Wooden Shingle Roofs in America
Tradition and history of wood shingle roofs in America
| >>Introduction | >>Roofing practices to avoid |
| >>History of wood shingles in America | >>Maintenance |
| >>Historic detailing and replacing roofs | >>Taking it further |
| >>Specifications for the replacement roof |
By Sharon C. Park, AIA
Wooden shingle roofs inAmerica
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Because trees were plentiful from the earliest settlement days, the use ofwood for all aspects of construction is not surprising. Wooden shingles werelightweight, made with simple tools, and easily installed. Wooden shingle roofswere prevalent in the Colonies, while in Europe at the same time, thatch, slateand tile were the prevalent roofing materials. With the popularity of therevival of historic styles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a newtechnique was developed to imitate English thatch roofs.
Distinctive roofing patterns exist in various regions of the country thatwere settled by the English, Dutch, Germans, and Scandinavians. These patternsand features include the size, shape and exposure length of shingles, specialtreatments such as swept valleys, combed ridges, and decorative butt end or longside-lapped beveled handsplit shingles.
Such features impart a special character to each building, and prior to anyrestoration or rehabilitation project the physical and photographic evidenceshould be carefully researched in order to document the historic building asmuch as possible.
Care should be taken not to assume that aged or deteriorated shingles inphotographs represent the historic appearance. Historically wooden shingles wereusually thin (3/8"3/4"), relatively narrow (3"8"), ofvarying length (14"36"), and almost always smooth.
The traditional method for making wooden shingles in the 17th and 18thcenturies was to hand split them from log sections known as bolts. These boltswere quartered or split into wedges. A mallet and froe (or ax) were used tosplit or rive out thin planks of wood along the grain. If a tapered shingle wasdesired, the bolt was flipped after each successive strike with the froe andmallet.
The wood species varied according to available local woods, but only theheartwood, or inner section, of the log was usually used. The softer sapwoodgenerally was not used because it deteriorated quickly. Because hand splitshingles were somewhat irregular along the split surface, it was necessary todress or plane the shingles on a shaving horse with a draw-knife or draw-shaveto make them fit evenly on the roof. This reworking was necessary to provide atight-fitting roof over typically open shingle lath or sheathing boards.Dressing, or smoothing of shingles, was almost universal, no matter what woodwas used or in what part of the country the building was located, except inthose cases where a temporary or very utilitarian roof was needed.
Shingle fabrication was revolutionized in the early 19th century bysteam-powered saw mills. Shingle mills made possible the production of uniformshingles in mass quantities. The sawn shingle of uniform taper and smoothsurface eliminated the need to hand dress. The supply of wooden shingles wastherefore no longer limited by local factors. These changes coincided with (andin turn increased) the popularity of architectural styles such as CarpenterGothic and Queen Anne that used shingles to great effect.
Hand split shingles continued to be used in many places well after theintroduction of machine sawn shingles. There were, of course, other popularroofing materials, and some regions rich in slate had fewer examples of woodenshingle roofs. Some western "boom" towns used sheet metal because itwas light and easily shipped. Slate, terne plate, and clay tile were used onornate buildings and in cities that limited the use of flammable woodenshingles. Wooden shingles, however, were never abandoned. Even in the 20thcentury, architectural styles such as the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival,used wooden shingles.
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-- NPS Preservation Brief 19
