Roof Shingles

If you’re thinking of heading out tonite, a big night at the local rave, perhaps a second date with that girl you met at the gym where the first date ended with a hug but you got your romantic thinking cap on and things will certainly heat up, we suggest you scrap said plans, pour a glass of grape juice, and read about roof shingles. You balk, understandably, but roof shingles are interesting and better than crawling your way to the bathroom at the local rave, wondering when music went from instruments to an emaciated European teenager behind a Macbook with an energy drink tanktop.

You see, roof shingles are more than simply a roof covering. There is some serious art involved, with shingles being made out of everything from composite materials to flagstone, woods, plastic, metal, it’s endless! The word shingle came from the German term, schindel. Roof shingles are always highly visible and many benefit from being installed on top of underlayment material. This naturally prevents leaks and other nasty surprises that arrive from snow, rain and ice. Due to increased fire hazards, old-school shingles such as those made from wood or organic asphalt are no longer in play. But you will find them still in countryside settings.

Thinking about that second date? Let’s bring you back, because now we’re going to get into the world of terracotta clay roofing shingles. Pour a second glass of grape juice and settle in. One of the more popular types of shingles, you often see these on homes throughout the southwest states and cities of the U.S. They have a desert feel, and are more energy efficient than most roofing materials. Terracotta provide a “wave-shaped” feel and are available in multiple colors and styles.

The shake roof shingle is another new player on the scene that is generating some serious buzz. These are traditional wood shakes that were fabricated by splitting logs along the grain. In use since the Colonial times, this style fell out of favor, which tends to happen with anything, but recently have fell back into favor and you’re reading about them here instead of banging your head on the shoulder of some innocent raver bystander listening to the new drum and bass mix from a DJ named Whisper Backpump.

Lastly, your second date can be postponed 10 more minutes because solar roof shingles deserve a third cup of grape juice. First developed by a company in the late 90’s named Uni-solar, solar roof shingles are thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cells that are manufactured to look just like traditional shingles. They protect your house but also simultaneously capture sunlight and power your home.

See, this last entry is amazing fodder to talk about on that date. Forget your plans for a romantic evening. Nothing gets the temperatures rising like solar talk, trust us.