Stained Shingle Industry Increases Remarkably

By Donald H. Clark, Manager the Starks Manufacturing Company, Seattle

A decade ago stained wooden shingles were in the class of an experimental building material. Today in most parts of the United States they are as standard an item in the progressive lumber yard as 2 x 4s or flooring. Some of the more progressive dealers in territories where stained shingles are enjoying the greatest demand sell practically no unstained shingles whatever.

It is not necessary to conduct an elaborate investigation to discover the reason for this remarkable growth. From the inception of the industry, stained shingles have been heavily advertised and well merchandised. The idea of color on the roof is the biggest factor in the campaign. House builders have always assumed that sidewalls should be colored but until recent years little attention was given to the decorated value of the roof. The portrayal of dwellings of every type with the proper color effect on the roof has sold the stained shingle idea to the architect, contractor, and home builder, and a point certainly not be overlooked by the woman.

With shingles stained before applying, any color effects are possible that cannot be secured by staining or painting the roof after the shingles have been laid. This refers particularly to the "variegated" or "tapestry" effect which is so popular in most regions. A variegated roof in differert color effects can be designed for almost any type of home in either harmonious or contrasting effects. Harmonious effects are usually secured by the use of several different shades of the same color, such as three or four different shades of green. Contrasting effects are secured by using very widely separated colors such as grays, blues, reds, and greens.

One of the essential elements in the success of the stained shingle is the fact that it is really economy to use stained shingles rather than for the builder to attempt to apply the raw shingles and color them after they are laid. The staining of a shingle after it is placed on the roof requires two brush coats_ to give proper durability. ff a reasonably good shingle stain is used, the cost of the shingles, stain, and labor, would exceed the cost of the shingles that were stained before being put in place. Painting a roof is very much more expensive than either of these two methods, but roof experts will tell you never to paint a shingle roof as it has a decided tendency to reduce the longevity of the roof. Moisture and dirt are held by the paint in such a manner as to cause rotting of the wood and rusting of the nails.

It is very interesting to note the impetus given to the red cedar shingle industry by the development of the stained shingle business. An increasing large portion of the red cedai shingles manufactured are being sold by the mills to staining companies, or stained at the ,mills, or at central staininf poinis. Through such staining plants it is possible for millJ to market stiined shingles themselves either in straight carloads, or mixed with other lumber products,or with- unstained shingles. Shingle manufacturers are beginning to realize the value of the stained shingle as it affects-their industry, some of them predicting that rvithin the next few years practically all shingles placed on the market will be stained before beirg placed in the hands of the retail lumber merchants.

The strongest market for stained shingles at present centers around the Great Lakes and in New England and North Atlantic States. Every State in the Union uses a certain volume but the regions above mentioned are the most active in demand.

\Arithout rquestion the next territory that will develop as strong users of this material is the State of California. The home owners in California have always been inclined to the use of bright colors, and no rmaterial is better adapted to this taste than the stained shingle. There is no limit to the variety of colors that can be secured for roofs or sidewalks and with the merchandising and advertising that will be done on stained shingles in California within the next few years there seems to be no question but what the stained red clear shingle will be a standard item in the California lumber yard within a very short time.

Relative Wear of F'loorings

Experin,ental work at the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, instituted by the manufacturers, has resulted in some comparative data on wood and other flooring materials which should be of much interest to builders and householders. A curious result was the disclosure that marble and maple have about the same degree of resistance to abrasion.

Millions Of Wooden Containers Made For Fruits And Vegetables

The tremendous industry of manufacturing containers for fruits and vegetables, including berry boxes, baskets, hampers, and cratc., is indicated in figures compiled recently by the Department of Agriculture, which points out that figures showing the number of containers carried over into new seasons should prove of value to manufacturers in meeting the demand for packages.

The ,production of berry boxes alone in 102 factories'last year was in excess of 378,000,000 containers. Production of till baskets in 71 factories reached 167,000,000 containers, and of climax baskets 65 factories manufactured 26,000,C00.

Seventy-three factories reported aggregate production of 32,000,000 round stave baskets;74 factories made 26,000,000 hampers; 5O factories made 15,000,000 market baskets; 65 factories made 26,000,000 boxes, and 186 factories made 6.0C0,0@ berry crates and 58,000,000 vegetable and citrus crates.