Berkeley Lake Cedar Shake Roofs

A cedar shake roof on a house nestled in the trees is about as charming as it gets. Cedar has its quirks, though. It's real wood, so it drinks in rain and swells, then dries out and shrinks, round and round through the seasons. The secret to a long-lived cedar roof is building it with that rhythm in mind. Shakes want a sliver of space between them, otherwise wet weather makes them heave. Each row needs a strip of felt beneath it to steer any water that slips through back outside. Underneath, a little airflow lets the wood dry top and bottom. And the nails need to be the kind that won't rust or bleed dark streaks down the wood. Skip those steps and you'll be looking at cupped, cracked, mossy shakes years ahead of schedule. When we visit a cedar roof, we check for all of it and photograph what we find. If the trouble is limited to a few patches, swapping the worn shakes and freshening the flashing around them can buy plenty of good years. If wear has spread across the whole roof, we'll kindly explain why a brand-new cedar roof is likely the wiser spend. Shady lots deserve some extra love, because fallen leaves and shade slow the drying.