How to Identify a Wooden Shingle or a Wooden Shake

Visually inspect the roof from the ground. Look for smooth, flat lines to indicate a shingled roof. The more precise cutting gives shingles a tighter clearance, making the joints between rows very tight, preventing rain and wind driven snow from penetrating up into the roof. Look for differences in height from piece to piece to indicate shakes. Gaps and chinks between the individual pieces and between rows can be quite large, up to 1/4-inch. Because of this shakes provide less protection against severe weather.

Measure the widths of the pieces. Shingles will typically vary by as much as 1/2 inch in their cut width, while shakes may vary by an inch or more. Shingles also have square vertical edges, while shakes may appear to slant at the edges slightly into more of a wedge-like shape. Measure the thickness of the pieces. Look for uniform thickness ranging from 3/8-to-1/2-inch to indicate the more precise shingles. Look for wide ranging thickness from 1/2-inch to over 3/4-inches to indicate shakes.

Examine the face of the shingles or shakes. Look for smooth, even grain in shingles, with the faces having a slight sheen, and a slightly rough, but even feel when you rub your fingers over them. Look for rough, almost grooved surfaces in shakes. The splitting procedure allows the wood to separate along its own natural lines, leading to grooves and ridges as high as 1/4-inch.