CA1193417A - Roof or sidewall construction - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Generally rectangular wood shake covering elements laid up in over-lapping courses are spaced apart transversely of their lengths by sawn wood shingle filler elements. Preferably the major portion of the overlapped portion of each course is formed by the tips of the sawn shingle filler elements, whereas the major portion of the exposed portion of each course is formed by the wood shake covering elements. One of such elements can be notched providing a transversely extending shoulder dividing such element into tip and butt portions of unequal width. In application, the shoulder tightly abuts the adjacent element. The covering and filler elements can be used to construct a roofing panel which includes a sawn shingle underlayer beneath each course and waterproof paper which underlies at least the major portion of the shingle underlayer but which is secured to the roofing panel by having one end portion interposed between the underlayer and the covering or filler element at one end of the panel. The covering elements can have registered kerf lines to align the successive courses of panels.

Description

48()(l-243D

Tlle present invelltioll relates to slopillg roofs and upright side-walls of the type hcl~ing horizontal rows of wooden covering eleJnents applied in overlapping courses.
It is knowllto apply generally r~ctangular wood shakes in over-lappillg courses to form the roof of a building structure. The adjacent sides of adjacent shakes in a course are always spaced apart slightly to enable expansion of the shakes transversely of the grain resulting from changes in ~oiskure content and/or temperature without buckling.

Strips of building felt under the shakes of one course may cover the tip portions of the shakes of the next lower course. Nevertheless, rain or snow may be blown upward through the spaces between adjacent shakes and beneath the felt strips, which results in leaks. In addition, in case of a :roof fire, air circulates readily between the shakes increasing the rate at which the fire spreads. As evidenced by United States patent Nos. 3,664,081, issued May 23, 1972 to Martin et al. and Re 27,574, issued February 6, 1973 to Krough et al., the problem of blowback of rain and snow previously has been reco~nized, and it has been proposed to apply a furring strip adjacent to the upper edge of each course of shakes.

Multipiece shingle panels are known utilizing an elongated backing board to which a course of shingles is applied. In the panel disclosed in Martin United States patent No. 3,440,777, issued April 29, 1969, a sheet - of waterproof material, an underlayer course of shingles and a face course of shakes are secured to an elongated "base strip" which can be plywood.
In the panel disclosed in Chandler et al. United States patent No.
3,068,920, issued December 18, 1962, shakes are laid over a veneer strip which, in turn is laid over a course of shingles.
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47/81 DIV t :lt ls a.n object ot -the present lnvention to provlde a roof or sidewall structure of the type including wood shakes applied in overlapping courses, in which the adjacent sides o:E the exposecl portions of adjacPnt shakes may be spaced apart without increasing the tendency of the roof or sidewall structure to lea.k due to blowback and wi.thout increasing the rate at which fire would spread should a fire occur.
It also is an object to provide such a structure which retains the durability and appearance of shakes while reducing the amount o-f shake material required.
A further object is to provide such a roof or sidewall structure using component parts that are easy to manufacture, formed from readily available building elements and easy to apply.
The foregoing objects can be accomplished in a covering for a sur-face of a building structure, such covering including separate covering elements applied in side adjacent relationship in each of several courses having respective butt a.nd tip portions with the tip portion of a lower çourse being overlapped by the butt portion of the next higher course and the butt portion of such lower course being exposed, the improvement com-prising each of a plurality of such courses including a row of generally

2~ side adjacent sawn wood shingles at least partially underlying the butt portion of the next higher course and a row o:E generally side adjacent wood shakes overlying the tip portion o:E the ne~t lower course, said wood shakes constituting at least the major portion of the exposed portion o:E their course.
ITI drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention:
Figure 1 and Figllre 2 are top perspectives of component parts of a roo-L structurc .in acco:rclclllce with tl~e l~resellt :inverlt:ioll, I:igure l showillg all :illdiViCIUal XCllera~ reCtClnglllar COVerillg e~lemellt, S~lCh as a shake, con-structed in acco:rdarlce w:ith the invention, and Figure 2 showi-lg a plug or filler~ such as a sawn shingle, constructed in accordance with the invention;
Figurc 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic top perspective of a portion of a roof structure i.n accordance with the present inven~ion using the com-ponents of Figures 1 and 2, parts being shown in exploded relationship;
Figure ~ is a top plan of a portion of a roof structure in accord-ance with the present invention using the components of Figures 1 and 2, and Figure 5 is a section taken along line 5--5 of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a top perspeciive of a roof or sidewall panel in accordance with the present invention, Figure 7 is a top perspective of the panel of Figure 6 with parts being shown in exploded relationship, Figure 8 is a top plan of the panel of Figure 6, Figure 9 is a section taken along line 9--9 of Figure 8, and Figure 10 is a section taken along line lO--lO
of Figure 8;
Figure ll is a somewha.t diagrammatic top perspective of a plural-ity of panels of the type shown in Figure 6, illustrating application of the panels to form a roof covering, Figure 12 is a corresponding top perspec-tive showing two of such panels in exploded relationshlp, and Figure 13 is a top plan of a portion of a representative roof structure formed by such panels;
Figure 1~ is a top perspective of a second roof or sidewall panel in accordance with the present invention, parts being shown in exploded re-lationship, Figure 15 is a top perspective of a portion of a roof struct-lre :i.n accordance wi-th the present inverltioll using panels of the t~e show~

~, ~a~ t~

~igurc 1(l, parts l~eillg brokell away, alld ~.igure :16 :is a scct.iorl takell a1ong e 16--16 o:E :~ igure 15;
Figures 17 and 18 are top i~erspectives of compoll~nt parts of another roof structure in accordance with the present invention, Figure 17 showing a wide individual generally rectangular covering element, such as a shake, hav-ing a narrower backing layer, and Figure 18 showing a narrow plug or filler, such as a sawn shingle, having a wider backing layer;
Figure 19 is a top perspective of a roof or sidewall panel using the components illustrated in Figures 17 and 1~, parts being broken away, and Fig-ure 20 is a somewhat diagram~atic top perspective o:f a portion of a roof structure in accordance with the presçnt invention using roofing panels of the type shown in Figure 19, parts of the panels being broken away;
Figures 21 and 22 are top perspectives of component parts o-f still another roof structure in accordance with the present invention, Figure 21 showing a modified covering element component,and Figure 22 showing a modified plug or filler component; and Figure 23 is a top perspective of a roof or sidewall panel using the components shown in Pigures 21 and 22, parts being broken away, and Figure 24 is a somewhat diagranmatic top perspective of a portion of a roof structure in accordance with the present invention using roofing panels of the type shown in Figure 23, parts of the panels being broken away.
For purposes of this applicatlon "wood shingles" defines generally rectangular wooden covering elements usually applied in side-by-side rela-tionship in each of several overlapping courses to cover a sloping roof or an upright sidewall supporting structure. The term is generic to "sawn shingles"
and "shakes".

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"S;lwll sllingles" llave smooth sawn upper and lower surf,Lces, almost always are t~lpered ill thicklless lengtllwise of the grain alld usually are 16 inches (40.5 cm~ to 18 inches ~45.7 cm) in length and may he of uniform or ~andom width.
"Shakes" have at least their upper surfaces formed by splitting, or at least upper surfaces tha-t have been grooved to resemble a split surface such as by rotating steel brushes or by heing milled. Shakes sometimes are tapered lengthwise of the grain and typically are 24 inches (61 cm) in length and of random width.
The butts of tapered shakes generally are thicker than the butts of tapered sawn shingles. The more time-consuming manufacturing operation and the requirement of using higher grade material, and more of it, make shakes substantially more expensive than sawn shingles.
In accordance with the present invention and as shown in Figure 1, one component part of a roof or sidewall structure in accordance with the present invention is a generally rectangular individual covering element, such as a wood shake l~ which has a rough upper surface and preferably is tapered in thickness. Such a shake includes a thicker but~ end 2, a thinner tip end 3 and longitudinal sides 4 connecting the shake butt cmd tip ends. The sides 4 of the shake are stepped, providing transverse shoulders 5 facing the tip end of the shake and dividing the shake into a narrower tip portion 6 and a wider butt portion 7. The opposite sides of the shake tip and butt portions are generally parallel and each shoulder 5 e~tends substantially perpendicu-lar to such sides, such that the side of each butt portion is of:~set from the corresponding side of the tip portion a distance equal to the depth of a shoulder. Preferably ~he two shoulders are of the same depth, whicll should be within the range of 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) and l-l/2 inches (3.S Clll~, preer-ably being about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm).

As S~IOW~ igure 2, -thc secollcl com~onerlt o:E a roof or sidewall structurc :in accordallce Witil the ~resent inverltioll is a generally recta]lg-uklr plug or fillcr 8 whicil conve~iently may be cut from a sawn wood shillgle.
Such a filler has a thicker butt end 9, a thinner tip end 10 and parallel sides 11 connecting the butt and tip ends. The length of the filler is approximately the same as the length of the shake tip portion 6. The width of the filler is substantially greater, preferably about 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) to 1-1/2 inches (3.8 cm) greater, than the combined depths of two shoulders 5. If the shoulders are 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) deep~ the filler should be about 1-3/4 inches (4.4 cm~ to 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide, preferably about 2-1/4 inches (5.7 cm) wide. The thickness or height of the filler butt should be approximately the same as the thickness of a shake at its shoulders.
The components shown in Figures 1 and 2 are utilized in a roof structure _ in the manner shown in Figures 3, ~ and 5. Such roof structure includes roof boards or sheathing S on which a layer of roofing felt F or other waterproof material is laid. Except in the starter course, a shake 1 is applied over the tip portions of shakes in the next lower course. The tip portion of such shake partially overlies the boards or sheathing S. Next a filler 8 is applied with one of its sides 11 substantially in engagement with a side of the tip portion 6 of the shake just applied and the butt 9 o the filler abutting a shake shoulder 5. Next, another shake is applied with a side of its tip portion substalltially in engagement with the side 11 of the filler opposite the filler side adjacent to the first shake and a shoulder 5 o the second shake abutting the butt 9 of the filler.
Since the width o:F the filler is substcmtially greater than the combined depths of the shoulders it engages, the adjacent sides o:f the butt q ~J

porti.ons 7 of adjacellt shlkes are spac:cd apart at least to the extent that thc w:idth o-E the Elller exceeds the combined depths of the shake shoulders.
Tlle shake butt portions should be spac,ed apart at least 1/4 inch ~o.64 cm).
A pleasing rustic appearance, and a substantial saving of the more expensive shake material, can be achieved with substantially greater spacing of the shake butt portions. In one embodiment of the invention~ the width of a filler exceeds the combined depths of two shoulders by about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) so that the shake butt portions are spaced apart about 3/4 i.nch (1.9 cm).
The application method is continued to form a course C of alter-nating shakes and fillers with the butt ends 2 of the shakes substantiallycoplanar. Successive overlapping courses C then are applied with the spaces between shakes of each succeeding course out of registration with the spaces between the shakes of the preceding course.
The spacing of the shake shoulders from the shake butt end 2 is deter~nined by the length of the shake butt portion it is desired to expose '~ to the weather. Such shoulders should be overlapped approximately 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) by the shakes of the next succeeding course. In a representative installation, the shakes are 24 inches (61 cm) long with about 10 inches (25.4 cm) of the butt portion of each shake exposed to the weather. In such a representative installation~ each shake shoulder is spaced about 10-1/2 inches (26.7 cm) :Erom the butt end of the shake.
The thickness or height of the butt ends 9 of the fillers 8 are sub-stantially equal to the thi.ckness of the shakes 1 at the shoulders 5 and the filler butts abut the shake shoulders tightly, so that such fillers form plugs between adjacent shakes at their shoulders. Also~ the thickness o:E a filler throughout its leng~h should be approximately equal to the correspondillg tll:icklless of tlle <-~cljacellt slnlke ti.p portlons so that the bottom surfaces of the shakes o:E eacll course closely overl:ie the upper surfaces of the shakes and :E:illcrs o:E tlle next lower course.
T}le fillers prevent rain or snow E:ronl being blown up between the sides of shakes in the same course and between the upper surfaces of shakes in a lower course and the bottom surfaces of shakes in the next higher course~
assuring that the completed roof structure is weathertight. In addition, in case of fire, the fillers or plugs act as fire stops deterring the passage of air between adjacent shakes so that the fire will spread less quickly than without such fillers or plugs.. Further, as discussed above, the use o~ wide fillers spacing apart the adjacent edges of the butt portions of adjacent shakes provides a substantial saving in expensive shake material and gives a pleasing rustic appearance to the completed roof structure without reducing its weathertight character.
The embodi.ment of the present invention shown in Figures 6 through 13 uses covering element and plug or filler components to form a roofing panel. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the covering element is a generally rectangular shake 1' which has a butt end 2', a tip end 3' and generally par-allel longitudinal sides 4' connecting the shake butt and tip ends. The opposite sides of the shake are generally parallel cmd~ preferably, the shake is tapered in thickness from the butt end 2' to the tip end 3'. Although the shake is approximately 12 inches ~30.5 cm) in length, its thickness and taper are the same as the butt portion of a standard 24 inch (61 cm) shake.
Approximately a 2 inch (5 cm) wide portion of the rough upper surface of each shake is removed adjacent to the tip end 3', such as by routing, leaving a kerf line 12 parallel -to the butt end 2' and tip end 3'.

--S--rl`llc pl~lg or ~EiLlcr compol-lel~t 8' oE the rooEing pullel may he Cllt Erom cl sawll wood shillgle. Srlcll filler includes a butt en~ 9', a tip end 10' alld lollgltudillal sides 11' conllectirlg thc Eiller butt and tip ends. One of the sldes lL' of the filler is stepped, providing a -transverse shoulder 5' Eacing the butt end of the filler and dividing the filler into a wider tip portion 6' and a narrower butt portion 7'. The opposite sides of the filler tip and butt portions are generally parallel and the shoulder ex-tends sub-stantially perpeildicular to such sides.
The width of the filler tip portion 6' should equal the combined widths oE the filler butt portion 7' and the shake 1' which will abut the filler shoulder 5' when the roofing panel is assembled with the butt portion 7' of the filler fitted between adjacent shakes; that is, the lateral extent or depth of the filler shoulder 5' ~s approximately equal to the width of the shake. Therefore, the upper portion of the stepped side of the filler will be in registration with a side of the shake. If a single sawn shingle filler piece is narrower than the preferred width, a filler extender 8a may be used to form the composite fil:Ler as shown toward the left of Figure 6.
Preferably the length of the filler tip portion 6', i.e. the dis-tance from the tip end 10' to the shoulder 5', is approximately the same as the length of the shake l'. The thickness or height of ~he filler but-t por-tion 7' should be approximately the same as the thickness of the portioll of an adjacent shake with which it is generally aligned when the roofing panel is assembled, as best sGen in Figure 10.
The covering element and filler componerlts can be assembled Wit]l an underlayer 13 of sawn shingles 1~l and suitable waterproof sheet material 15 to form the roofing or sidewall panel 16 shown in Figures 6 and 7. The )

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SaWII silillgleS 1~l oL' tllc ullderlaycr 13 are lowgracle sawn shlngles which may inclucle ]cllots, for exa~ )le. Pre~erably, the lulderlayer shillgles 14 are tap-ered from their butt ends 17 to their l:ip ends 18.
As showll in Figures 7 alld 9, the waterproof sheet material 15, which can be standard roofing felt, underlies the major portion of the under-layer 13 of sawn shingles 14 and is secured to the panel at one end by being interposed between a narrow underlayer sawn shingle 20 and the adjacent covering element and filler components. This method of securing the water-proof paper into the roofing panel enables simple construction of the roof-ing panel and avoids tacking the sheet at both ends of the roofing panelwhich, as a result of poor workmanship, could result in wrinkles and in the eventual loss of watertight integrity.
To assemble the roofing panel 16, the underlayer sawn shingles i4 are arranged over the waterproof sheet material 15, with the exception of the end sawn shingle 20 which is overlapped by the sheet. Such underlayer shiilgles are assembled iTI side adjacent relationship with the adjacent sides of adjacent shingles spaced apart slightly and the butt ends of such shing-les substantially coplanar. The shakes 1' and fillers ~' are applied al-ternately over the underlayer. The shakes cover the major portion of the lower half of the underlayer sawn shingle course and the shake butt ends 2' overhang the butt encls 17 of the underlayer sawn shingles. Adjacent shakes are spaced apart by the butt portion 7' of a filler 8', and the opposite sides of such filler butt portion preferably are in substantially contiguous en-gagement with the sides of the adjacent shakes. Similarly, preferably the filler shoulder 5' is substalltially contiguously abutted by the shclke tip end 3'. Filler extenders ~a are applied as re~uired to assure that the uppe portion o~f the co~ se ot ullderllyer sawn shingles is covered by the ti~ por-tions 6' oE the ~f:illers whlch include the extenders ~a. Such filler t:ip portions overllclllg the til)s of the underlayer sawn shirlgles. Care is taken to ensure tha-t nolle of the spaces between adjacent shakes exposes a joint between adjacent underlayer shingles.
The roofing or sidewall panel components are secured in convelltion-al manner su~h as with staples 19 as indicated, for example, in Figure 8.
The staples can be applied through the shakes 1' in the area between the tip end 3' and the kerf lille 12, and through the fillers 8' in the filler tip portions 6' so that the staples will be hidden by the successive course of roofing panels. The kerf line 12 serves as a guide to align the successive courses of assembled panels as seen, for example, in Figures ll and 12. By securing the successive courses of panels to the roof or sidewall with the lower ends o the underlayer sawn shingles of the successive panel aligned with the kerf line 12 of the shakes of the next lower panel, the successive courses are maintained parallel and a uniform exposure is assured.
The end portion of the waterproof sheet 15 opposite the end secur-ed over the end underlayer shingle 20 extends beyond the sawn shingle under-layer, and tlle secured end portion of the sheet, as best seen in Figure 9, extends beyond the exposed side of the sawn shingle 20 up to the exposed side of the covering element and filler which are secured over the sawn shingle 20. Therefore, as a course of roof panels is laid up on a building structure, the covering element and iller secured over the sawn shingle 20 overlap the exposed end portion of -the sawn shingle underlayer of the pre-ceding roof panel. In addition, th~ waterproof slleet 15 of the preceding panel underlies a portion of the sawn shingle underlayer of the succeedillg a l q ~ r~

Thc lcngtil of ti~e tiller hutt portioll 7' depends Oll whether the lower -tip of the butt portion is -to he exposecl, as illdicated in F;gures ll, 12 arlcl 13, or is to be completely overlapped by a parlel of the nex-t higher course. The exposed butt portion embodiment of Figure 12 is preferred, since the exposed butt portion 7' would cover knots and other defects in the sawn shingles 14 of the roof panel underlayer 13. This allows use of a lower grade underlayer sawn shingle~ without reducing the attractiveness of the finished roof or sidewall.
The embodiment shown in Figures 14 to 16 is identical to the em-bodiment shown in Figures 6 through 13 with the exceptions that; both sides 11" of each of the fillers 8" is stepped, forming two shoulders5" each of which e~ctends substantially perpendicular to the filler sides, dividing the filler into a butt portion 7" and a tip portion 6" of unequal width; and the butt por~ion 7" of the filler is shor.er. Although slightly more expen-sive to construct~ this embodiment improves the weathertightness of the re-sulting roofing panel because the tip end 3' of both adjacent covering ele-ments 1' abut a shoulder 5" of the filler. The shorter filler butt portions extend downward between adjacent shakes only to the kerf line 12. Therefore, as shown in Figure 15, the butt end 9" of the filler 8" is not exposed in the completed roof structureJ resulting in a somewhat different appearance than the embodiment of Figures 6 through 13.
The embodlment of the present i nvention shown in Figures 17 to 20 utilizes a composite shake covering element 21 ~nd a composite sawn shingle filler element 30. The shake covering element 21, shown in Figure 17, in-cludes a 2~ inch ~61 cm) shake 21a whic}l is approximately 5/S inch ~1.6 Clll~
in -thickness at its butt end 22 and 1/16 inch ~.16 cm) in thicklless at its ti.p encl 23. l'he sides 2~1 o:t the shalce are stepped, yroviding transverse shoulders 25 facillg the tip portion 26 which is narrower than the butt por-ti.on 27. I`lle opposite sides o:f the shake -ti.p and butt portions are gener-ally parallel, alld each shoulder 25 extends substantially perpendicular to such sides. The two shoulders are of the same depth, preferably approxi-mately 1/2 inch (1.3 cm).
The composite shake covering element 21 includes an 18 inch (~S.7 cm) underlayer sawn shingle 28, narrower than the shake 21a, later-ally centered beneath the shake with the underlayer shingle butt end 29 substantially coplanar with the shake butt end 22. The underlayer shingle butt end thickness is approximately .45 inches (1.15 cm). The underlayer shingle 28 can be secured to the shake 21a by blind staples, that is, staples of lengths less than the combined thicknesses of the underlayer shingle 28 and shake 21a, such staples being applied from the underside of the underlayer shingle.
The composite sawn shingle filler element 30, shown in Figure 18, includes two 18 inch (~5.7 cml sawn shingles 31, 32 having butt ends 33, 3~, respectively, each approximately .~5 inch (1.15 cm) in thickness.
Such shingles are tapered toward their tip ends 35, 36, respectively. The upper or face shingle 31 is generally rectangular and has stepped longitud-inal sides 37 providing transverse shoulders 38 facing the butt end 33 of the face shingle 31 and dividing the face shingle into a narrower butt por-tion 39 and a wider tip portion ~0O The opposite sides of the face shingle tip and butt portions are generally parallel and each shoulder 3S extends substantially perpendicular to such sides. The two shoulders are of the same depth, preferably approximately 1/2 inch (1.3 cm).

S ,~

A back;rlg or ullderlclyer sawrl shillgle 32 of the composite filler elemcllt 30 is gellerally ~ectallgular in shape, having parallel sides 41 conllectlllg the blltt ancl tip ends 3~ and 36, respectively. Tlle width of the backing shillgle 32 is greater than the w;dth of the -tip portion 40 of the face shingle 31, such that the bclcking shingle extends laterally beyond the opposite sides of the butt portion 39 of the face shingle a distance approx-imately equal to the la~eral overlap of the shake 21a beyond the sides of the underlayer sawn shingle 28. The length of the butt portion 39 of the ace shingle 31 is approximately 5 to 5-1/2 illches (12.7 to 14 cm), and the face shingle 31 is secured to the backing shingle 32 with, for example, blind staples, so that the butt end 33 of the face shingle 31 is offset approximatel~ 5 to 5-1/2 inches (12.7 to 14 cm) from the but~ end 34 of the backing shingle 32.
The composite components 21 and 30 are laid up on a roof or a wall with the sides of the sawn underlayer shingle 28 and backing shingle 32 closely adjacent and a portion of the butt portion 27 Gf the shake 21a overlying a portion of the backing shingle 32. The butt end 34 of the back-ing shingle 32 is substantially coplanar with the butt end 29 of the wlcler-layer shingle 28, the upper surface of the face shingle 31 is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the shake 21a and the adjacent shoulders 25 and 38 interlock, as shown in Figure 19.
The components are applied to a roofing felt-covered roo:E or side-wall with nails slmilar to the components of Figures 1 and 2 e~cept that a composite shake covering element 21 cmd a c~omposite sawn shingle filler element 30 are applied at the same time so that a portion of the shake ~la will overlie a portion oE both adjacent backing shingles 32 and the longi-tucl:inal side~ 2~1 ol`-tlle sl~ake 21a w;ll substantlally abut the adjclcent sides 37 o-~ both acljacen~ face shillgles 31. With the componellts so positioned, tlle shoulders 25 of the shake 21a and adjacellt shoulders 38 of the ~djacent face shingles 31 are abutted tightly. A succeeding course is applied with the butt portions of the components overlying the tip portions of the com-ponents of the previous course, covering the shoulders and nails of the previous course. Since both faces of each course are substantially coplanar, the butt portion of the succeeding course closely overlies the previous course~ deterring blowback of rain and reducing the rate at which fire would spread should a fire occur.
Since only S to 5-1/2 inches (12.7 to 14 cm) of the face shingle 31 and backing shingle 32 are exposed, only 5 ~o 5-1/2 inches ~12.7 to i4 cm) of each of the shingles must be clear~ that is, free of defects. There-fore, a less expensive shingle material may be used without loss of weath-ertightness.
To increase the ease and speed of application, the composite cov-ering elements 21 and camposite filler elements 30 can be assembled into a panel ~2~ shown in Figure 19, prior to being secured to the roof or side-wall. The panel components can be secured together by blind staples, for example, with a portion of the shakes 21a overlying portions of the adjacent backing shingles 32, the adjacent sides of the shakes 21a and face shingles 31 substan-tially abutting, and the adjacent s-houlders abutting. Application of the panel of a sllcceeding eourse over the pallel of a preceding course is illustrated in Figure 20. Preferably the sides of the wood shingles of the succeeding course are not aligned with the sides of the wood shingles of the preceding course.

., I:igures 2.1 ~:o 24 show a :I~`urther mocli f:icat:ion in which the shake 21a' alld the .face shi.llgle 31' are gelle:rally rectanglllar and clo not include step~ed s:icles -Eorm;.ng shoulders. The composite shake covering element 21' alld composite filler element 30' are applied to a roof or sidewall with the butt end 22' o the shake 21a' and the butt encl 34' of backing shingle 32' substantially coplanar, a portion of shake 21a' overlapping a portion of back-ing shlngle 32', and the adjacent sides 24' and 37' subs~.antially abutting.
Although less resistant to blowback and spread of fire~ the embodiment of Figures 21 to 24 requires less material and milling and, therefore, is less expensive to manufacture.
Another modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 21 is the use of two narrow underlayer sawn shingles 28' in place of one underlayer sawn shingle. This allows the use of otherwise scrap sawn shingles.
The ~igures 21 and 22 elements can be assembled into a panel 42', shown in Figure 23, similar to the panel 42 shown in Figure 19. As shown in Figure 24~ the roofing panels 42' can be applied to a roofing felt-covered roof-supporting structure with the shakes 21a' of one course in alignment with the shakes of the preceding course. However, the sides of the wood shingles of the succeeding course preferably are not aligned with the sides of the wood shingles of the preceding course. Optionally, shakes and face shingles of random widths can be used so that some of the grooved shakes of one course will be in regi.stration and some will be out of registration with the shakes of the preceding course~

Claims (4)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. In a covering for a surface of a building structure, such covering including separate covering elements applied in side adjacent relationship in each of several courses having respective butt and tip portions with the tip portion of a lower course being overlapped by the butt portion of the next higher course and the butt portion of such lower course being exposed, the improvement comprising each of a plurality of such courses including a row of generally side adjacent sawn wood shingles at least partially underlying the butt portion of the next higher course and a row of generally side adjacent wood shakes overlying the tip portion of the next lower course, said wood shakes constituting at least the major portion of the exposed portion of their course.

2. In the covering defined in claim 1, sawn wood shingle filler elements having portions fitted between the adjacent sides of adjacent shakes.

3. In the covering defined in claim 1, or 2, sawn wood shingles con-stituting at least the major part of that portion of a sawn wood shingle course underlying the butt portion of the next higher course.

4. In the covering defined in claim 1, the adjacent sides of adjacent wood shakes in a row being spaced apart a substantial distance.