Replies

1. 
   Gene_Davis | Sep 15, 2006 06:17pm | #1

   A roof done in western red cedar shakes, over skip sheathing, with the interwoven felt paper, should last longer than 15 years.

   Will your roof be pitched well, have good sun exposure, no overhanging tree branches, be free of pine needle buildup, and have good ventilation underneath?

1. 
   mmoogie | Sep 15, 2006 06:32pm | #2

   Hi Gene,7/12 pitch, no trees anywhere, roof faces have NW and SE exposure. Would use cedar breather for ventilation. Climate is Upstate NY--not tons of sun. North faces of even unsheltered roofs tend to mildew.Steve

   Edited 9/15/2006 11:35 am by mmoogie

2. 
   Notchman | Sep 15, 2006 06:57pm | #3

   If you are willing to spend a bit extra to make sure you are getting authentic Old Growth WRC shingle with tight grain, you should be in good shape.  (Look for 8 or more rings per inch).

   Unfortunately, a lot of the clear cedar shingles, even #1 blue label, have a lot of courser-grained 2nd growth intermixed and have a limited lifespan.

   Cedar shingle and shake roofs here in the west are kind of a thing of the past, due to fire and insurance considerations, but, with a bit of shopping, good quality shingles can be had....most of the best stuff is coming out of British Columbia.

    

3. 
   PlaneWood | Sep 15, 2006 07:24pm | #4

   I stayed at an old plantation in LA for a weekend once that was in the process of being restored.  I talked to the head preservationist while there.  They were putting in a lot of Cedar fence but were redoing the roof with Cypress shingles.  When I asked about this the guy said that Cypress would not last as long as Cedar when in contact with the ground, but would last 3 times as long as cedar on a roof.

   But, if Cypress logs are buried deep in the ground, they will last 200+ years.  Many of the old plantations used buried Cypress logs as the foundation, 3 or 4 layers thick, interlaced.  It's continual exposure to moisture and air that causes Cypress to rot quickly.

   The guy said Cypress shingles will last 100 years in LA.

   Cypress shingles are available, but probably have to pay a high shipping cost to get them to your site.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
   PlaneWood

4. 
   davidmeiland | Sep 15, 2006 09:24pm | #5

   I just took a cedar shake roof off my house. It was 20 years old, and while it was watertight it had lots of lichen on it, even facing south, and going up there was like walking on burnt toast. Part of my motivation was to have a class A roof. Are you totally sold on wood or could you be talked into fake shakes? There are several types, some of them not half bad looking.

5. 
   frenchy | Sep 16, 2006 01:39am | #6

   mmoogie,

       a couple of things that you can do to increase the life of a cedar roof..

     First don't walk on it..

     second always use stainless steel fastners

      third, use cedar breather and make sure the shingles can breathe

      fourth, put a ridge cap of copper on it..

     The tannic acids in the cedar will cause the copper to leach and prevent growth.. 

      fifth don't over fasten.. the nail or staple should be flush not driven into the shingle

     sixth decrease exposure.. a 8 inch exposure wears out twice as fast as a 4 inch exposure does,

    

     seventh,   Keep it clean, leaves etc. shouldn't remain on longer than it takes you to get up there and remove them..(remember not to walk on the shingles though)

    eigth,   Use old growth stuff if at all possible

    

6. 
   Piffin | Sep 16, 2006 01:57am | #7

   A couple of the oldcedar roofs I have torn off were in the neighborhood of 45-50 years old.

   but they were in dry climate and had been painted a couple of times.

   Realisticly, I would expect about twenty years in your climate.

   The pitch of the roof has a lot to do with how fast it will age. But rain and snow will soak into the shingles more on a lower slope roof. Anything over 9/12 or so will shed water faster and not go through as many cycles of swelling, shrinking which is one of many factors in aging shingles.

    

    

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   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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1. 
   mmoogie | Sep 16, 2006 05:09pm | #8

   What Piffin says seems to be borne out around here...20 yrs max on a cedar roof under best of installation conditions. Not worth the premium price.I got a price on some old-growth virginia cypress shingles, but I'm not ready to fork over 1000.00/square. Have yet to find a source for non-old growth cypress, but suspect it'll still be too much to support the life expectancy of the roof.Looks like I'll just default to asphalt...425 bucks total vs. 8500 bucks for the cypress...no contest. My standing seam supplier is up to about 300/square now too. I remember when...no I won't go down that road.Steve

1. 
   Piffin | Sep 16, 2006 05:15pm | #9

   this is off topic
   butupstate NY - any chance you work at Moog or is the screen name indicative of something else? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   mmoogie | Sep 17, 2006 12:30am | #10

   Actually, moogie is the name of one of my favorite cats who is no longer with us. When the internet was young -- in 1996 --it seemed the thing to do, and now I'm stuck with it for many things that no longer seem appropriate for a middle-aged businessman.I'm just outside of Cooperstown.I've wondered BTW what the derivation of Piffin is...Steve

1. 
   Piffin | Sep 17, 2006 03:31am | #11

   my initials are PFN. I write them on tools with scripto so some guys have called me Piffin by adding the consanonts 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!