Old Fashioned Fish Scale Roof

29 Nov.,2023

 

Ok I’m back.  Last year I posted some questions about alternate ways to lay out 3 tab shingles.  Well I am glad to say the project worked out well.

Well it is time to do the Garage roof.  I want to do something a little differant, that would be appropriate for a garage built in the 1930’s.  My area is full of old houses, and I have occaisionally seen what I call a “Fish Scale” roof.   I like the effect.

I have been told that these “Fish Scale” roofs were made out of Asbestos, simular to the Asbestos siding so popular in the 50’s and 60’s tract houses.  I have been told that, they are no longer made.

That is until I saw a garage near my work.   I talked to the homeowner, and the roof was done by a previous owner.  I also was able to inspect the roof up close.  His “fish scales” appear to be made out of asphalt rool roofing. I was able to reach up and touch them, these are defitly mineral roll of some sort.

I have no idea if these are available pre-cut, or if some poor fool cut them out of a 3 foot wide rool of mineral roof.

I have 4 rolls of 3 foot wide roll roof that I bought years ago when “Builder’s Square” went out of business.  I am tempted to be a “poor fool” and cut out some fish scales.   I would need a pattern.   If I can find the shingles pre-cut, I may just use the roll roof as underlayment. 

SO… Does anyone out there recognize these fish scale shingles?  I am just north of Philadelphia, and I am guessing the shingles in this picture are at least 10 years old. 

If I have to go the cutting route, does anyone know where I can get a pattern?  It seems that someone has “Google bombed” all of the web search engines, so that searching for “Fish scales” + “Roofing Shingles” only finds web sites selling Viagra.  Either that, of the disease called “shingles”.