Board and Batten Calculator: Even Spacing and Layout Marks
Enter the wall size, batten width and how many battens you want.
Your measurements
Measure the wall and choose your boards. Everything updates as you type.
Wall
Fills in a common wall size. Then type your own measurements below.
Corner to corner at the height of the battens. Measure at the top and bottom and use the smaller figure.
Common widths
Length of each vertical board. Only used for the lumber total.
Battens
Actual widths: 1×2 = 1-1/2", 1×3 = 2-1/2", 1×4 = 3-1/2", 1×6 = 5-1/2".
Measure a board. Some are milled narrower than the standard size.
More battens make smaller gaps.
Results
Gap between battens
= 411 mm
Leave this gap between every pair of battens (5 gaps). The first and last battens sit tight in the corners.
- On-center spacing
- 18 11/16"
- = 475 mm
- Centre of one batten to the next
- Lumber for the battens
- 48linear ft
- 6 boards at 8 ft, before waste
Tape marks
Hook the tape on the left corner and mark each batten's left edge. Rounded to 1/16 inch.
| Batten | Left edge | Centre | Right edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0" (0 mm) | 1 1/4" (32 mm) | 2 1/2" (64 mm) |
| 2 | 18 11/16" (475 mm) | 19 15/16" (507 mm) | 21 3/16" (538 mm) |
| 3 | 37 3/8" (950 mm) | 38 5/8" (982 mm) | 39 7/8" (1013 mm) |
| 4 | 56 1/8" (1425 mm) | 57 3/8" (1457 mm) | 58 5/8" (1488 mm) |
| 5 | 74 13/16" (1900 mm) | 76 1/16" (1932 mm) | 77 5/16" (1963 mm) |
| 6 | 93 1/2" (2375 mm) | 94 3/4" (2407 mm) | 96" (2438 mm) |
How this was calculated
Plain arithmetic, with your numbers. No reference data is involved.
How this was calculated
Plain arithmetic, with your numbers. No reference data is involved.
Step 1: Width taken by the battens
battens × batten width
= 6 × 2.5"
= 15"Use the actual width of the boards, not the nominal size: a 1×4 is 3-1/2" wide.
Step 2: Gap between battens
gap = (wall − battens' width) ÷ (battens − 1)
= (96" − 15") ÷ 5
= 16 3/16" (16.2")This layout puts a batten at each end of the wall, so there is one fewer gap than battens.
Step 3: On-center spacing
on-center = batten width + gap
= 2.5" + 16.2"
= 18 11/16"Mark every batten edge from one tape pulled from the left corner, rather than measuring gap by gap, so small errors do not add up. The last batten's left edge is at 93 1/2".
Exact gap: 16.2″ (16 3/16" to the nearest 1/32″).
In short
Gap = (wall width − total batten width) ÷ (battens − 1). A 96" wall with 6 battens 2.5" wide has gaps of 16 3/16".
The calculator gives the gap, on-center spacing, a mark for every batten edge and the total lumber length. Start from a preset for an 8, 10 or 12 ft wall or wainscoting.
Gap between 3.5" battens (1×4) by wall width
Each cell is the gap with a batten at both ends of the wall. Pick the row for your wall and the column for the number of battens.
| Wall width | 5 battens | 6 battens | 7 battens | 8 battens | 9 battens | 10 battens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72" (6 ft) | 13 5/8" | 10 3/16" | 7 15/16" | 6 5/16" | 5 1/16" | 4 1/8" |
| 96" (8 ft) | 19 5/8" | 15" | 11 15/16" | 9 11/16" | 8 1/16" | 6 3/4" |
| 120" (10 ft) | 25 5/8" | 19 13/16" | 15 15/16" | 13 1/8" | 11 1/16" | 9 7/16" |
| 144" (12 ft) | 31 5/8" | 24 5/8" | 19 15/16" | 16 9/16" | 14 1/16" | 12 1/8" |
Worked example: 96" wall, 6 battens
The same steps the calculator runs.
Step 1: Width taken by the battens
battens × batten width
= 6 × 2.5"
= 15"Use the actual width of the boards, not the nominal size: a 1×4 is 3-1/2" wide.
Step 2: Gap between battens
gap = (wall − battens' width) ÷ (battens − 1)
= (96" − 15") ÷ 5
= 16 3/16" (16.2")This layout puts a batten at each end of the wall, so there is one fewer gap than battens.
Step 3: On-center spacing
on-center = batten width + gap
= 2.5" + 16.2"
= 18 11/16"Mark every batten edge from one tape pulled from the left corner, rather than measuring gap by gap, so small errors do not add up. The last batten's left edge is at 93 1/2".
Board and batten: common questions
Spacing, batten count and outlets.
How do I space board and batten evenly?
Subtract the total width of all the battens from the wall width, then divide by the number of gaps (one fewer than the number of battens when there is a batten at each end). The calculator does this and lists the tape mark for every batten edge.
How many battens do I need?
Choose the gap you want, then try counts until the gap is close to it; the table below shows the gap for common wall widths and counts. Changing the count by one changes every gap, so compare a couple of options before cutting.
What about outlets and switches?
Check where battens land before nailing anything. If one falls on an outlet or switch box, change the batten count or width so it clears the box, and use a box extender so the device ends up flush with the new surface.