Before you begin, note that some of the shingles are feathered at one end. Set these pieces aside as they will be used later along the ridge.
Sub-roofing, if it is a ply material, should be sealed, especially well along the edges to prevent moisture from warping and separating the ply. A good coat of paint will do the trick. If you are using another sub-roofing material, i.e., Perfec Panel or similar nonabsorbent material, the sealant may not be necessary.
Row 1
Begin at the lower edge of the sub-roof by placing each shingle so that the thin edge is toward the ridge and the thicker edge overhangs by about 1/2". Two things are important to remember when placing the first row:
1. The shingles need to abut; and
2. The overhang must be in alignment with the edge of the roof.
In other words . . . Make sure the edge is straight!
Rows 2, 3, 4 . . .
Row 2, and each succeeding row, until the last row before the ridge — Ignore the varied lengths of the shingles from the previous row as they will take care of themselves. Select a shingle that will straddle the abutted seam
or seams of the preceding row, and make certain that the bottom edge of your new row is both straight and leaves no more than 1/2" showing of the previous row.
Last Row
Glue shingles with the feathered ends at the top. Measure and fit so that
1/2" of the previous row shows.
Finishing the Cedar Roof
Capping may be done in one of two ways:
| 1. | If you have access to a hobby shop or doll house store, purchase a 1/4"-length of right-angle molding; and | |
| 2. | If right-angle molding is unavailable, use two lengths of thin wooden strips with one mounted on each side of the ridge. Finish so they meet at the top and form a straight roof line. Seal the entire roof when finished, using spray exterior polyurethane. |
Cedar Shingles Anyone?
I now have hand-split cedar shakes for 1:22/1:24 scale buildings. They are easy to apply with a waterproof wood glue and look excellent. Hand-cut/
split individual shingles are approximately 1/16" thick, and range in width from 1/8" to 1/2" wide. The package claims to cover a 1/2-square-foot roof and contains approximately 500 shingles. The roof shown below is closer to 1' square, and I counted 425 shingles to complete it. I had plenty of shingles left over.
Do It Yourself: I wondered how difficult cedar shakes were to make myself so I went to the local lumber company and picked up some scrap shakes. Once home, I cross cut into 3/4" strips beginning at the widest edge, then proceeded to a chair on the deck with my Craftsman Handicutters to split the strips.
I found that the cedar splits like butter when cut with the grain, however it will crush when cut across the grain. Sitting there, carefully cutting the strips into 1/16" pieces, I easily had made about 100 of them in an hour. The shingles looked every bit as good as the packaged variety and cost no more than time to make. Precut shingles are available through Sticks & Stones at US$12.50 per pack.
