The Shingle

Add an “s” and it becomes a painful blistering skin rash. Leave the “s” out of it, and you’re left with the most enduring symbol of cottage and lake living imaginable. The shingle. It’s a simple scrap of wood, nearly always western red or white cedar, sometimes machined, other times hand split, and it’s always a welcome addition to any structure it adorns. Thankfully long gone are the days where shingles were relegated to the sides and rear or a home to make way for the smoother, more tasteful lap siding of redwood or cedar. These shingles now command the attention that I think they’ve always deserved. The shingle, be it used for siding or roofing, is something so remarkable it can single handedly turn a boring nondescript structure into one where cottage dreams are born and realized.

My last house in Geneva National was a shingled master piece. Machine cut Western red cedar shingles on all four sides, and hand split cedar shingles on the roof. It was a tribute to the shingle, and I loved it. I loved it for the paradoxical attributes of such a simple, basic scrap of wood that is able to appear so permanent and stable. The shingles on the side of my fathers garage are from the 1920’s, and look today just as good as I imagined they looked the day they were hand nailed to the tongue and grove wall board. When cedar siding fades and warps it loses much of its luster. It looks unkempt. Unimpressive. And the worn look usually reflects the potentially lazy, possibly financially challenged condition of the owner. Yet when the same material is machined into a tapered shingle, the more aged the shingle appears, the more refined it becomes. A freshly shingled home proves an outward symbol of the fine taste of the owner, but an aged, mature shingled exterior says far more about the resident inside. A finely aged shingled home when passed by at a time of evening when the lights inside are yet to take full affect leads me to picture an owner with descriminating style. Perhaps a worn leather chair positioned fireside on a cool fall evening, the discerning resident just about to settle in with a C.S. Lewis novel.

I would rather drive up on a shingled home, be it on the lake, in the city, or at the end of a long country lane, than approach a home sided with any other material. Bricks and stone are beautiful, but unless done to the highest level of quality cannot compare to the emotion that the simple shingle brings to the party. A favorite mental hobby of mine is to imagine living in a home I’m driving by. Perhaps a home I’m showing. I picture my car in the driveway, walking in after a long day. It’s usually raining out, and I’m walking into my imagined home. I’m wearing leather soled shoes most of the time. Many times I’m walking into a home alone, like Nicholas Cage in the early and late parts of Family Man. Regardless of the home, my favorite imagined homes are always shingled. I drive by a shingled mansion in Winnetka and feel that way. I drive by a simple shingled cottage in Lake Geneva and feel exactly the same. It’s not the size of the house that makes it feel like home, it’s the shingles on the walls.

I recently sided the front of my 1978 foreclosure in shingles. Yes, I did it myself, and no, it wasn’t difficult. Nor was it expensive. In fact, I’d wager that if the labor was free or insanely cheap, someone could shingle a home for a similar price that someone else would pay to install wretched vinyl siding. But Dave, vinyl is forever. Yes, I know. And that’s the problem.

The shingle is so simple, yet it so perfectly defines everything that a vacation home should be. It should be comfortable. It should age well. Shingles turn a normal vacation home into a timeless cottage, and Lake Geneva just might be the most perfect place to own such a shingle sided abode. Shingles might be itchy, but a cedar shingle is a work of art that is always a welcome sight at the end of a short drive north on any given Friday afternoon.

About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

1 thought on “The Shingle”

  1. David
    I have a 70 year old small cottage in Williams Bay and just noticed that 2 small siding shingles have fallen off (and apparently blown away). I am concerned that if I do not address moisture may penetrate behind the siding. Can you point me to anyone who would sell me a couple of singles–about 3 inch by 5 inches I would guess. Color is rust red but I can deal with any color. Any help would be much appreciated.

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