How to Install Wood Shingles | This Old House

Tom Silva shows the apprentices how to properly install wood shingles.

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The roof has been insulated and now it’s time to nail in the shingles. General contractor Tom Silva shows the apprentices how to properly install wood shingles. Before they start, they staple a nylon matrix to the roof sheathing to prevent the shingles from rotting and cupping. Then Tom shows the apprentices how to layer and space the first course of shingles.

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How to Install Wood Shingles

This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, Tom Silva, roofing, wood shingles, installation, GenerationNext, apprentices, Jamestown Net-Zero

Full episode:
Modern Barn Raising | The Jamestown Net-Zero House

[bkestler]

I absolutely love this man. I’ve learned so much throughout the years from him.

[lewiskelly]

Probably one of the best and most detailed videos this channel has done in awhile

[PlayingwithD]

Wow, As a former roofer for many years, I gotta say that breather mesh underlay is ingenious.

[boatdetective]

I had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Silva. Talk about a genuine, supremely experienced guy. If I were an apprentice carpenter, I would shave my head and wear a robe just to work at his side. On top of it all, he is a complete gentleman.

[ElectricGears]

You can be sure of your nail placement by putting a mark on the nail gun's magazine the required distance from the nail exit point. Then, when it's lined up with the edge of the current shingle, you will be sure that the nail is far enough from the bottom edge to be covered by the next coarse.

[mynonameyt]

I have a 8:12 roof with heavy shakes. It’s 25 years old and never leaked, but I used 18” 30lb paper on every row. It slayed down on 3/4 plywood with no breather material under the shake and it’s done great. I would highly recommend using the 30lb paper that is your key to a water tight roof.

[Spartacus]

I belive the original design calls for battens rather than plywood.. the battens allow for much more shingle surface area to dry out... its cheaper too

[danpapworth]

I love that, for all the tech, there's still a huge amount of room for craftsmanship. This guy makes it look effortless, but you're looking at decades of experience literally embodied here. You will never remove the human element, or you will do so at your peril. And this wood will store atmospheric Carbon for the years that it is in place, and is completely biodegradable when the time comes to revisit this roof and do it all again. Right now the trees are growing that will provide wood for the next roof, grabbing Carbon from the atmosphere for everyone and, as they do so, providing habitat for the myriad of species that keep us, and those we love, alive on this beautiful planet.

[TroodoN]

It would be ideal if we saw how finished roof looks like at the end. Other than that very informative episode

[jf]

Very helpful for getting started, thank you! My trapezoid shaped roof required some re-figuring, but this got the project in motion.

[fepeerreview]

Beautiful! That roof should last a lifetime.

[elik]

I love this old house! It inspires me to become a carpenter. Keep up the good work guys

[edgarbaring]

I put on wood shingles for 20 years, we used a hatchet with a gauge set on 5.5" then go end to end and pop a line every 8 coarsest to keep straight.

[TheVinceZampella]

Oh my gosh I would love to see the previous part, really nice work!

[Briel_Shingle_Designs]

That is so neat and very educational! Thanks!

[joshuasmith]

should make an 8 hour episode showing every detail of the process

[IppiopaidFEEDBACK]

Cedar shingle roof are so luxurious looking.

[Poor.Mans.Sweden]

very useful video. thanks! I'm going to start putting up my shingles in 2-3 months

[peterbarlow]

I used to mark the joints in the starter under course on top of the upper to avoid landing second course joints there. 1 1/2 side lap but also a 3/4 offset from the joints in the previous course. We also used to set the starter course to a string line. Sometimes with old buildings you have to follow what is.

[kevinclayton]

I wonder how they do the ridge with a cedar shingle. Great episode.