How To Split Wood Roof Shingles

All shakes and shingles will eventually split.

How to split wood roof shingles.

City roofing ordinance 165047 effective august 25 1989 restricted wood shake and shingle roofs for new construction and replacement over 10 of the roof surface. 14 2012 deadline 128 homes have yet to make the transition. The tools you ll need to split the shingle from the bolts include a froe metal wedge 8 12 long with an eye in one end to hold a handle and a wooden mallet made of hardwood with a knot for. The singles are installed so they cover the spaces between the shingles in the row below.

Splitting is part of the natural aging process. When a wood shingle splits you can see the red color of the wood on the inside of the shingle and if the split has been there a long time the inside of the shingle changes from red to gray. To make the initial split start the blade of the froe into the wood with a few solid blows from your mallet then apply lateral pressure on the handle to widen the split. Split a shingle in half vertically for the first shingle in the third coarse of shingles.

The gray is caused by natural weathering and oxidation of the wood. There are two primary types of wood roof shingles. A typical wood shake shingle is red on the inside and gray on the outside. Contrary to popular belief wood shingles and wood shakes are not the same thing.

Cut down the center of the back of the shingle and snap it in half with your hands. Splits may start at fasteners. With the 20 year period for replacing all wood shingle roofs with less fire prone material nearing its aug. 1 split the defective shingle along the wood grain using a hammer and chisel as shown in the photo at the top of the page and pull out as many pieces of the shingle as you can.

The los angeles municipal code 91 1504 1 excludes wood shakes and shingles from the list of approved roofing materials that can be used in the city of los angeles. If necessary remove the. Thisoldhouse asktoh subscribe to this old house. If more than two fasteners are installed shakes and shingles may not be able to swell and shrink freely and may split as a result.

2 slide a flat bar up under the shingle and pry out the nails with a few hammer blows. Wood shakes are also thicker than wood. Tom silva shows the apprentices how to properly install wood shingles. Wood shingles are generally sawn on both sides to form a smooth tapered profile shape.