Shingles

Shingles, flat pieces of wood used in roofing like slates or tiles. Such roofs are much used in newly-settled countries where timber is plentiful. The wood is chosen from among the kinds which split readily and straightly, and is usually some kind of fir. It is cut into blocks, the longitudinal faces of which are of the size intended for the shingles, which are then, in Germany, for instance, regularly split off in thicknesses of about a quarter of an inch, but in America are sawn out, somewhat thicker at one end than the other. In the United States shingles, usually some 6 inches wide by 18 long, are in common use, and their manufacture, especially in the Pacific states, has reached enormous proportions. Shaved—i.e. hand-made—shingles of Washington cedar fetch a somewhat better price than the sawn ones, which cost about $2 per 1000. Shingles are laid with one-third of their length (the thick end) to the weather.