Board And Batten Siding

I figured it out, thank you guys for the help. I was able to create my own board and batten siding, but where do we import the preset cladding that CA has?

Bert Hull, CMI® TN #1162: Can your AI inspect this Siding and let the inspector know what is wrong, if anything?.. AI says all junctions in all locations should be tightly caulked, especially at the bottom where it meets a batten board, to prevent spider intrusion and to prevent a finger from being stuck in any gaps..

Siding going on today. Attachments 20260624_170159[1].jpg (432.27 KB, 59 downloads) Vinyl board and batten. Lower part will be a rock face. 20260624_150629[1].jpg (467.46 KB, 60 downloads)

Are you going to board and batten or just caulk the gaps in siding

Another benefit of Hardi is that it comes in several different forms. The first picture below shows large flat panels and the second shows lap siding, shingles and, in the entry, board and batten. All are roughly the same price per square foot. image1920×2560 1.11 MB image1920×1440 493 KB

... through the details for the siding which I'll be installing myself. ... 1" thick rough sawn cypress board and batten 12" boards and 4" battens. .... Planning on a "water table" board at the base of the ... grain at the botom (4" board run horizontally with a 30deg ... will be 16", 10" fascia board, 3" frieze board on the gable ends, 4" ... to not rely on the siding for shear strength and girts ...

... of the original structure. Siding is suppose to be board and batten. Add a gravel driveway...

.... (The architect included board and batten, azek, regular vinyl siding and stone. I want... the azek to match the siding and board and batten) I want timeless, warm inviting ...

... re-stain the western cedar siding on our house. Board and batten. We stained it...

Looking for some advice on which James Hardie Board and Batten colour you would pick for our two story addition. We live in Canada, so I'm not sure if the Dream Collection is available, and I prefer some of those shades of brown/black. We have been looking at Rich Espresso and Midnight Black, but I'm nervous about how they will look. In my opinion the rich espresso really pops with the house. But I don't know how it will actually appear (I think lighter than I want). The house faces south so gets lots of light. I have done some chat gpt mockups but I dont't think the colours they use are accurate. Side of the addition will be 3 garage doors and will have a small roof/portico over the pass through door. We are also picking the garage door colours. Window trim is Espresso. There will be a row of the current brick to the bottom of the first floor windows around the addition. The roof will be Espresso. Colour sample seems to match the small midnight black sample we have from James Hardie the best. Not sure if we will do that single portion at the top of the addition peak, but I was trying to see how the wall looked broken up. Also ignore that Chat GPT cut off some of my house in one of the mockups. Suggestions welcome! submitted by /u/Fabulous_Age_8371 to r/ExteriorDesign [link] [comments]

I’m building a new construction home in Va. I’m going to give all the details here and really looking for experienced builders to tell me what i should do. Here is a picture of the the board and batten siding being installed. In the zoomed in picture you can see that the batten is way of center at the top. initially the siding crew claimed that had to installed the hardie panel like this because of where the framing is inside of the house. Then they told me it’s because the plans showed it off center. is it just common knowledge to center the board and batten on the gable? seems easy to me to start installing in the middle and move to the outsides so that you don’t have this problem. I would guess he was either working right to left or visa versa and the breaks didn’t land in the center. Either way, they don’t think they did anything wrong. i’m just wondering if i should just let if go and paint it and move on. I think it looks terrible but im just over this. What do you think? submitted by /u/nordhend to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

Hey everyone, looking for some advice and creative options on a roofing dispute I’m currently navigating. I’m holding 100% of the contract leverage right now, but I want to make sure I explore every potential resolution before I negotiate with the owner today. The Project & Contract Total Contract Amount: $22,000 (House and detached garage). Current Payment Status: Paid $0. I am holding the full balance in cash; no digital authorizations or signatures have been given post-install. The Spec: The signed contract explicitly specifies an Owens Corning Class 4 Preferred Storm/Flex Roofing System upgrade. I explicitly chose this for superior impact resistance and the permanent, annual homeowners insurance premium discounts. The Ordeal & Discoveries The Material Downgrade: On completion of the project, I noticed leftover bundles sitting in my driveway were actually Owens Corning Duration Class 3 shingles. This was after the crew was gone. The Office Admits It: I immediately called the office coordinator. She checked the contract and confirmed on the record that Class 4 was absolutely specified for both the house and the garage. She claimed she would have to check with the distributor on Monday to see what happened. The Installation Detours: Because it was the weekend, the crew proceeded to install the Class 3 shingles anyway. Workmanship / Damage Issues: Siding Damage: During the tear-off/replacement of the step flashing behind my blue painted board-and-batten siding, the crew blew out and broke the bottom edge of the siding panels. Instead of leaving a clean, manufacturer-specified clearance gap, it’s jagged and broken. Missing Kickout Flashing: They completely omitted the kickout flashing where a lower roof section terminates next to a window, guaranteeing water dumps right behind the siding. The Paper Trail & Current Status On Saturday, I sent a detailed email to the owner tracking all of this. I cited manufacturer (Owens Corning) and ARMA guidelines regarding the siding clearance, documented the missing kickout flashing, and formally brought up the Class 3 vs. Class 4 breach of contract. The owner replied over the weekend admitting they needed to figure out how the distributor shipped Duration (Class 3) vs. Flex (Class 4), canceled the routine project manager walkthrough for this morning, and said they’d have a "solution" for me today. The office coordinator just called me to talk, but I am forcing them to keep communications strictly to text/email to preserve the paper trail. What are my best paths forward? The way I see it, the flashing corrections and siding repairs (cutting a clean horizontal 1-inch gap, priming, and painting the raw edge so it doesn't wick moisture) are standard code and warranty fixes they are legally obligated to do anyway. The real issue is the shingle downgrade. A total tear-off and redo to give me the Class 4s I paid for would cost them well over $10,000 in labor and wasted materials. I want to know how you all would handle this to get maximum value/protection out of this mistake. What options should I put on the table? For example: Should I demand a total tear-off and force them to put the Class 4 roof on, or is that more headache than it's worth? If I keep the Class 3 roof, what is a reasonable financial credit for losing out on a permanent annual insurance discount and getting a lower-tier product? (I was thinking around $2,400 / 10.5% off, but is that too low?) For those who have dealt with board-and-batten blowouts during a reroof, is a clean horizontal cut + priming/painting the raw wood the correct structural fix to prevent moisture wicking? Hit me with your best tactical options. I want to make sure I have all the blind spots covered before the owner reaches back out. UPDATE: https://old.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/1tuq8wp/update_contractor_installed_class_3_shingles/ submitted by /u/gettin to r/HomeImprovement [link] [comments]

My husband and I are looking to move out of our first home both to have a little more space and be closer to his new job. We would like to stay in the same county, but if we move to the other side, we can shave a good 15 to 20 minutes off his 40 minute commute. We'd like to stay around 425K (which we thought was a reasonable budget for our area), and we'd like somewhere in a neighborhood where the kids could safely ride their bikes, etc. We were originally open to planned subdivisions as long as we could find something we like on a lot that's not too tiny. We initially found a few options on lots as big as a half acre. The problem is my husband is dead set against vinyl siding. He initially seemed open to it, but after seeing an otherwise great house with it, decided it was a dealbreaker. I'm trying to be respectful of his opinion, but it's severely limiting the options in our budget. We initially saw a couple of potential brick options in our budget. Unfortunately, one required more work than we were prepared for and the other had only a tiny amount of usable space in the backyard. We managed to find one newer house on a cul-de-sac with an open floor plan, large yard, and board and batten concrete siding. I thought "finally, this is the solution!!" Unfortunately, another offer came in and was accepted before we could submit one. I'm struggling with resentment because I feel like we've officially exhausted all the non-vinyl options in our budget. There are very few subdivisions that offer non-vinyl options, and the ones that do would be over our budget. Even our realtor has expressed some confusion about why vinyl is such a big no for my husband. Is vinyl really that bad? I'm starting to worry we're going to have to stay put indefinitely until we can afford a larger budget. Any tips? submitted by /u/MrsSmiles09 to r/RealEstate [link] [comments]

B&B on a tall 2 story garage, more like barn. 18' on sides, 26' on gables. Rough pine over a rainscreen, painted red with white corners and trim. Plans don't call for a band, but could be added. I haven't had to splice all the way around a building before. Which option? 1. add band board at 2nd story floor, about 10' up. Would be painted same red as siding. 2. Z flashing at splice (do I even need this with a rainscreen behind?) 3. just splice it; a single line is easier, but random may look better I'm probably overthinking this and should just do 45 degree splices at 10' or 12' up. submitted by /u/doyourecognizeme2 to r/Carpentry [link] [comments]

Looking to see what my options are for a craftsman style trim out for this window. Do I need to abut j channel to the trim and not use the one in the window or can I mount the trim in front of the siding? submitted by /u/fxk717 to r/Carpentry [link] [comments]

Looking to see what my options are for a craftsman style trim out for this window. Do I need to abut j channel to the trim and not use the one in the window or can I mount the trim in front of the siding? submitted by /u/fxk717 to r/Carpentry [link] [comments]

Does trim exist for this type of siding that is pre-cut to fall into the valleys of the panel? Caulking those gaps isn't the most attractive option. (Pic for example of panel type) submitted by /u/torebaguy to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

My wife and I are looking to replace our siding and wondering the general consensus on how board and batten, with our style of home (cypress colored). The picture is AI and I would be very grateful if someone was able to generate a picture using it. Our roof is already done and is burnished slate (metal) in color. Any suggestions are appreciated. submitted by /u/Defiant-Yam8876 to r/homedesign [link] [comments]

Hey everyone, thanks for your time here. As you can see I’m in the process of tearing out and repairing some water damage on my new home in upstate New York . I have rough cut board and batten siding on the home and would like to maintain this look. My question, I’ll only be having to replace/ remove about half of this wall right now, some if not all exposed sheathing will be replaced with Zip system am I okay to nail the siding boards directly to the Zip panels? I have found much conflicting information on this, assuming since this is an older style of siding and isn’t commonly used in newer construction. If it helps any the door pictured will be replaced with a window as well. Also if anyone has any tips on flashing, where and how it should be installed that would be great as well! Thank you! submitted by /u/Remarkable_Smoke7120 to r/HomeImprovement [link] [comments]

I am looking for input on 2 things: should I replace horizontal siding on the gable with board and batten, like in the second concept render, or keep it uniform across the house? If so, should i make it the same gray or different color? submitted by /u/brush_slinger to r/ExteriorDesign [link] [comments]

Hey guys! We’re building a lake house and things haven’t gone perfectly so far. This is our third build so we have a little experience with the process. Our builder had suggested lining up the battens with the roof since they’re both 16”. I had agreed without thinking they wouldn’t be lining them up with doors/windows. Now that it’s finished, it’s driving me nuts. There is a batten running straight through one front porch sconce but not the other. Battens not starting at the roof pitch or middle of front door. Looks a mess. How would you guys feel about this look? And is it too much to ask them to redo just the front? ASIDE FROM THAT, I might have an even bigger issue. Instead of using Hardie Board siding that is 5/16”, they used Hardie soffit material instead, which is also concrete like the siding but is only 1/4”. And the way they’ve installed soffit as siding, it now voids my Hardie warranty. Is this common practice? Is this something I should be angry about, as it could potentially cause me issues down the road. Cracking with a thinner material, inspector calling it out and I have to pay for redo when selling, my product not being warrantied. Anything could potentially happen and I never approved soffit as siding to begin with. Can someone in the business tell me if I’m being a PIA or if I should ask for a redo. Thanks! submitted by /u/SpiritualTaste4619 to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

Today is demo day and I found there is step flashing behind the board and batten. I'm doing to cut about 6.5" above the shingles, install a 1x6 and Z-flashing. But I am unsure of how to go around this corner. What do you suggest? Also, what is this material under the boards? It looks like tar felt on top of some kind of particle board? House was built in 1948. Thanks again submitted by /u/Leather-Grocery2956 to r/Roofing [link] [comments]

Does anyone have any advice for me. I'm thinking of using ACX plywood as faux board and batten siding (1x2's for battens). I've heard of it being done. my house is old , with rotten cedar board and batten applied directly to the studs with tar paper between. Should I remove the existing to the studs, sheet with ply over studs, add tyvek, then 3/4" furring for rain screen, then ply and battens? or is there a smarter way. PNW if weather makes a difference. thanks all! submitted by /u/cutlasssign to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

My 1940s house has an addition built on the rear, from 1991. The original house has board and batten siding on the second floor. The corner pieces are rotten and need to be replaced. I can handle that, no problem. However, they butt into the flashing for the addition roof. I am not sure how to best repair this part, and it seems someone already filled it with silicone. What steps would you recommend to remove and replace the board and batten/flashing junction? Thank you submitted by /u/Leather-Grocery2956 to r/Roofing [link] [comments]

I'm in Lancaster City, PA. On a small addition (10x12, single story), one wall adjoins the alley. City code review has approved this wall as follows - interior to exterior: 5/8 type X, then 2x6 16o.c. with fiberglass batts, then Densglass sheathing, and finally the wood siding. My problem is that the siding fasteners cannot hold onto the Densglass. (I'm still at the framing stage.) I brought this up to the inspector, proposing that I add 7/16 OSB against the studs, behind the densglass. He hemmed and hawed and said I would need to find this specific wall assembly UL listed in order for him to sign off on it. After registering so I could search via UL Product IQ, I have reviewed a lot of UL listings, but found almost none that match my situation. All of the wall assemblies listed either 1. specify interior only or do not mention the word "exterior", 2. do not include wood studs, or 3. specifically require sidings (other than my proposed wood) in order to meet the exterior rating. Examples: - W408 lets me use LP Flameblock (2-side) in lieu of my proposed plain OSB, and no Densglass, but requires "exterior siding" be chosen from a specific list, and solid wood siding isn't on it. - U348 would let me use 1-side LP Flameblock, but requires 8A, B or C "exterior facings", which I initially read as meaning "siding". But 8C is simply 5/8 gypsum type DGG (which is Densglass, not a siding material). So is that allowed to get siding over it of any type, since it's not mentioned? - U303 does let me use my plain OSB, just swap out the Densglass for "cementitious backer board". However, the entire document does not have the word "exterior" in it. But what else would the cementitious board be for? It also does not mention any required siding, so that raises the question again - would just any siding be acceptable going over the cementitious board? - V340 seems to be the same as U348 (1-side LP Flameblock), just with additional optional components for increasing fire ratings to 2 hr. If I'm reading it properly, the base 1hr assembly does not mention siding nor does it include the DGG layer like U348 does. It does require "2x4" blocking at all horizontal joints unlike U348. U348 and V340 both specify only nails in the Type X, and don't allow for screw substitutions like most other assemblies I saw. In all the above I'm assuming 2x6 and 16 o. c. is an appropriate substitution for 2x4 16oc or 2x6 24oc. I'd much rather use U303, but it's weird there is no mention of the word "exterior" on it. All others I saw specifically said "interior side only" or else laid out the interior/exterior specs. I know the inspector will have to weigh in on these options, but I am feeling crazy thinking "has no one EVER put solid wood/vertical siding on a UL wall assembly?" I googled a bunch, including googling all the UL listing numbers, but found no mentions of others using vertical siding on a UL 1 hr fire rated wall assembly. Am I missing a critical UL listing? submitted by /u/danielsixfive to r/BuildingCodes [link] [comments]

This may be an obvious question - but I'm totally stuck. I'm building a shed and like the look of Board and Batten. Some people have told me it's one of the cheapest ways to do the siding - which is a bonus! What materials do I use? Just using common board pine makes it seem much more expensive. Some people have told me to get rough sewn lumber from a lumber yard, but that seems even more expensive than HD prices... I'm just so confused as to what I should actually use. Does HD/Lowes have the stuff I need? submitted by /u/braintree56 to r/Carpentry [link] [comments]

We're in the process of adding vertical board and batten siding to our house. Should we keep our old shutters or remove them? Or choose different shutters? AI renderings because we haven't finished. Thanks for any suggestions! submitted by /u/jorgy41789 to r/DIY [link] [comments]

Two different mock ups: I’m racking my brain on properly flashing these windows with the board and batten siding. Board and batten is each an inch thick submitted by /u/Slicetheicejr to r/Carpentry [link] [comments]

I had some board and batten siding installed on a project and I want to make sure I am getting what I paid for, as I went for a well known high priced siding company. The job looks a little shoddy to me but I don’t know the tolerances generally allowable on this job. There’s at least 3/4” gaps in the trim over the drip cap on the window. The housewrap is showing through. What are the recommended installation gaps to leave in this area? This is my main issue. There’s a half inch uneven reveal above the windows where they have the upper piece of hardie above the windows Hardie reveal over door is not level or even. Gap is about 1/8” over middle and increases to 1/4” or more on right. Metal filings not cleaned up - although not a big issue. Large gap over the outlet cover. It’s around 3/8” or so. Thanks for your knowledge. submitted by /u/Scraulsitron-3000 to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/robasweitzer to r/Homebuilding [link] [comments]

How it began https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/ci94do/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app And what happened next https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/cinu8u/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app When I finally caught up with Mrs Hemmings herself https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/cj2g4k/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app And when the trouble really started https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/cjintp/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app What I learned https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/cjzfky/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app I sat all morning thinking about everything, cup after cup of coffee in front of me to keep me awake. Once the postman had left and I was alone with my thoughts they just continued to get louder. I thought about Natalia and the cult. About the kids and their nighttime antics. About the committee meeting. Jamie and how much I missed him, Georgia and my burning guilt and Mr Prentice, who was finally making those aforementioned animal noises. Most of all I thought about the note left for me on move in day. How it had changed everything. My whole life was different now, I was alone and it felt like my new home was attacking from every angle. I re read the note a few times over my coffee. I worried about my rent, it was tight but manageable. School is currently out in the uk but as a training teacher assigned to a school I still get paid a small amount through the summer. The rent is low and with a second summer job I can just about make it without Jamie. It sounds strange. But it felt nice to worry about something normal for a minute; even if I should have been worrying about my survival and the many entities currently trying to kill me. I didn’t get to stew for too long, I had to get ready for the committee meeting. After the events of the night before and my growing mistrust of prudence it was imperative that I got the neighbours on side if I was going to achieve anything like my goals of eradicating the imposter/cultist neighbours. The meeting was at noon in flat 31, there was a poster on a communal notice board by the entrance that I was glad to spot, Terri hadn’t mentioned the time when we met and all our meetings since had been a bit hectic to discuss it. The poster promised tea and cakes and my stomach rumbled at the thought, I hadn’t eaten properly in days. At 11.55 I left the flat, and wandered out into the corridor. I’d never seen so many neighbours. Mr Prentice, however, was still making that awful noise and I watched in disbelief as every single person in the corridor walked past his door as if it was silent. I did my usual deliberation on whether to take the stairs or lift but yet again the stairs won. I still couldn’t bear being where Jamie died and all these extra flights were keeping me fit. Flat 31 belonged to an older lady named Molly Thompson and her husband Eric. She had a blue rinsed head of curls attached to her head and had gone to the effort to make homemade batten-burg cake. Other neighbours had bought along baked goods as well. It reminded me of a school fair. The flat itself was decorated for the 70s, with plenty of china cat ornaments littered around. I sat down on a dusty plastic garden chair, one of many that Molly seemed to have acquired and laid out for the residents pouring in. I hadn’t seen community spirit like this in my life. I smiled as I saw Terri, Eddie and Ellie wander in. It was nice to see some familiar faces. I had noticed people looking at me, wondering who I was. It probably wasn’t often they got new neighbours. Eddie came running up to me, swung his arms round me and sat down in the rickety garden chair next to mine. It was so sweet. Terri smiled at me and took a seat the other side of mine, Ellie sat next to her brother. The brown puppy dog eyes were back. No claws. “I’m glad you came!” Terri said to me, loud enough to hear over the voices of the other neighbours. “I really want you to see the good side of the block. We don’t bite really!” She laughed nervously as she realised the irony of her statement. “Terri I need help, we need to stop those people from coming back again and from terrorising people. The block can’t go on like this.” I wanted to make the purpose of my attendance clear to her, it was time for things to change. “But if you don’t let them in then they don’t bother you. I’ve spoken to the kids, they know not to do it again, that those people are dangerous.” She paused for a moment and sighed. “Although them running away didn’t help, the kids think they’re indestructible now. They’ve been telling me all morning that they’re going to kill the bad guys.” She looked so resigned. But it was true, they did run away from the twins. Maybe there was something in that, I knew they could die I just had to work out how. But as the thought crossed my mind and I looked at Eddie and Ellie, I couldn’t imagine taking the risk. I could’ve flat out gone back and asked Prudence. But to be honest I didn’t want anything to do with her. She gave me such a bad feeling. I was doubting everything she told me. “It doesn’t matter if you can keep them away. We can’t all live in fear. Yours aren’t the only kids in this building.” I knew this from surveying the room. “But I bet not all the kids here are as ... special ... as yours. What if another family burns to death because their kids were hyper one night.” I could see this struck a chord with Terri. She looked at me with glassy eyes as if on the verge of tears. “You’re right. Molly’s the chairwoman and she can be a little strict but you can bring it up under any other business.” She spoke with a lump in her throat. “Here you go by the way.” She handed me a piece of printed paper. Any other business felt a bit lacklustre but it would do. As long as it got discussed. I turned my attention the the piece of paper, it was the agenda for the meeting. For something written so formally it appeared farcical. It seemed other flats and floors had different but equally strange issues to mine. There were only 6 items on the agenda for the meeting with AOB as the 7th. They were as follows. 1. Welcome and introductions with apologies for absence. 2. Replacing of the flickering lights on floor 11, it seems to incite vicious behaviour from the pets and elderly of that floor. 3. Serving a formal residents letter of concern to the man who doesn’t move from the bottom of the stairwell on floor 5. 4. Finances - budgets for general maintenance and the annual barbecue. 5. The stairs with no grip leading up to floor 14 at the very top and the health and safety hazards this presents. 6. Soundproofing of Mr Prentice’s flat, number 48. I was comforted to know that I wasn’t alone in dealing with all these strange occurrences. I was also chilled to the core to know for certain that it was the entire building that was more than a bit odd. What really struck me as odd is that when I thought about it, I had seen that man on floor 5 when going down the stairs. But I’d never noticed that it had been every time, or that he had never moved, until this moment. The meeting begun with a loud and dissatisfying clink. By this point the tiny, 70s themed flat was packed. Garden chairs had all ran out and people were standing. Molly Thompson stood up from her floral patterned arm chair and bashed a teaspoon against the outside of her cup. She reminded me of a very strict, disciplinarian school teacher I had worked with during my university placement. She commanded quiet in the room. “I think we should get started everyone!” She shrilled, her voice growing louder with every word until the crowd came to a silent hum. “Right, firstly, we are not going to skip the introductions today. Apologies have been given by Jo and Steph of flat 2 and yet again by Mr Prentice. We have a new face in the room as I’m sure many of you have noticed.” She gestured to me and looked in my direction but didn’t really make any eye contact. She was just talking about me as I sat in the room. Eventually she addressed me directly. “Stand up dear, introduce yourself. We’re pleased to have you here.” I was deeply uncomfortable. I could feel some sort of panic coming on. I never liked standing in crowds very much. But I stood up anyway. “Ermm, hi. My name is Kat. I live in flat number 42, I moved in with my boyfriend Jamie but he was killed in the lift by the weird rat creatures you people have living here. The people that claim to live in the burned out flats won’t leave me alone and one in particular seems to want me dead. Oh, and that window cleaner outside my flat makes me want to scoop my own eyes out with a spoon every time he knocks on the door. Nice to meet you all.” The crowd had gasped a little. I sat down. Instantly mortified, I don’t know what happened, the normality and structure of the meeting overwhelmed me. There’s something about a sense of order and normality amongst chaos. It does something to your brain, and for me, for the first time in this whole journey, it sent me into a meltdown. I sobbed as I hit the chair, both in pure mental exhaustion and disappointment that I had blown my chance at building any sort of army against Natalia. Terri rubbed my shoulder. Molly broke the awkward silence that had blanketed the room. “Nice to meet you Katherine, I understand life in this building can be a little overwhelming. We did ask the previous occupant to let us intervene when you moved in but she was insistent. In hindsight we may need to review our policies on new tenants. I am so very sorry for the loss of your partner. The lift is a most unfortunate situation.” She had been in positions of power in her life for certain, she responded professionally but coldly, there was no feeling in her condolences. She came off like a corrupt politician digging themselves out of a hole. She did decide to skip the introductions after my outburst. I also hate it when I’m called Katherine. My parents named me Katie and I shorten it to Kat. Her presuming it was Katherine added to her school teacher demeanour. She carried on with the proceedings pretty swiftly and interesting characters present at the meeting started to emerge. My favourite was a large middle aged Caribbean woman named Precious St Fluer who would not accept Molly’s claims that there was not enough in the budget to replace the lighting on floor 11. She got up and lifted her shirt to reveal a large deep bite mark across her stomach caused by her dog after a long episode of the lights flickering. When that didn’t change Molly’s answer she lifted her trouser leg to reveal a smaller, but still noteworthy bite mark on her leg, from her elderly mother who lives with her. Molly didn’t budge. It took what felt like an eternity to get to any other business. If I weren’t so focused on my goal I would have enjoyed hearing about the quirks of the other floors, maybe tried to engage a little, but I just couldn’t concentrate. When the chairwoman asked if anyone had any other business she scanned the room quickly. I stood up from my chair and she locked in on me with her eyes. My hands were shaking and I could feel a cold sweat forming all over my body. “Katherine, what can we help you with dear?” She asked in a patronising tone. “I want help in getting rid of the people pretending to be from the burned out flats. I can’t be the only person that doesn’t like living in fear.” I stated boldly, trying not to break down again. “Dear we have had this discussion multiple times and it’s been taken off the agenda. I am aware you’re new here but there is nothing we can do about certain problems within this building and for this particular issue we would appreciate you not letting them into your home and ignoring them like the rest of us.” She snapped back. “But that’s not good enough! Terri’s kids answered the door last night, they’re children, it’s easily done, what if someone else’s child does it and aren’t so lucky to survive. One burned my friend so bad a few nights ago that she’s still unconscious in hospital.” This I knew from social media. A few people called out in agreement with me from the crowd. “The only one who has ever been able to deal with them is Prudence. And that difficult woman never revealed her methods. Don’t think we didn’t try. You’re suggesting a suicide mission. You’d do well to remember you are new here.” Molly hissed through her teeth. Did she have to mention I was new so many times. It was grating on me. “Well I’m willing!” Shouted Precious. She seemed stronger than the rest in her earlier rant. I was glad to have her on side. Where she came forward, a few others followed. Soon I had 5 people plus myself willing to form a sub committee to get rid of the cultists. Molly didn’t like it but she agreed to let us do it. There was me, Precious and Terri along with lady named Shanti who lived a few doors from me. A man named Anton and his friend Leo from floor 8 made up the group. To be honest they just seemed keen to get involved with any kind of battle. Leo was the loud one, Anton was mostly silent. I invited them to my flat after Molly swiftly adjourned the meeting. Inviting anyone into my home made me anxious now. I found myself studying each of their faces to ensure they’re weren’t too average and I hadn’t invited the wrong people in. I was fairly certain I hadn’t. Eddie and Ellie settled in front of my tv in the bedroom so they didn’t hear our conversation. They may only be kids but I felt safer with them there. We discussed for hours how we could bring the imposter people into one place and kill them all. Leo was particularly creative, he came up with weird and whacky ways to end them; from locking them in a room and blasting with fire extinguishers until they freeze, to herding them into the lift between 1.11 and 3.33 am. The whole time I waited nervously for a knock on the door, for them to come for us. But they didn’t. We got time to plan. But despite the time it never really took off, no idea seemed feasible. I shared everything I knew. My conversation with Prue, the night before in Terri’s flat... everything. Precious listened to my tales intently before speaking. “Derek would have helped us. He was a great man, he used to turn up at my door in the dead of the night just as those lights started and take my dog for a walk.” She spoke of the gardener with a fondness. “Prudence told me about Derek. She said he’s been gone since the garden was demolished.” I replied flatly. “It was awful when he left. That woman that used to live here was nasty to him. I watched out my window as she tore up the garden. I know she was grieving for that little girl but I know Derek only ever wanted to help.” Shanti spoke up from the corner. She had been pretty quiet the whole time. “He was the whole reason we don’t have those awful creatures from the lift all over our homes anymore. My brother was killed by one before the agreement. He was 4 years old.” I twitched as she told her story. Shanti has such sad eyes and speaking about her brother only filled them further with sadness. “This is another thing I don’t understand. Why have any agreement, if you managed to kill most of them, why not all?” I asked, feeling anger over Jamie burn through my throat as I spoke. Precious laughed. Terri shot her a look from across the room. “No ones told you the whole story have they?” Shanti asked, a single tear running down her face. “What do you mean?” This was driving me insane, nothing was simple, how could I trust anyone. “When Prudence and some of the others killed the creatures they killed a large group of them in one hit. They had started to work out that food scraps and pet food were attracting them and they gathered all the pet food in the tower block into one empty flat on the floor the fire had happened. They creatures came in droves just like expected and they set the flat alight. Again. “The flat was burned to ash on top of preexisting ash. Nothing could survive that.” Shanti was interrupted after this by Leo. “And then 3 giant rat motherfuckers literally rose from the ashes, triple as smart and strong and fucked shit up!” He said, a look of excitement on his face. Shanti rolled her eyes and continued. “So all Prudence did was cause a quite literally bigger problem. She didn’t kill them, all she did was help them evolve. “There was only three of them but they learned to sneak attack. More people died than during the original infestation. They were more intelligent but not in the way it comes across when the agreements spoken about. We couldn’t speak to or reason with them.” Terri was looking at the floor. “Only Derek was able to do that, he spoke to them like he spoke to the garden. He made it safe for everyone again, I wasn’t there. I was too young but there we were told he didn’t even have to use words. They understood just a series of movements and eye contact. “Derek explained the rule with the lift. He told us it was a gesture of goodwill. The creatures needed a home and seemed attracted to the building and we would let them live there and stop killing their kind if they would stop killing ours. But to show them some respect we would allow them a small time frame where unleash their instinctual nature. But only if someone came to them. “There are only 2 left now. Prudence killed the other during what happened with her granddaughter. But that only made them 2 stronger. Like they absorbed the 3rd.” I tried to take in all the information I was receiving but I couldn’t. It was too much. “Derek isn’t coming back, it’s been years, this is pointless!” Terri finally erupted. Precious laughed again. “How do you know?! You speak to dear old Prue all the time, know something we don’t?” Precious spoke sarcastically but I think she meant what she said. It was becoming clear that Prudence Hemmings wasn’t too popular in this building. “I don’t speak to her all the time! We just keep in contact, she was always nice to me!” Terri tried weakly to defend herself. “That’s because you’re naive and a pushover! She used you because no one else would give her the time of day!” Precious was about to launch into a full rant on Terri. I was glad Eddie and Ellie were in the other room and couldn’t hear. I wondered if she’d seen them at night. I decided to stop the rant. This was becoming counter productive and we were getting nowhere with our plans. I interjected and told them all I needed them to leave so that I could sleep. Partly true, although I knew I couldn’t sleep. I had other things to do. They all filed out of my flat, Terri and the kids were the last to leave. She gave me a hug as she left and told me to get a proper nights rest, telling me she was always there for a cuppa and a chat. It was sweet. I felt sorry for Terri. The kids hugged me too as they left. I know she spoke to Prue, but I was certain that it really was entirely innocent. I sat in the empty flat disheartened that my assembling of an army had turned into a bickering shit show with no real suggestions on how to kill the imposter neighbours. I felt totally alone. I couldn’t trust Prue or Ian or pretty much anything I thought I knew. Maybe Prue didn’t even kill those neighbours. They only told me half truths about the creatures after all. I was left alone with my thoughts again. And after a few hours, a good one finally struck me, but I needed supplies. I left the building and went to the nearest shop to gather the items I needed. For what I needed and the time of night I had to travel to a 24 hour supermarket. It took half hour each way on the bus. But I stayed focused. My bags were heavy and awkward on the way back to the block but if it paid off this was going to be worth it. I trudged up the stairs. It took me 2 trips and 24 flights of stairs instead of 14 to get everything in my flat and organise myself. It only took 16 and a large gym bag that was much easier to carry on the way back down, thankfully. I passed the man on floor 5 twice. Now I’d noticed him, he made my skin crawl a little. I walked through the downstairs corridor, diverting away from the main entrance and passing all the ground floor flats to the door at the back of the building. The door at the back lead to a small concrete area with a grass strip along the side and a bench decorated with a memorial plaque. This was the blocks outside space. As is typical in the city the whole bench was covered in graffiti. The memorial was unreadable. I got to work. I dug the strip of grass, turning soil with my new equipment. I had never been green fingered and to be honest the shrubs I had bought had been so heavy I had grown to resent them a little. I worked for an hour and a half. I was sweating and night had come, it was pitch black and I was using my phone torch to see. I had almost given up until I got up from my crouching position to stretch my knees. I reached my arms out, put down my shovel and took a seat on the bench. I hadn’t seen him arrive but the man was already sat there. He wore a flat cap and a jacket, despite it being the middle of summer and a beautiful night. He just smiled warmly at the shrubs for a moment without a word. Eventually he spoke. “I’ve missed this place. Names Derek.” Our journey: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/clvga9/the_previous_tenant_of_my_new_flat_left_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app submitted by /u/newtotownJAM to r/nosleep [link] [comments]