How to Make Wooden Shingles

Wooden shingles provide a distinctive look. One of the benefits of using wood around the home is the additional insulation wood naturally provides. In the winter, wooden shingles will keep the heat inside the house to help reduce heating costs. In addition, wooden shingles fit perfectly into an environmentally friendly "green" home. A properly installed wooden shingle can last for up to 20 years. Coat the shingles with an approved water repellant, and you can effectively double the life of the shingles to 40 years.

Things You'll Need

• Axe
• Chainsaw
• Wedge
• Froe (long metal wedge 8 inches to 12 inches long with a hole at the end)
• Sledgehammer
• Plane
• Mallet

Instructions

1. Select the best wood you can find with straight grains. A tree standing straight does not guarantee the grains will be straight.

2. Cut down the tree(s) you will use to make the shingles. Popular trees for shingles include cedar, red cedar, oak and chestnut.

3. Decide what size you want to make the wooden shingles. The length should be somewhere between 13 inches and 36 inches, while the width should be anywhere from 3 inches to 12 inches.

4. Saw the tree into lengths matching your desired shingle length.

5. Split the trunk of the tree with the sledgehammer and wedge to create the block of wood (called a bolt) you will use to make the shingles. You can use the axe to split large pieces of wood.

6. Decide how thick to make the shingles. Usually, a minimum of 1/4-inch thickness is needed, but shingles can be up to 3/4 of an inch thick. A range of 1/2 inches to 5/8 inches would be a good place to start so there is room for a slightly uneven split.

7. Place the edge of the froe at a 90-degree angle 1/2 inch from the edge of the block and tap it into the wood using the mallet. Gradually hit the froe harder after securing the line the froe will follow into the bolt.

8. Wiggle the froe to one side and twist it when the top of the froe is even with the bolt. Push the froe down and twist the froe repeatedly until the shingle comes off the bolt.

9. Make more shingles out of the bolt of wood until you have enough to cover the roof.

Tips & Warnings

• Check with the local neighborhood covenant to see if you can use wooden shingles on your home.

• If you live near a logging area, you may be able to get permission from the logging company to clean up scraps left behind.

• Remember that the grain needs to run downhill on the roof to properly manage rain. The longest portion of the shingle should be with the grain.

• Making wooden shingles isn't a job for novice woodworkers. You need to be able to use the woodworking tools with confidence.

• It's easy to get into the process of making shingles and forget about the thickness. You must pay close attention to the thickness of each shingle or the quality of the roof will suffer.