batten calculator: how many battens do I need, and how far apart?
9 battens
14 1/16 in gaps, 17 9/16 in on center · 11 pieces of 8 ft with 1 rail · 81.4 linear ft · for a 12 ft wall, 8 ft high, with 3 1/2 in battens
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Enter it the way you measured it: 4.5, 4 1/2,
3/8 or 10' 6".
9 battens
14 1/16 in gaps, 17 9/16 in on center · 11 pieces of 8 ft with 1 rail · 81.4 linear ft
A 12 ft wide accent wall with 3 1/2 inch battens and gaps of no more than 16 inches takes 9 battens, one at each end, with equal gaps of 14 1/16 in between them, 17 9/16 in on center.
A worked example
A 13 ft 7 in wall 9 ft high with 2 1/2 in battens, gaps of 12 in at most, a top and a middle rail and 10 ft boards needs 13 battens, 10 7/8 in apart. (163 + 12) ÷ (2.5 + 12) = 12.07, so 13 battens and 12 gaps: (163 − 13 × 2.5) ÷ 12 = 10.875 in. Each vertical is 108 − 2 × 2.5 = 103 in, one per 10 ft board, and the two rails take 3 more boards: 16 boards.
How do you calculate board and batten spacing?
Subtract the width of all the battens from the wall width and divide by the number of gaps, one fewer than the battens. Seven battens 3 1/2 in wide on a 10 ft wall leave 120 − 24.5 = 95.5 in, and 95.5 ÷ 6 is 15 15/16 in between battens. Add the batten width to get the spacing on center for marking.
How many battens do I need for a wall?
Add your largest gap to the wall width, divide by the batten width plus that gap, and round up. A 14 ft wall, 168 in, with 3 1/2 in battens and gaps of 16 in at most is 184 ÷ 19.5 = 9.4, so 10 battens, and the gaps come out at 14 3/4 in.
What else it is called
On an interior wall this is also called a batten wall or a board and batten accent wall. On exterior siding, board and batten means wide vertical boards with a batten over each joint; the siding calculator gives the square feet for that, and the baseboard calculator the trim along the floor.
Batten spacing chart
| Wall width | Gaps up to 12 in | Gaps up to 16 in | Gaps up to 20 in | Gaps up to 24 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft | 7 at 11 15/16 in | 6 at 15 in | 5 at 19 5/8 in | 5 at 19 5/8 in |
| 10 ft | 9 at 11 1/16 in | 7 at 15 15/16 in | 6 at 19 13/16 in | 6 at 19 13/16 in |
| 12 ft | 11 at 10 9/16 in | 9 at 14 1/16 in | 7 at 19 15/16 in | 7 at 19 15/16 in |
| 14 ft | 12 at 11 7/16 in | 10 at 14 3/4 in | 8 at 20 in | 7 at 23 15/16 in |
| 16 ft | 14 at 11 in | 11 at 15 3/8 in | 10 at 17 7/16 in | 8 at 23 7/16 in |
| 20 ft | 17 at 11 5/16 in | 14 at 14 11/16 in | 12 at 18 in | 10 at 22 3/4 in |
Vertical battens 3 1/2 in wide, one at each end, and the equal gap between them. Battens are counted the same at any wall height.
Where the numbers come from
- Batten spacing is geometry: with a batten at each end, n battens leave n − 1 equal gaps, so the wall width is n × the batten width plus n − 1 gaps. The batten count is the smallest that keeps the gap at or under the one you set, (width + gap) ÷ (batten + gap) rounded up, and the real gap is (width − n × batten) ÷ (n − 1).
- Lengths: horizontal rails run the full wall width and can be joined; the verticals fit between them, the wall height less the rails' width, each one cut from a single board. Gaps are rounded to the nearest 1/16 in. Use the actual width of your battens, measured: a nominal 1 × 4 is narrower than 4 in.
The gap is the clear space between two battens, and the end battens sit tight to the corners. Windows, doors and outlets interrupt battens without changing the layout: keep the spacing and cut the battens around them. Mark the centers on the wall from one corner before nailing, so a small error does not add up across the wall.
By Javier Miralles · Last updated . How this site is made.
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