Board and batten calculator
Enter the wall, the real width of your battens and rails, and the gap you have in mind. WallVive works out how many battens give equal gaps, lists where each one goes from the corner, cuts the layout around doors, windows, and outlets, and turns it into a cut list and a board count at the length you buy. A scale drawing updates as you type.
Divide the wall, then cut the boards.
Enter the wall and the actual board widths. The calculator picks the whole number of battens that lands the gap closest to your target, marks every batten from the corner, and plans the cuts from your stock length.
Worked example
A 12 ft 6 in wall takes 9 battens at 15 15/16 in gaps.
A 150 in × 96 in wall, full height, 1×3 battens (2½ in actual), a 1×4 top rail (3½ in) at the ceiling, battens standing on a 3½ in baseboard, and a 16 in target gap.
Prefills the calculator below. Your measurements stay in this browser tab.
- 1 · Solve8.97 → 9 battens(150 + 16) ÷ (2½ + 16), rounded to the count whose gap is nearest 16 in.
- 2 · Space15 15/16 in gaps(150 − 9 × 2½) ÷ 8 gaps = 15.9375 in, exactly.
- 3 · Buy10 + 3 boardsNine 89 in battens, one per 8 ft board, and a 150 in top rail, plus 10% spare.
Board names are nominal. Measure the boards you buy: the calculator uses the widths you enter.
Layout drawing
Elevation of the wall as you face it, left corner on the left. It redraws as you change any input.
Marking list
Hook the tape on the left corner and mark each left edge from there. Rounded to the nearest 1/16 in.
| Batten | Left edge | Centre | Pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 in | 1 1/4 in | 89 in |
| 2 | 17 11/16 in | 18 15/16 in | 89 in |
| 3 | 35 3/8 in | 36 5/8 in | 89 in |
| 4 | 53 1/16 in | 54 5/16 in | 89 in |
| 5 | 70 3/4 in | 72 in | 89 in |
| 6 | 88 7/16 in | 89 11/16 in | 89 in |
| 7 | 106 1/8 in | 107 3/8 in | 89 in |
| 8 | 123 13/16 in | 125 1/16 in | 89 in |
| 9 | 141 1/2 in | 142 3/4 in | 89 in |
Rail heights
Edges measured up from the floor. Transfer them with a level or laser.
- Top rail92 1/2 in to 96 in
Batten cut list
9 boards of 8 ft in the plan, plus 1 spare. Buy 10.
- 9 boards: cut 1 × 89 in batten; offcut 6 7/8 in each
Rail cut list
2 boards of 8 ft in the plan, plus 1 spare. Buy 3.
- 1 board: cut 1 × 96 in top rail; no offcut
- 1 board: cut 1 × 48 in top rail; offcut 47 7/8 in
Check the actual board sizes, find the studs or plan your fixings, and confirm the wall is flat before cutting. Painting the wall and boards the same colour is what makes the battens read as one panelled surface.
Method and sourcesHow the spacing is solved
Divide the wall into equal gaps, not fixed centres.
Starting at one corner and stepping across at a fixed 16 in almost always leaves a narrow or wide bay at the far end. Equal spacing works the other way round: choose how many battens there will be, take their widths off the wall, and share what is left equally between the gaps. The only decision is the count, and the calculator picks the whole number whose gap is nearest your target, or never wider than it.
Positions are calculated from the left corner for every batten rather than by adding one gap at a time, so rounding to the nearest 1/16 in never builds up across the wall. Mark each one from the same corner.
| Sold as | Actual width | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| 1×2 | 1½ in | 38 mm |
| 1×3 | 2½ in | 64 mm |
| 1×4 | 3½ in | 89 mm |
| 1×6 | 5½ in | 140 mm |
| 1×8 | 7¼ in | 184 mm |
Dry dressed softwood boards, ¾ in (19 mm) thick. Source: American Softwood Lumber Standard PS 20-20, Table 3. MDF and finger-jointed trim can differ; measure yours.
Batten count
With battens at both corners: (wall + target gap) ÷ (batten + target gap), rounded to a whole number. Without: (wall − target gap) ÷ (batten + target gap).
Exact gap
Wall width minus every batten's width, divided by the number of gaps: one fewer than the battens, or one more without corner battens.
Batten length
From the top of the baseboard or bottom rail to the underside of the top rail, then cut around any door or window.
Boards to buy
Every piece packed onto your board length, longest first, with a saw kerf per cut, plus spare boards rounded up.
What this calculator does not decide
It does not choose fixings, find studs, or check that a wall is flat enough for boards. It treats every opening as a rectangle including its casing, and it cannot see sloped ceilings or stair walls. For a wall with picture-frame boxes and a chair rail instead of battens, use the wainscoting calculator, and to paint the finished wall, the paint calculator. The full method is on the methodology page.
Board and batten spacing questions
Answers about laying out battens and buying boards. The boards you buy and the wall you have still control the final layout.