Energy Design Update
Vol. 26, No. 10 - October 2006
Plastic Battens (Newsletter Excerpt)
Building consultant Mark LaLiberté,
the president of Shelter Source in
Lakeville, Minnesota, recently had the
idea of using plastic roofing battens as
rainscreen strapping. LaLiberté advised
Renaissance Homes, a builder in
Portland, Oregon, to strap their walls
with BattenUp strips.
BattenUp battens have channels that
allow water to drain right through the
product, even when installed
horizontally.
“Renaissance Homes usually rips
pressure-treated plywood for furring
strips,” LaLiberté told EDU. “The
builder wanted to get away from
using treated plywood, which is not
a very healthy option, and wanted to
avoid the expense of using
stainless-steel nails or screws. The
plastic battens cost about 75 cents
each, and they can be shipped by
UPS. Using plastic battens saves
$300 or $400 per house. They’re
light and they’re easy to install --
they can be fastened with staples”.
According to Karl Lange, manager of
building science for Renaissance Homes,
the company decided to try out the
plastic battens at a house with
fibercement siding. “We did a prototype
house to see how it would work,” Lange
told EDU. “The battens are very light --
you can carry a load of them up on a
ladder -- and they can be cut with a
utility knife.” The fiber-cement siding
was fastened through the plastic battens
to the studs, using 2½-inch-long nails.
“In addition to saving money on the
battens, there are labor savings, and
also fastener savings, since we don’t
have to use stainless-steel sinkers,”
said Lange. “What we are doing now is
phasing out our pressuretreated
battens.”
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