Pre-assembled shingle set and installation system

1. An assembly of shingles that can be mounted to a surface, the assembly comprising:

a pre-assembled panel including a plurality of side-by-side shingles that are connected to each other with a bonding strip prior to being installed;

a removable spacer located between each side-by-side shingle pair for retaining the plurality of side-by-side shingles at a position with a keyway between each two adjacent shingles;

a first alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

a second alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

the shingles within the panel and the first and second alignment gauges being configured in such a manner that a second panel being placed on top of and overlapping a first panel and arranged such that when a first indicator on the first alignment gauge of the second panel is aligned relative with a second indicator on the second alignment gauge of the first panel, the keyways of the first panel do not align with any of the keyways of the second panel,

wherein the shingles within the panel and the first and second alignment gauges being configured in such a manner that a third panel being placed on top of and overlapping the second panel and arranged such that when a third indicator on the first alignment gauge of the third panel is aligned relative to a fourth indicator on the second alignment gauge of the second panel, the keyways of the third panel do not align with any of the keyways in the second panel or the first panel, and

wherein the first alignment gauge is a flexible strip of material that is removeably affixed to the face of the panel.

2. An assembly of shingles that can be mounted to a surface, the assembly comprising:

a pre-assembled panel including a plurality of side-by-side shingles that are connected to each other with a bonding strip prior to being installed;

a removable spacer located between each side-by-side shingle pair for retaining the plurality of side-by-side shingles at a position with a keyway between each two adjacent shingles;

a first alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

a second alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

the shingles within the panel and the first and second alignment gauges being configured in such a manner that a second panel being placed on top of and overlapping a first panel and arranged such that when a first indicator on the first alignment gauge of the second panel is aligned relative with a second indicator on the second alignment gauge of the first panel, the keyways of the first panel do not align with any of the keyways of the second panel,

wherein the first alignment gauge is removeably affixed to the panel and each of the plurality of spacers in such a manner that when the first alignment gauge is removed, the spacers are removed from the panel.

3. The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the panel is configured such that the panel can exist in two approximately equal sized strips.

4. An assembly of shingles that can be mounted to a surface, the assembly comprising:

a pre-assembled panel including a plurality of side-by-side shingles that are connected to each other with a bonding strip prior to being installed;

a removable spacer located between each side-by-side shingle pair for retaining the plurality of side-by-side shingles at a position with a keyway between each two adjacent shingles;

a first alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

a second alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

the shingles within the panel and the first and second alignment gauges being configured in such a manner that a second panel being placed on top of and overlapping a first panel and arranged such that when a first indicator on the first alignment gauge of the second panel is aligned relative with a second indicator on the second alignment gauge of the first panel, the keyways of the first panel do not align with any of the keyways of the second panel,

wherein the spacers are of substantially equal width and ensure a consistent sized keyway between the shingles and, at least two or more of the shingles in the assembly have a different width.

5. An assembly of shingles that can be mounted to a surface, the assembly comprising:

a pre-assembled panel including a plurality of side-by-side shingles that are connected to each other with a bonding strip prior to being installed;

a removable spacer located between each side-by-side shingle pair for retaining the plurality of side-by-side shingles at a position with a keyway between each two adjacent shingles;

a first alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

a second alignment gauge positioned on the front face of the panel;

the shingles within the panel and the first and second alignment gauges being configured in a such a manner that a second panel being placed on top of and overlapping a first panel and arranged such that when a first indicator on the first alignment gauge of the second panel is aligned relative with a second indicator on the second alignment gauge of the first panel, the keyways of the first panel do not align with any of the keyways of the second panel,

wherein the first alignment gauge is a flexible strip of material that is removeably affixed to the face of the panel and provides a semi-rigid structure to the panel.

6. A method for structuring a shingle assembly, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting a panel width;

arranging shingles of at least two or more different widths within the panel width with keyways between adjacent shingles in such a manner that two successive sets of the panels can overlap the shingle panel and the keyways of the three panels will not line up with each other by:

defining a vertical grid within the panel width;

arranging a first set of shingles of various widths on the grid by laying shingles adjacent to each other with spacing between them for substantially the defined width of the panel;

arranging a second set of shingles above the first set of shingles, the second set of shingles using the same width shingles, in the same order and with the same spacing as the first set of shingles but, shifted a first offset in a first direction;

moving the shingles of the second set of shingles on an end that extends beyond the panel width as a result of the shift onto the opposing end of the second set of shingles while maintaining the same order;

arranging a third set of shingles above the second set of shingles, the third set of shingles using the same width shingles, in the same order and with the same spacing as the first set of shingles but, shifted a second offset in the first direction;

moving the shingles of the third set of shingles on an end that extends beyond the panel width as a result of the shift onto the opposing end of the third set of shingles while maintaining the same order; and

if any of the spaces between the shingles in the first set of shingles, the second set of shingles and the third set are in alignment, performing identical adjustments in each set to ensure that the spaces are not in alignment;

placing a removable spacer between adjacent shingles; and

connecting each of the shingles to adjacent shingles with an adhesive to form a pre-assembled panel of multiple shingles that can be installed on a surface as a single assembly,

adhering a plurality of ridges along backside of the shingles and along the length of the shingles;

adhering a first ruler at a first position traversing the front of the shingles across the panel width;

adhering a second ruler at a second position traversing the front of the shingles across the panel width;

wherein the relationship between the indicia on the first ruler and the second ruler is such that the first offset and the second offset can be identified.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising the step of adhering at least one bonding strip on the back side of the shingles and traversing each of the spaces between the shingles.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first ruler is removeably adhered to the shingles and further comprising the step of also adhering the first ruler to the spacers.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first ruler is removeably adhered to the shingles and the spacers are integral with the first ruler.

10. A tool used for installing the shingles constructed by using the method of claim 8 , wherein the tool comprises:

a spatula base that can be slid underneath a first course of shingles;

an upper lever that is attached to the spatula base by a springing mechanism and that rests on the top side of the first course of shingles;

an adjustable height sliding bracket with a shelf on which a next course of shingles can rest;

an exposure gauge on the face of the upper lever that indicates the position of the adjustable height sliding bracket; and

a locking mechanism to secure the adjustable height sliding bracket to the upper structure.