Wood Shingles

The use of wood shingles in any kind of building’s roof construction is not a new thing for anyone. So, these are not only cost effective but also have some special features, like they are lightweight; made of simple tools and very easy to install wherever you want. In the past, wood shingles were thin, sizes measures to (3/8”-3/4”), narrow in shape (3”-8”) varies in length (14”-36”) and smooth.

Wood shingle roofs are usually made from western red cedar element to provide more durability and resistance against insect attack and are very smooth and more rustic.

Shingles and shakes have variable lengths, i.e. 16, 18 or 24 inches with random width. Shake wood shingles are generally made of split logs and these are generally used for covering the top of a house.

You can install wood shingle sidings by few easy steps as under:

First, build up the first course with starter shingle, snap a chalk to guide your row, space shingles about 1/8 to ¼ inch apart. After the first course gets completed; cover the starter course and select shingle by width to overlap the gaps, drive galvanized nails about ¾ inch from single edge and 1 inch above weather exposure. Install a temporary guide board to level across the wall. Corners can be butt shingle together and finish it with primer and paint or stains.

Roof truss is a rigid, strong framework made of wood members and connected by metal plates together. Wood roof trusses are superior to any other roofs because these are professionally designed. High quality materials are being used and uniformity makes it look better. Roof truss dimensions that meet or exceed wind, weight loading and deflection criteria includes for residential, commercial and roof-truss solutions.

Before installing color for your weathered wood shingles, check it properly that the variation of color blends appears on the roof is accurate or not. More than one shingle laid out for color conformity for the desired color level. For the making of wood shingles, one must be aware of the facts that these are not weather friendly. So certain things need to be remembered while making this kind of roof is that, polymer matting and battens nails should be used for separating the shingles from the roof decking. The second measure we should take is that to lay a waterproof layer over the deck itself to avoid any water damages. And water repellent treatments should be done to increase the durability of wood, as they slow down the amount of water they absorb. Therefore, cedar shingles are available in desirable colors but the white cedar has the best material to make shingles. These are basically used for inside and out for log homes, barns, fences, sidings and furniture. A perfect squared shape shingle is made with the sides parallel to each other and the butt of the shingle is cut into 16” in length and cut twice. These can face climate changes very easily; these are long lasting and have better insulating value.