Roofing
Wood Shingle Roofing
Wood shingles give your house a country house look. The fact that shingles are small in size can be an advantage for homes with an out of the box shape as the smaller area allows for more flexibility to the form it is attached to. Most of the time the shingles are cedar or pine and if cared for will last a very long time. One example would be Heddal Stave Church in Norway, which was constructed in the 13th century. Though in-between times it was unused and left without maintenance for many years, 29% of the building material still being original (figure was told to us on the tour; timber was treated with a mixture of asphalt and wood ash, which was poured over the finished building, last treatment was poured in the 1950s)
What are wood shingles?
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Wood shingles are small, tapered and thin pieces of cut wood that are stacked and nailed to the structure in an overlapping way to prevent water entering the building. As the shingles are small, the house and roof structure can be made round and the shingles installed.
While wood shingles are beautiful and add character to your building, they do require maintenance if you do want them to keep a different than grey colour that they otherwise get in time.
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It does take longer to install wood shingles than for example corrugated iron which makes it often a slightly more expensive choice of roofing. However in our view, the natural material and the fact of being able to achieve round shapes make wood shingles a great choice.
So what are the pros and cons of using wood shingles?
Advantages of wood shingles:
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The country-style look, which is unique in every house due to the shape and colour of the wood
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Lasting a very long time if maintained
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Natural and renewable resource
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Ability to cover and protects shapes that are not exactly square
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The production process is more environmentally friendly than most other roofing products
Disadvantages of wood shingles:
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Often chemical treatments or environmentally harmful paint is used
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Depending on the treatment regular maintenance work to paint/ treat the timber
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Higher installation cost as the product is labor-intensive to install
