WOODEN SHINGLES OR SUBSTITUTES 



235 



with the rapid spread of 

 the Salem, Massachusetts, 

 fire. After the great fire 

 in Houston, Texas, a city 

 ordinance was enacted, pro- 

 hibiting the use of wood 

 shingle roofs within the 

 city limits. Nine months 

 later a large number of the 

 expensive type of dwelling 

 had been rebuilt, using slate 

 and tile roofing. The poor- 

 est class of houses also 

 sprang up again with roll 

 roofing and substitutes, but 

 the middle class home, of 

 which the builders under- 

 stood the natural beauty 

 and lasting qualities of 

 wood shingles lagged be- 

 hind, and very little prog- 

 ress was made until, after 

 just that nine months' try- 

 out, the ordinance was re- 

 pealed. Since then Dallas. 

 Birmingham, Alabama, and 

 Lynn, Massachusetts, have 

 been among the communi- 

 ties which have learned by 

 experience that it was not 

 in accordance with practical 



welfare to legislate against the wood shingle roof, except 

 in their congested business districts. It is readily ad- 

 mitted, however, that in the very closely built sections of 

 cities construction as nearly fire proof as possible should 

 be demanded. Seattle, Washington, is a city of 300,000 

 people, and most of its dwellings are covered with cedar 

 shingles. The fire 

 chief once said Sk 



that if shingle 

 roofs were all he 

 had to contend 

 with they might 

 as well disband 

 the fire depart- 

 ment. 



It is not gen- 

 erally realized 

 that wood is a 

 splendid non- 

 conductor of 

 heat. Tests have 

 been made, however, showing that the properly built 

 wood house is exceptionally warm in winter and cool in 

 summer, and that a wood roof is superior in this respect 

 to slate or almost any other material except tile laid with 

 air spaces. The shingle roof also has an advantage over 

 slate and tile in that it is light and does not require such 

 heavy or expensive support. The wood shingle also 



Courtesy Barber and Ross, Washington, D. C. 



SHINGLES IN SHEETS 



Art-craft roofing, strips of composition made to look like shingles, are 

 now being advocated for effective and quickly laid roofing material. 

 This shows the Rock Island Station at Beverly Hills, Illinois. 



, /7' 





Courtesy Barber and Ross, Washington, D. C. 



COMPOSITION SHINGLES LAID IN STRIPS 



These Rex shingles are made in strips of four, and it is claimed save thirty-seven and a half per cent 



in nails used and the labor of laying. 



gives the minimum of noise 

 in a rain or hail storm. 

 Sometimes paper and as-' 

 bestos shingles seem to 

 blow up in high winds, as 

 a well nailed wood shingle 

 does not. 



To many minds the chief 

 objection to the substitutes 

 is that they bear much the 

 same relation to wooden 

 shingles as concrete block 

 construction does to the 

 stone which it strives to 

 imitate. The one has an 

 artificial regularity never 

 possessed by the real thing, 

 and although both may look 

 handsome at first sight, a 

 large expanse of forced 

 regularity soon begins to 

 strike harshly on the eye 

 and is never enjoyed to the 

 same extent as the natural 

 product. 



Probably the feature of 

 particular interest to the 

 home builder is that of cost. 

 Slate and tile have always 

 been more expensive than 

 other roofs, for they re- 

 quire not only a heavier supporting construction, but 

 their initial cost is greater than wood, and the average 

 life is not so long, due to a tendency to break under 

 stress. While roll roofing has always been lower priced 

 than wood shingles the better grade of asphalt shingles 

 became scarce during the war period when ships were 



not available for 

 the importation 

 of asphalt. Now, 

 however, the in- 

 itial cost has 

 again declined 

 and, like paper 

 and asbestos 

 roofing, is some- 

 what below that 

 of wood shin- 

 gles. The home 

 builder who is 

 forced to save 

 every cent of in- 

 itial cost on his house without being able to plan ahead as 

 much as he might wish, will probably find satisfaction 

 in some one of the better grades of patent roofing. Patent 

 shingles are often guaranteed by the maker to give good 

 service for from five to seven or nine years. The life 

 of a wood shingle roof, however, when properly laid 

 with the correct grade of material, may safely be figured 



