my shingle-dipping system
Partly because of the classic appearance of shingled homes and partly because cedar shingles are produced locally, we are using shingles as our exterior cladding. We managed to find 48 bundles of #1 and #2 grade 18″ shingles, for an average price of $18/bundle, about half what you’d expect to pay at a shingle mill.
Shingles need to be pre-stained before application. They need finishing on both sides to prevent cupping/cracking after weathering. One could pay big bucks to have them stained at a staining facility. Painting them by hand with a brush or roller is a messy and time-consuming endeavour (and practically impossible after they are applied to the wall.) Dipping them is the best option.
Everyone I talk to about dipping shingles warns me to expect a real logistical headache. Visions of clothespins and laundry lines, or drilling holes in all the tops and stringing a wire through them.
view from the business end of the process
But the best advice I’ve received is the system pictured. In a morning, I was able to dip 4 bundles, quite painlessly. I’ve set up a relatively permanent processing corner, protected from rain by the deck above, facing south and east, so I will get sun on them to dry.
The components:
1. A set of grooved 2x4s (from the skids of lumber previously delivered. They come with grooves for the metal bands that hold the skids together). They allow the wet shingles to be placed upside down, with spaces between them. I line them up in decending rows, so the ends will be accessible. If these and regular 2x4s are nailed down with narrow spaces in between, the thin ends of the shingles can be wedged into the spaces so they won’t touch each other (this latest design improvement courtesy of Tess.)
2. A garbage can about 18″ tall (the length of the shingles), filled with the stain, at the top of
3. A trough, made from 2×4 and plywood, covered by stovepipe to collect the drips of excess stain in
4. A pail at the bottom of the trough
5. Dairy cases (the kind with holes in them). After the shingles are dipped, they go into the dairy cases on the trough.
6. The shingles (which need to be dried and cleaned of insect casings, larvae, dirt before dipping.)
They only need to be dipped about 15″, which is the maximum that will be exposed with two layers of a 6″ exposure. Depending on the stain you’re using, and the weather, they dry in a few hours. Our builders recommend storing them by width to make application smoother. So I will invest in more dairy cases at the recycling depot.
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