“Wood Shingled Roof”
July 7 and July 11 Segment
Most Nantucket houses originally had wood shingle roofs made of white pine, oak, or cedar. Other natural materials such as slate were found on a handful of public buildings, mansions and commercial buildings in town.
Wood shingle roofs, although historically accurate, went out of fashion because of the concern about fire. Asphalt shingle roofs have been installed on most historic houses over the past 50 years and still meet the local HDC guidelines. However today fire retardant wood shingles are making a comeback and can be found in many recent restoration projects.