Shingles changed colour

[Fkendall]

I bought my Thornhill house about 18 years ago! Began it then and only found time to get back to it now I'm retired. I had attached some of the shingles and they have darkened and the ones I'm applying now are a completely different colour. Will the new ones age darker to match the others? Or must I paint them all? Any ideas grateful received!

[KathieB]

I think I'd first try a stain to darken the lighter shingles so they blend. If that doesn't suit, then perhaps painting all of them. The newer ones may darken, but the original ones have an 18-year head start. The new ones may never catch up!

[Fkendall]

Thanks Kathie. I’ll try that. Then hope they don’t continue to change!

[havanaholly]

I feel your pain, Frances.  I shingled my Glencroft pub with black construction paper shingles I'd layered and colored to make them look like slates.  Over the course of three of four years sitting in our livingroom with the North Florida sun shining through the curtains the shingles turned construction paper tan.  We have since moved and the pub sits in a much less sunny spot, and the shingles have since been painted a dark gray.

[Fkendall]

Thanks for this. I hope I won’t have to paint as the variation in the wood will be lost. Though I suppose I could try to imitate it. Good to be aware of protection from the sun!

[havanaholly]

If you can match the color of the older shingles with stain on the newer ones you should be OK.

[Fkendall]

I will try, thanks. 

[havanaholly]

I have also thinned latex paint 'way down with water and used that to stain shingles:

[Fkendall]

OK that is useful. Looks good.

[Kells]

3 hours ago, havanaholly said:

I have also thinned latex paint 'way down with water and used that to stain shingles:

Holly beat me to it. I use watered down latex craft paint. Like, really watered down, 50/50. I've personally only used gray for that method, because I wanted my cedar shingles (exactly like yours) to have that weathered, aged cedar New England coastal appearance. It worked beautifully. I prefer that method to stain. It retains color variations from shingle to shingle very well so you don't end up with that "brand new, installed yesterday" appearance.

Just be sure to use that blue painter's tape (or some kind of tape) under the eaves all the way around. Watered-down paint will run and you don't want that pouring down all over your house. It'll happen no matter how quick you are with a wipe-up rag.

[Fkendall]

But I guess I would have to get all the shingles the same darkness first?

[Kells]

Yes, and smack me for not touching on that. You may want to try a darker gray first, less watered down. At least on the lighter colored areas. You don't need to (and probably never could anyway!) get them all the exact shade. A wash will help blend everything together. I used three different shades of gray and just applied it haphazardly for a blended look.

My shingles were all random from various lots I'd acquired over the years. Some were very dark, just like yours, and some were light. HOWEVER, I was applying mine randomly, and I just realized that (DUH!), I did not have to deal with that clear dividing line like you have.

Can you remove some of the darker ones, say from the rear of the roof, and try out some different wash techniques to see how they blend? If you try the wash and it doesn't blend them together well, you can always try painting them first. I know you don't want a painted look and I don't blame you. However, if you do some light sanding afterward to tone down the paint and give variations in the shading, a wash should then work wonders to blend things together.

I'd experiment off the house if I were you, even if that means having to re-do a small area of shingling. Easily removed, easily replaced.

[Fkendall]

Thanks Kelly, I will experiment a bit as you suggest. Lots of useful ideas for me to try. I first have to finish quite a bit of shingling. 

[FurMama]

I got my Thornhill about that same time but mine is still in pieces and parts. Maybe when I retire in 4 years I can get going on it! I have a small gazebo that had cedar shingles my dad made that were way too dark and filthy after years in my hobby house out back. They had beed sealed only no paint. I stripped them with Ready Strip paint and varnish remover. It was stinky and messy but worked. I don't think I would try that on a Thornhill though...too big and that house is too special. Good luck!

[Fkendall]

I can't strip anything as it is just raw wood darkened by light exposure. I have begun staining the remaining wood darker to get a tonal match. Once I have finished that I will have to paint the entire roof to match the density!  I will post a pic when i'm happy. Look forward to you joining me on the Thornhill when you retire! 

[Fkendall]

So in the end I have painted the entire roof with DecoArt Americana acrylics. I am happy with it. Nearly finished then I will paint the house yellow.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Fkendall

[Medieval]

From your picture, I would never have guessed the roof was painted.  It looks natural and GREAT!

[miniaddicted]

That worked out really well!

[Fkendall]

Thanks Heidi, we don't have shingled houses in SA so I worked from photos of cedar shingles in US. More colorful than the real deal I think but it is a dolls house!

[miniaddicted]

I am not a well-traveled person, and can't say I have much knowledge about SA so this is interesting to me! 

[havanaholly]

I googled images of South African house roofs and saw a very few that looked like shingles; mostly flat roofs, tile & thatch, and I'd be very interested in what is used for thatch and how it's applied to keep bugs out.

[Fkendall]

By far the majority of houses in SA are built from brick with tiled roofs, though corrugated iron roofs are popular in rural areas. Thatch is used but uncommon in cities but very common for traditional African dwellings. In both cases local dried grasses or reeds are used. Probably sprayed for insects, but on a recent trip to the bush (Safari) I stayed in a thatched house and there were lots of insects, geckos, mice & even bats in the roof!  I’ve never seen shingles here, or clapboard. Without the big forests you have in the USA wood has never been a primary building material in Africa, though my own house is wood framed with corrugated iron clashing and roof, but that is very unusual. 

[havanaholly]

A lot of the shingles in the US are being made from materials other than wood.  I asked about the bugs because I lived in Florida much of my life and the state in its infinite wisdom (yes, I'm being sarcastic) decided to simulate some of the Seminole architectural features in some of its State Parks, especially the palm thatch, which is favored by all the critters you mention, especially palmetto bugs, my least favorite insect next to their first cousins, cockroaches.

[Fkendall]

Seems a pity houses aren’t built from natural materials anymore, but I suppose there are advantages. Also seams we can rely on governments to make dumb decisions! I don’t think we get palmetto bugs here but in general we probably have more and wider variety of insects than US - and apparently they play an NB role. 

[havanaholly]

We hike and paddle kayaks, so get to see a lot of how the natural world functions just fine without human interference.  I sometimes think the nastier bugs come into our houses just to exact vengeance.