My working holiday!

So you want to build a shingle roof? 1st September 2018

I’m just back from a working holiday leading the start of Hands on Heritage shingle roof project. The volunteers have built themselves a beautiful timber frame building which I understand will become Beryl’s weaving room when finished. Approximately thirty volunteers have been involved in the build and were keen to get started making and fitting its shingle roof. Winter is on her way!

At 5 metres long the building was perfectly dimensioned. Rafter length is 3.2M. In theory that’s 31.2 square metres of roof to clad – however the calculation is complicated by the shingles being fitted three deep! However it’s only the bottom third of the shingle that is external and sheds the rain.

Barter

In exchange for the shingle logs Duncan (project manager) has exchanged a day of tuition to UK Woodland  - the guys who are providing the logs. (That’s where I come in). It’s a win-win situation. Hands on Heritage get a supply of building materials for free and going forward the woodland guys gain insights (and skills) into how to upcycle their woodland products.

Getting started

Our first task is to split the logs into half, and for the wider logs half again. The Sweet Chestnut logs are from over stood coppice that has been unmanaged for too long (before their new owner took up the challenge). Cleaving is slowed down due to the knots and side growth on the logs. However, all is not lost, Sweet Chestnut’s one ambition in life is to provide open up along the grain and these logs yield a significant number of both shingle blanks and firewood!

Making your own shingles? Here’s a few tips about choosing your logs

Select trees from the inside of the woodland and not round the edge – it will be straighter grain and hopefully grown quickly with a nursery crop having forced the growth

Choose trees with minimum side growth

Cut logs to regular lengths (12” works well)

Make the cuts straight so the top and bottom of the finished shingle are parallel