Composition shingle

Claim 1

A shingle system comprising at least one pair of shingles, each shingle having a solid rectangular base of thin composition sheet material with an undersurface and an opposite outer surface having at least a portion thereof adapted for exposure to the weather, said bases having parallel elongated upper and lower edges and a first narrow strip along said lower edges secured beneath said undersurface for use in securing the lower edges of said shingle bases to the surface of a supporting roof or wall structure; said shingles including a second narrow strip along said upper edge secured above said outer surface of said base for abutting engagement with a first strip of a shingle laid in an adjacent row; each of said shingles including a tab member of thin composition sheet material having an underside adapted to overlay the outer surface of a shingle base and an opposite outer surface having at least a portion adapted for exposure to the weather, each of said tab members including an elongated strip comprising an upper edge portion thereof and a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart shingle tabs integral therewith extending downwardly from said elongated strip defining alternate open spaces between said tabs exposing the outer surface of an underlying base, said open spaces of one tab member dimensioned to match the tabs of the other tab member of said pair of shingles, each of said open spaces defined by a lower edge segment of said elongated strip and a pair of opposite side edges of adjacent tabs, each tab including a lower edge spaced downwardly from said lower edge segments by a dimension whereby said tab lower edges are aligned with said lower edge of an underlying shingle base and the lower edge segments adjacent thereto are aligned with the tab lower edges and the lower edge of an underlying base in a next adjacent upper row of shingles, and means for securing said elongated strips of said tab members adjacent one of said first and second strips.