Thread: blackwood shingles

I don't think blackwood is suitable for shingles

Hi Bob,
do you have any suggestions for suitable timber available in Tassie....only reason I queried Blackwood was Stan the rustic guy at the recent WWW show in Adelaide said Tassie Blackwood would be suitable
cheers Gordon

Blackwood is fine for shingles. Many of the older houses in Tasmania from around the turn of the previous century used them. My sister has a house built in 1864 and it has a shingle roof and a lot of other split blackwood paneling. The shingles have been covered over by roofing iron now, but 15 years ago they were the only roofing the house had. I've been up in the ceiling recently and they are still sound. I think you would have to pick your logs carefully though, try for straight grain and even growth rings, to minimise wastage due to shrinkage and warping. Oh, you must remove all traces of sapwood or the pinhole borers will give you major problems.

Island Specialty Timbers is the go for your logs. Just make sure you take someone with you who knows what to look for, when selecting logs for splitting.

If you are up around Burnie way you could try Gunns log yard at Hampshire.

thanks everyone for imput...great to have people with local knowledge willing to pass it on
cheers Gordon

Originally Posted by Ravvin71

Blackwood is fine for shingles. Many of the older houses in Tasmania from around the turn of the previous century used them. My sister has a house built in 1864 and it has a shingle roof and a lot of other split blackwood paneling. The shingles have been covered over by roofing iron now, but 15 years ago they were the only roofing the house had. I've been up in the ceiling recently and they are still sound. I think you would have to pick your logs carefully though, try for straight grain and even growth rings, to minimise wastage due to shrinkage and warping. Oh, you must remove all traces of sapwood or the pinhole borers will give you major problems.

Can you split them off the back?