Wooden shingles are a traditional building material applied over a rooftop in an overlapping fashion. The layers of shingles serve to repel water and prevent it from soaking into the underlying structure of the house and causing serious damage. Wood shingles can be fastened to a rooftop over sheathing or lath, and should be fastened using corrosion-resistant nails. Wood shingles can vary in thickness from 3/8-inch to 3/4-inch. The size and type of nail can vary depending on the thickness and type of shingle material with which you are working.
Use your tape measure to determine the middle point of the edge of the rooftop. Mark this center point and use your chalk line to snap a line up to the ridge of the roof from this center point. This line will serve as your guide line, from which the first course, and then alternating shingles courses, will be laid out.
Once you've got the lower double-course of shingles fastened, snap a chalk line across the shingle course to mark the exposure. The exposure will vary depending on the size and type of shingle you are using. Consult the manufacturer's recommendation regarding exposure length. Refer to this guide line when installing the next course of shingles to the rooftop.