Shingles the Sustainable Choice
Shingles are the ultimate green building material. They are generally produced from the remaining timber once logs have been processed by the mill into usable lengths. What's more, all Benchmark's timber is PEFC and FSC certified meaning it is gaurenteed to have come from managed, responsible sources.
The Canadians also have a policy to re-plant three trees for every one harvested within a year. The replanted tree is to the exact species ratio of the ones that were harvested.
Working Qualities
Western Red Cedar is a durable timber with little movement. It is a long grained softwood, meaning it can be easily sawn and planed with standard hand tools. Benchmark recommends using stainless steel nails to fix the shingles as they will not be effected by the natural tannin in the wood. We do not reccommend using power nailers.
Blue or Black Label
Blue Label
This grade is 100% heartwood and edge grain meaning there is no allowence for knots or sapwood/ They can be used on any type of roof or veritcal application.
Black Label
This grade is reccommended for roofing on garden buildings or stables as well as all vertical applications. A small amount of tight, secure knots are also allowed for in black label shingles but they are to the top third of the shingle and are not visible when fixed.
