, 1889-01-10
THE DURABILITY OF CEDAR
SHINGLES.

LumLermaa published at Minneapo-
lis:
Tie formation Of the shingle trust,
OF association, has caused consider
able comment. and this is by no
means of an uufavorable character,
and has lead TO large amount Of in
quiry into the value of cedar shin
giles, as compared with those manu-
factnred from the white pine of the
East Many stories were told that
sounded extravaGant, and the life OF
4 cedar shinSle was SAID to be almost
uucnding. Dete:n ined to sift the
statement down, your correspondent
paid q visit this week to Seattle, one
Of the oldest settlements on Puget
Sound. and interviewed some Of the
oldest inhabitants.
AIr. II. l.. Iesler, eX-mayor of the
city. the first to occupy that position,
and one of the original founders OF
the settlement, and one who enjoys
the respect and esteem of the people
Of the whole Sound district, when
asked what was the life of cedar
shiugle. answered, Il cannot tell; L
have never seen them worn out yet
Contiuuiug he told OF the shingles
which had been put on his original
homestead house. which stood till q
year or two ago n the corner of Front
and james streets tho principal
corner il the ci;y-but which has
since been moved back on the lot NJ
james street, aui Is low used for Of
fees. This builaing, he said, was er-
pcted in 1851, and nothing has ever
been done with the roof since. It
VIZ covered with cedar Shingles, and
although grown over with moss the
roof has nevvr leaked at any point
and is apparently as good as when
first pat on. Mr.. Yesler further said
that he mad heard the life of the or
binary sawed shingles given as twen-
ty years, bat as 4 matter Of fact he
had never known OF a case where ce-
dar shingles had either worn out or
rOtted away.
Another old settler IN Seattle Is
Mr. Garlluer Kellogg, who establish-
al the frS5 pharmacy IN the lI.tle
settlement way back in the fifties,
and who still carries on business at
the old staCd Mr.. Kellogg said that
the shingles which had been put on the
roof when the building was first er-
ected We're still there and the roof
was still intact. and so far as he knew
as good rs new At all events it had
never leaked or needed repairs of
any kind. He would not like to say
that cedar shingles would last for
ever, but he believed they would
never rot out, though in time they
might wear out; though the wearing
out process was so slow that it might
be said as was by the Psalmist that
the days OF their years We're three
score years and ten, End if by reason
of strength they We're four-score
years." etc.
Mr. l. n. Bigelow, president of the
Mechanics Mill company, in Seattle,
has resided in that city about thir-
teen years, and said when asked
about the Lifetime OF a cedar
shingle: You must ask someone who
has been here longer than | have, but
| may say that have never seen any
worn or rotted out" The cedar
shingle manufactured on Puget
Sound was not to be confounded
with the cedar shingle made IN the
East. as the latter was no better than
white pine shingle. The Puget
Sound shingle was very different
article and was practically indestruc-
tible.
Mr. Chas. Reitze, architect for the
Stetson & Post Mill company, and a
member of the Seattle city council,
has been on Puget Sound for many
years, and when asked his opinion
about cedar shingles said they were
undoubtedly the best that could be
obtained. The sawed shingle was
not as good as the ''shake"-that is q
split shinsle or a shaved shingIe.
The saw cuts the shingles against
the grain, and this had tendency
to cause the shingle to wear out. He
was of the opinion, and his opinion
was the result of long experience,
that the sawed cedar shingle would
last about twenty years, while the
split or shaved shingle would last
quite double that time
There are we'll authenticated cases
of cedar shakes" lasting forty years
and more. One of these is given on
the authority of Mr.. Edward Hug
gins, the auditor of this county. Mr..
Higgins came to this country early
in the forties in the service of the
Hudson Bay company. He became
their agent or factor for this section
of the country about 1912, and COM
menced the erection of Fort Nisquals
ly. near where Steilacoom is situated,
in 1914. This fort was covered with
cedar ''shakes," which have never
been replaced or repaired but they
still form perfect protection for the
roof. About two years ago Mr.. Hug
gins had few of them removed to
be examined, and was careful to have
those apparently most worn. These,
after forty-four years service, were
as sound as when first put on and
were but little worn; so little,indeed,
that if turned they would have lasted
another forty years easily.
1t should be mentioned that the
cedar shake" is simply a strip of ce-
dar split out of a solid block and
about quarter of an inch in thick
ness: 1t is put on the roof in rough,
just as when split, and nothing more
is done to it. Another point, too, to
be borne in mind is that speaking of
the length of time the shingles or
shakes" will last it means that they
will wear for that length of time
without being painted, whitewashed
or covered with any preservative
of any kind. If they were painted
or covered with any kind of preserva-
tive they would last almost forever.
Cedar shingles have another merit
peculiar to themselves besides the
lasting properties, and that it is that
when once laid they will ALWAYS Law
fiat, No matter what the weather is.
wet or dry, cold or hot, they will
never curl or warp as pine shingles
will. This feature, of course. rem
UprS a roof nlunh y,,Ora i,,,,,r,,-,.: -. 1 -