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Discussion Forum

Decorative Siding Shingles?

| Posted in Construction Techniques on July 29, 2003 10:30am

I am looking for a magazine article published within the past three or four years which detailed how one could work a decorative design into shingle siding (somehow cuting a relief pattern into the shingles).  I believe the article showed flying ducks or gesse on the side of a house, or at least that is my idea for my garage.   I don’t recall the details of the method and I can’t imagine how this could be done and still maintain laps in the shingles.

Has anyone seen this article in any woodworking or homebuilding magazine and if so which one and which issue.  Or perhaps someone knows of some other resource I could refer to. 

Thanks in advance.

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Replies

  1. alias | Jul 30, 2003 03:01am | #1

    i think it was in the other forum. but there were some great pictures , one was a rear fluke of a breaching whale it was just spectacular. i wanted to ask about the sub-structure, of that whole piece . man.. what i work of art. i'll be watching this for pictures.

    1. shake_n_stir | Jul 30, 2003 03:10am | #3

      Hey, thanks for everyone's help.  I think I found it.  I will be running to the library to take a look at FHB Dec01/Jan02 issue page 92, if anyone else cares.

      Say, bear, did you say that you saw a picture of a whale's tail worked into shingles somewhere?

      1. alias | Jul 30, 2003 03:39am | #4

        yeah shake it was one of the most creative things i've seen in this forum it tweaked my creative juices. it was something to see ..

        1. User avater
          Luka | Jul 30, 2003 06:05am | #5

          I'd like to figure out how to work in a pic of a flying pig.

          A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.

          Quittin' Time

          1. donpapenburg | Jul 30, 2003 06:27am | #6

            Use pork and bean cans for that one.

          2. User avater
            Luka | Jul 30, 2003 08:39am | #7

            ROFLMFatAO

            Ackshally, I have been offered cedar rounds that I will split my own shakes from.

            From Art B. (Junkhound.) Thanks Art.

            : )

            A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.

            Quittin' Time

          3. alias | Jul 31, 2003 02:14am | #16

            perhaps a prototype.....

          4. User avater
            Luka | Jul 31, 2003 03:46am | #20

            Thank you !

            That second pic may be just what I need to work from.

            I'll try to make a hand drawing, then figure out how I can use your technique to get it to show correctly in the shingles.

            : )

            A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.

            Quittin' Time

          5. alias | Jul 31, 2003 04:28am | #21

            fly hi- fly long- god speed -keep the blue side up..

          6. RogerDumas | Jul 31, 2003 03:21pm | #23

            Luka,

            Here you go!  Just make a grid on the wall, transfer the points where the the drawing intersects the grid lines, and then connect the dots with curves that match the drawing.  If you have 5" to the weather you end up with a flying pig that's about 11 feet wide and 3.5 feet high!

            Cheers! 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

        2. shake_n_stir | Jul 30, 2003 07:28pm | #9

          the bear,

          You have said that you "have seen pictures in this forum".  What do you me, seen?  Is there a place in this forum where people post pictures?

          1. RogerDumas | Jul 30, 2003 08:42pm | #10

            Shake,

            Here are some pics of my striped bass, whale tail portico, and lighthouse.  I posted these in the photo gallery a couple of years ago.  The fish made a cameo appearance in FHB Jan 2003 in a review of the decorative shingle CD that someone gave the url for.

            Roger 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          2. shake_n_stir | Jul 30, 2003 11:23pm | #11

            RogerD:  You say "your" bass etc.  Does this mean that they are your pictures and or your work?  Are you a contractor of sorts?

            Thanks for the pics!

          3. RogerDumas | Jul 30, 2003 11:42pm | #12

            Shake,

            Yes, they're my pics and work.  I'm a DIY who's been working part time on my addition (in the pictures) for close to 4 years now.  I'm almost finished (finally).  I'm a DIY but I worked for my builder/cabinet-maker father from teh time I was 14 until I was out of school.  And I've kept it up as a hobby for 25+ years.  I plan on trying to start a side business next year doing stuff like that but I don't know if there will be a market or not.  It takes a long time to make something like that so I don't know if people will be willing to pay.  I may try to create a line of smaller (read:  affordable) kits to sell to people.

            Cheers!

            Roger 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          4. alias | Jul 31, 2003 12:52am | #13

            roger that was the picture i was talking about that was beautiful could you go through your sub structure of the whale and is the overhang just shingles extended. and how is it weathering after a couple of years?? thank you bear

          5. RogerDumas | Jul 31, 2003 02:01am | #14

            Thanks bear!  I'll have to find my old pics on the structure of the whale tail and overhang but I'll post them. 

            It's aging well.  All the shingles have a nice soft gray color.  In fact, when it's dry you can't tell the difference between the red and white cedar shingles.  I'll take some current pictures to contrast with the originals.

            Roger  

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          6. alias | Jul 31, 2003 02:08am | #15

            thanks roger great work/ and especially great idea... cheers to you. b

          7. RogerDumas | Jul 31, 2003 02:51pm | #22

            bear,

            I found a couple of pics of the whale tail framing.  Here ya go...

            The first pic shows the beam made of a 2x8 and 2x6 running diagonally across the front.  I think I used 2x8s for the joist.  Even tho they don't look it, the joists were parallel 16 o.c.  They look like they're off because they're different heights where they sit on the beam so that I could get have some curvature on the tail from left to right.  Then I cut the tops of the joist toward the bottom of the portico so that there's some curvature when you look up the tail as well.

            The second picture shows the tail just before the shingles went on.  I ran 1x3 strapping on top of the joists to smoothen out the curves and provide nailing for the shingles.  I made the whale's spine out of plywood.  You can't see it but there are some nailers under the plywood.

            I used a fair amount of lead flashing to make sure the water goes where it's supposed to.  So far so good! 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          8. shake_n_stir | Jul 31, 2003 02:26am | #17

            Roger:

            The Bass is very impressive!

            I went to the library and looked at the FHB issue.  The ducks were very simple.  I am not sure, but it looks as if the technique might differ from yours as well.

            Secondly, as to the substructure for your whales tail.  Is the roof flat (sloped but flat) or is there a wave or curve to the decking.  If it is flat, it does have an elusion of being curved. 

          9. RogerDumas | Jul 31, 2003 02:49am | #18

            Shake,

            I think I remember the FHB article on the ducks that you mention and I think they were just silhouettes.  I don't think they had any interior details of the birds.  My technique is a lot different from the one in the article.  In fact I wrote an article for FHB on my technique and submitted it to them but it was too soon after the one you found so they weren't interested.  I'm thinking about submitting it to This Old House.  If you're interested, send me an email and I'll tell you how I did it. 

            Roger 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          10. RogerDumas | Jul 31, 2003 02:51am | #19

            Shake, I forgot to reply to the whale tail question.  It isn't flat.  It's hard to see from the angle but the tail is curved on both sides so the water is channeled when it rains and you can walk up the middle without getting wet. 

            "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf

          11. sphaugh | Nov 09, 2003 12:18am | #24

            was the author's website (listed in the article) the same one posted above?

  2. Theodora | Jul 30, 2003 03:06am | #2

    I remember it really clearly too, and the only place I could have seen it would have been in FHB or FWW within the past two years.

    Repost your question and title it, "Hey Andy E or Jim, question about an article" and maybe they'll notice and find it for you.

    Who said: "The richest person in the world - in fact all the riches in the world - couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library."

  3. mikeys | Jul 30, 2003 04:15pm | #8

    A quick google found this. http://www.decorativeshingles.com/

    Smile. It could be worse. You could be me working for you.

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