What is cedar shake roofing?

Written by No Doubt Marketing

Cedar shake roofing is a traditional roof building material used for hundreds of years to create attractive wood roofs. Many communities require that cedar shake roofs be chemically treated for fire protection. A recent alternative to traditional cedar shake roofing is composite shake roofing tiles, which appear very similar to wood shake roofing.

Cedar Shake Wood Roofing

Traditionally, cedar shake roofing has been made from wood shakes made from western red cedar wood harvested from cedar from around the United States. However, in recent years, many states have required that shake roofs be replaced with either fire retardant treated shake roofs or composite roof tiles that resembles traditional cedar shake roofing materials.

For many homeowners, traditional cedar shake roofing is attractive because it mellows to a silver-grey with time and exposure to the elements. For particular architectural styles, the aged color of cedar shakes compliments the overall colors of the home.

Composite Shake Roofing

Composite shake roofing is made of composite materials that resemble traditional cedar shakes and often are indistinguishable from their wood counterparts. This type of composite roofing is often a laminate and is manufactured with wood grain and colors that are found on natural wood cedar shake roofing materials. It is also usually considerably less expensive than cedar shake roofing materials.

Because composite shake roofing shingles are made of composite materials, they are usually easier to install compared to traditional cedar shake roofing shingles. With the traditional shingles, very often roofers need to custom shape each shingle to make sure it fits with and matches the surrounding shingles. Composite shingles, on the other hand, are uniform and placed on sheets, making them extremely easy and quick to install.

One of the benefits of composite shake roofing is that it is highly resistant to fire and is considered very safe. Also it is resistant to moss growth that is commonly associated with traditional cedar shake roofing materials.

Composite shake roofing shingles are usually readily available and easy for a homeowner to obtain for their home roofing replacement project.

One of the primary disadvantages of composite shake shingles is that while they are considered very durable, they have not traditionally had long product lives. In the past composite roofing has only lasted for approximately 20 to 30 years. However, in recent years, composite roofing has been offering lifetime warrantees on their composite shake roofing products.

Summary

Traditional cedar shake roofing was the roofing material of choice for many, many years. However, concerns over the cost and fire safety have resulted in many homeowners rethinking cedar shake roofing shingles. Instead, many homeowners have turned to composite shake roofing, which is available in a wide range of styles and colors that are easy to install. Additionally, composite shake roofing shingles are readily available and much less expensive to purchase as a material and to install since they do not require special tools or customization for each shingle.

Ready to find a cedar shake roofing for your home? Use BuyerZone's free request for cedar shake roofing price quotes, and we'll match you to multiple contractors in your area.