1:35 Šindele

Roofing that gives away the age of a building

Split shingles covered cottages, barns and wayside chapels in central Europe for centuries and lasted on rural buildings until the middle of the twentieth century. A weathered roof with a sagging ridge and missing pieces can tell more in a model than the whole facade below it.

Two sheets of wood

The package contains two wooden sheets. The choice of material matters more with roofing than elsewhere, because a shingle on a real roof dries out, cracks along the grain and grays with the weather. Cut wood will repeat that behavior of its own accord, whereas a pressed sheet would need every one of those features imitated by hand.

Laying the roofing

• Work from the eaves upwards; each course overlaps the joint of the one before it
• Mark the base out in advance, or the courses will diverge and the ridge will not come out right
• Turn the individual pieces slightly; a perfectly aligned roof looks like plastic
• Apply a gray wood stain only after gluing, so that it soaks into the joints as well
• A missing shingle with the batten visible beneath it is the simplest way to give a building age

Laser cutting and the mark it leaves

Cutting wood with a beam leaves a dark strip of scorching on the edges. On roofing it can be counted an advantage, because shadow naturally appears between shingles and a dark line will only strengthen it. Anyone who wants a clean surface can go over the area with abrasive before starting to glue.

The sheets can also be used on smaller areas such as a shelter over a well, a shed or a porch. Work out the area of the roof before building and plan the sheets around it.