Batten
strip of solid material, traditionally wood, used in various crafts and processes

A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.
In the lighting industry, battens refer to linear light fittings.
In the steel industry, battens used as furring may also be referred to as "top hats", in reference to the profile of the metal.
Roofing
Roofing battens or battening, also called roofing lath, are used to provide the fixing point for roofing materials such as shingles or tiles. The spacing of the battens on the trusses or rafters depends on the type of roofing material and is applied horizontally like purlins.
Battens are also used in metal roofing to secure the sheets called a batten-seam roof and are covered with a batten roll joint.
Some roofs may use a grid of battens in both directions, known as a counter-batten system, which improves ventilation.
Roofing battens are most commonly made of wood or metal, but can be made of other materials.
Wall battens
Wall battens like roofing battens are used to fix siding materials such as tile or shingles.
The public source identifies “Batten” as strip of solid material, traditionally wood, used in various crafts and processes. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Batten, strip and solid.
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This entry incorporates text from “Batten” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.