Roofing Shakes

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

When I was a kid, I saw people all the time making Cedar and Poplar Shakes for roofing.
Never paid it much attention.

But now that I'm interested, what length,width and thickness is a good size?

I'll use my mill to saw them. Thanks.

[tnaz]

Certi-Split Handsplit and Resawn Shakes
Number 1 Grade
Description: Lengths 18-inch, thickness ½" (medium) and ¾" (heavy) minimums; length 24-inch, thickness 3/8", ½" (medium) and ¾" (heavy) minimums. Width 4" minimum. Clear heartwood; 20% maximum flat grain in each bundle.

Roof Exposure: 18-inch shakes - 7½" maximum; 24-inch medium and heavy shakes - 10" maximum; 24-inch (3/8") shakes - 7½" maximum (5" per UBC).

Wall Exposure: Single course: 8" for 18-inch shake; 10½" for 24-inch shake.

Double Course: 14" for 18-inch shake; 18" for 24-inch shake.

Recommended Use: For walls and roofs on 4:12 pitch and steeper where high quality appearance and performance are desired.

Premium Grade
Description: Lengths 18-inch and 24-inch; width 4" minimum, thickness ½" (medium) and ¾" (heavy). Clear heartwood; 100% edge grain; no defects

Roof Exposure: 7½" for 18-inch shakes; 10" for 24-inch shakes.

Wall Exposure: Single course: 8" for 18-inch shakes; 18" for 24-inch shakes.

Recommended Use: For walls and roofs 4:12 pitch and steeper and where a premium quality product is needed or desired. The 100% edge grain requirement exceeds the national industry standard.

[Chuck White]

I've always been told that shakes were split and shingles were sawn!   :P

[Seavee]

I have nailed many hand split shakes in my younger days . But a shingle was sawn.   Shakes can be  split or sawn  ,  shingle  is usualy sawn.

[Ga Mtn Man]

You gonna build a jig to make them?

[Satamax]

Splitting them, makes them more resistant to rot, since there is no endgrain or short fiber exposed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi6cPYtIoL8

[WDH]

I thought that from the title of the thread that you had had (Tom) an earthquake. 

[Satamax]

Poston, over here we fit a lot of sawn ones. Usualy about 4ft long, 6 ish inches wide, about 1"1/4 thick, with two grooves. I'll post a pic or two later.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I thought that from the title of the thread that you had had (Tom) an earthquake.

You have a valid argument Danny.  :D :D :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

You gonna build a jig to make them?

Don't need one. I already saw lap siding with out a jig.

[Dave Shepard]

So do I, but not on purpose.

[Magicman]

I made a 20' shake last week.   

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I made a 20' shake last week.   

:D :D :D Put dem rollers down boy.  :D :D :D

[red]

Custom cut Diving Board. $300

[Magicman]

 smiley_dizzy  I have no idea how it could have happened.   

Maybe I have one of those hydraulic cylinders that has bad seals and is leaking, or could it possibly be that it is brain fluid leaking??   ???    ;D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

smiley_dizzy  I have no idea how it could have happened.   

....... or could it possibly be that it is brain fluid leaking??   ???    ;D

:D :D :D :D Call Woodmizer.  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[red]

Mr Magicman is part of the Pro Sawyer Network . As any Professional like Doctor or Lawyer he gets paid to Practice . He also cutsem and leavesem .

[HousewrightVA]

Sawn shingles are nice. I make mine 1/2" thick  6" wide and18" long and put them down with a 7" exposure.

 

Put them on skip sheathing so they can breath from both sides.

 
These are mostly red oak, white oak is best but red was what I had. You need nice logs because you want the shingles clear.

 
My grandaughter asked for a treehouse.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

HousewrightVA, I appreciate the pics. Good job on your roof. Ts helps a lot.

[KirkD]

I bet in the wind that roof shakes :D

[ppine]

My great uncle at the end of his career was a night watchman in a shingle mill on the Columbia River in Washington.  They used WRC exclusively and could still get old growth back in the 1970s.  A guy used to split the bolts with a fire axe and push them on a conveyor. The shingle weavers worked really fast, and it was common for guys to lose parts of their fingers if they did it for long.  They used big band saws.

Shakes are definitely split, traditionally with a froe. People made them out of old leaf springs off cars.  There are plenty of old barns in the Pacific Northwest with heavy cedar shake roofs  that are more than 50 years old. Some could be 100 years old. A properly made roof has a lot of air holes and places for the air to move through the roof. They don't leak because of surface tension of the water droplets, but they can completely dry out.  It is common to see moss growing on the old roofs in that wet climate, but they seem to last forever.

[Kbeitz]

I have a friend that has a  shingle mill . It's old and it spins a large flywheel with a blade on it.
You just push the short chunk of log into the flywheel and it slices off  shingles.

[Peter Drouin]

I have a friend that has a  shingle mill . It's old and it spins a large flywheel with a blade on it.
You just push the short chunk of log into the flywheel and it slices off  shingles.

What does he for a power plant?

[Kbeitz]

I have a friend that has a  shingle mill . It's old and it spins a large flywheel with a blade on it.
You just push the short chunk of log into the flywheel and it slices off  shingles.

What does he for a power plant?

Hum... I dont remember. It might have been a hit and miss engine...

[Czech_Made]

I have a friend that has a  shingle mill . It's old and it spins a large flywheel with a blade on it.
You just push the short chunk of log into the flywheel and it slices off  shingles.

Pictures?