I am trying to decide between shingling a small guest cottage near the ocean with indiv cedar shingles or cedar shingle panels. The panels are twice the cost of the individual shingles and I am not sure the labor savings will be worth it. Are there any srong opinions out there regarding indiv vs panels in terms of labor, resistence to weather, or aesthetics?
Thanks!
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Replies
I have Shakertown panels
on this house. 21 yrs. Easy install for one guy looking for quick coverage.
However, I had near zero waste. If you can lay them out according to size and use every bit-nice product.
If you cast off a bunch, that's alot of dough.
They have changed the product probably 2-3 times since my purchase in '89.
Installing individual shingles is laborious especially if you aren't using R&R shingles but, you get tripple coverage and you can vary the exposure to make rows come even with windows or other trim features. The panels are more like clapboards, they only overlap a small amount and you can't change the exposure. You have to make sure trim around doors, windows and corner boards, if you use them, are thick enough. This can be a factor along rakes, if the facia has not been furred out and is only 3/4" thick. These issues can also be a factor with individual shingles.
I question the durability of the plywood backer in areas like dormers, particularly in snow country or older houses without proper insulation. I don't know if the panels come pre-finished and if the individual shingles on the panels get the backs finished. Many are now using dipped individual shingles. White cedar shingles have been the number one choice here, along the Maine coast, for hundreds of years. Many old places are still in great shape, even though things like back finishing, rain screens, building papers or wraps were not known or used.
Repairs and alterations are fairly easy with individual shingles. It's unknown if the panels you used would still be available 20-30 yrs. from now. Older panels used to just have a strip of wood the shingles were attached to and they were pretty flimsy. Use of the panels is rare up here, many yards don't stock them, they are special order, not so with ordinary shingles. Considering the reputation of older style panels along with local adherence to traditional methods, panels aren't very popular. It's hard to beat traditional, individual shingles for long term durability, weather resistance and warmth.
For near the ocean, you will have a lot of horizontal wind driven rain hitting your siding. So using these panels means you will have to depend much more heavily on doing your drainage plane and underlayment perfectly.
Also, sometimes panel work means more waste, sometimes less, depending on size and the layout of the house.
Finally if you ant woven corners instead of cornerboards, you would have to give that up to use panels.