we are building a shingle style house in NH and want the shingle to “weather” gray and not turn black as so often happens inland. We have heard that you can buy prefinished shingles using cabot bleaching oil and are wondering how to figure out which would be the less expensive and wisest route to go: pre-finished or having the painter stain the shingles once they’re applied. Is there a reason to think that the prefinishing on the back side of the shingle is important for the life of the shingle? I suppose the cheapest way of all is for us to pre-stain the shingles ourselves which might be an option also.
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My understanding is that it is the type/species of shingle wood used which determines the color, although I have also heard it said that the salt in the air affects the color as well.
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Bob
I think that it is a combination of things.
I am in the Kansas City area, a mixed misserable climate.
I have WRC shakes as decorative siding on a small entrance area. It is semi protected. Now the drier area have retained their red color (no sun on them), but the areas exposed to splashing have some black on them.
On the north side of the house I have wRC 2x4 that are mounting blocks to hold a sailboat mast and boom.
Because of the overhang that area stays dry and in the summer it does get direct sun.
Those have the most beautiful silver color.
Whenever we have priced it out, it has been considerably cheaper to have the painter stain them in place. No the shingles are not stained on the backs or even much in the cracks. This is a slight downside but they shingles that I have seen worn out completely are not degraded in these areas. They deteriorate in the exposed face, mostly from the action of the sun. The shingles that are tucked under an overhang are almost as good as the day they were put up, sometimes a hundred years ago.