Posted by Connor Valentine on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 @ 06:36 PM
I am asked all the time "How long will my cedar shake roof last?" Here in the Seattle area, there are miles of neighborhoods built with cedar shake roofs. This is particularly true in Redmond, Sammamish and Issaquah on Seattle's Eastside.
You can expect an original cedar roof to last 17-25 years. The reason I specify "original" roof is because home builders don't use a premium grade, pressure-treated, 3/4" cedar shake. If they did, then your roof would last 25-35 years.
whether or not your cedar roof lasts 17 years or 25 years will depend mostly on how steep your roof is. The steeper, the longer it lasts because the water runs off much quicker and the sun doesn't beat down on it at a direct angle. The sun does the most damage to a cedar shake roof for sure as the South facing side is always worse off then any other side. Having your roof shaded in the afternoon and having a pitch of 8/12 or greater will go a long way in how long your roof lasts.
You can have your shake roof pressure washed and treated but I wouldn't recommend doing this after it's 18 years old as it can definitely do more damage than good. We get a lot of calls from those who just had their old shake roof pressure washed. Having the roof treated without being pressure washed is the best bet and even then you really should just stop with any type of maintenance after it gets towards 20 years of age.
Sure there are many companies who will take your money in exchange for "prolonging the life of your cedar roof" but most often it shortens the life. Bottom line: When your cedar shake roof gets 18 years plus in life, don't hire anyone to maintain it. Just save your money for a new roof.
www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 @ 10:58 PM
Here in the Seattle area, especially on the Eastside, there are many aging cedar shake roofs. We receive a lot of phone calls from homeowners with cedar roofs that are looking for an alternative. Many don't care for the maintanence and short life span. If you find yourself in this situation, Here are a few options to consider:
1. Get a better cedar shake roof! I know this sounds crazy if you want anything but cedar shake, but a 3/4" quality cedar shake that is pressure-treated will last much longer (10 years probably) than your current "builder-grade" non pressure treated 1/2" cedar shake. You don't even have to maintain it! So if you like the look of cedar there is no reason to have to completely go away from it.
2. A nice composition roof. Some composition or "composite" roofs look very flat and unflatering. I've seen some serious buyers remorse after changing a cedar roof that is thick and depth with a flat composition roof. Presidential and Presidential TL by CertainTeed are the most popular composition roofs for houses that were cedar. That's because they are thick and somewhat shake looking and keep the overall cedar look. My favorite shake look is Landmark TL by Certainteed. This is not a very common product and most roofers won't even bring it up in conversation but it looks very much like shake and Shenandoah and Resawn Shake are great colors. Here is online brochure.
http://www.certainteed.com/resources/RPG_Landmark-TL-West-Broch.pdf
3. Go for recycled synthetic shake. This is the most expensive option by far but if you want a roof that looks like cedar and lasts 30-40 years without growing moss or requiring maintanence, this is it. synthetic shakes are also very beautiful and can really set your home apart from you neighbors.
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 01:32 PM
Ridge vents keep your attic cool by venting at the hottest point of the roof. But not all ridge vents are the same.
I am very impressed by Trimline's ridge vent product for roofing. We are now installing it with every installation. It is very sturdy and well made product that keeps its integrity even when walked on or nailed with a nail gun.
I also like the the StormStop membrane (the mesh lining shown above) which keeps moisture and bugs from getting into your attic through the roof. Trimline ridge vent also give the roof a low profile meaning you can't see the vent as it doesn't portrude out like many ridge vents. It's important to have a nice finished look on the ridges. It always bothers me to see protruding "box vents" near a roof's peak or a ridge vent that looks ugly. We want our customers to see our finished roof and say "wow, looks great!"
Here is a link to the Trimeline website ridge vent page: http://www.trimline-products.com/ventilation-products-rigid-vent-plus.cfm
Our website www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 12:29 AM
We are finished with the cedar shingle installation. It looks great! It took us seven days and the roof surface was about 6,500 square feet. Our customer wanted a look that would go well with his Japanese Garden. He didn’t want the thick, rugged, hand-split cedar shake look. Instead he opted for a cleaner, neater look in the cedar shingle. Shingles are smaller and thinner and are installed much more tightly together.
Below are some photos. You can click to enlarge. The project address is: 17419 NE 126th Pl, Redmond, WA 98052
To learn more, visit www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 12:25 AM
We are installing cedar shingles on a roof that was previously cedar shakes. This project is off 129th in Redmond. A lot of people think that shake and shingles mean the same thing but they don’t. They are both cedar, but shingles are 18″ in height and are installed at a 5 1/2″ exposure while cedar shakes are 24″ in height and installed at a 10″ exposure (Shakes can be installed at a 7″ exposure also).
Here are some pictures of the early stages of the process. We are tearing of the cedar shake roof. Then you can see the skip sheeting and the attic in between the skips. We install two layers of heavy-duty felt paper then we will install the shingles on top. This sort of project will take us 5-7 days.
Here are some updated pictures. The pictures show the half-way finished installation. It is looking really good! Today it is raining but I will get some pictures of the final product soon.
More to come later as the project continues. www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 12:17 AM
When choosing a roof, many carefully choose their roofing product but ignore the underlayment. The underlayment is a thin layer that lies between the roofing material and the sheathing. The purpose of this application is to serve as a vapor barrier, preventing leaks and water damage. The underlayment is a very important part of the roofing system.
The most common underlayment is felt paper. This is impregnated with asphalt and comes in various thicknesses. ASTM rated D226 #30 felt is the thickest rated felt paper. There are also many synthetic underlayments. synthetics are lighter weight but many roofers don’t like them because they can be slick to walk on and be a hazard. They are also newer on the market and not as tested.
My material supplier just informed me of a new product by CertainTeed called Diamond Deck. CertainTeed is advertising that this new product is “contractor friendly” because it is lightweight, slip-resistant, and cost-effective. We will be taking a look at it soon to determine if this is a better product than the D226 #30 felt which we currently use. So far, we haven’t jumped on board the synthetic underlayment craze as we like to stick with what works. However, with a trusted brand like CertainTeed, which is our brand of choice, we will consider it.
www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 04:41 PM
Everyone wants a deal and no one wants to pay too much. So wouldn’t it make perfect sense to get three or four of your neighbors to all go in together? It would seem that material costs would be lower that way and travel costs as well. This should equal a discount on your roof!
It really doesn’t work that way. All the costs associated with installing a roof stay the same whether your roofing company installs 10 roofs in your neighborhood or just the roof on your home.
Material costs: Buying in bulk does create a discount, but bulk is a relative term. When you consider that the material suppliers for roofing companies sell materials to 30 or so companies a day, buying roofing materials in bulk is hard to do. Roofing companies basically have to be working on a hotel or very large apartment building to get a discount on materials.
Labor costs: No matter what, a roofing company has to pay its employees full-price for the work they do.
Transportation costs: If the roofing crew stayed the night at your house then that would cut transportation time and costs. Of course, this never happens. The crew members go home and sleep in their own beds every night so they still have to drive to and from the job site. Installing multiple roofs in a row in the same neighborhood doesn’t logistically change travel costs or time.
Disposal costs: Just like material costs, it takes a lot to constitute “buying in bulk” when it comes to disposal costs.
I have found that the best approach is to put forward my companies’ best price every time. This way every individual customer gets the same pricing and is treated on an individual basis. I have lost out on jobs because I didn’t give a discount. The only counter to that would be for me to raise my prices and then give a discount which would just bring me back to my original price. I prefer the simple, straight-forward approach. I offer my best price every time. I have found that most people appreciate the no-haggle approach.
Please visit our website www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 04:36 PM
Even though the roofing industry seems to be in an upswing, more and more liens are getting filed against homeowners. My material suppliers informed me that they are sending out liens on a regular basis. This means weekly and sometimes daily. A material supplier (Stoneway, Allied, Pioneer, and ABC for example) is the company who sells the roofing products used on your roof to the roofing company you hire. When your roofing company doesn’t pay the supplier for the materials in a reasonable time frame, the material supplier usually files a lien on the address where the materials were installed.
The roofer doesn’t have to be out of business. Many contractors are behind on bills and that’s all it takes. Also, it has become more commonplace for roofing companies to go bankrupt then emerge with a slightly different name. The company logo and personnel stay the same only the name is slightly different and the legal owner has changed (usually someone different in the company or a relative). So the roofing company keeps doing business but leaves the unpaid bills behind to be paid by the homeowner. There is basically no recourse for the customer.
I would guess that at least 25% of the roofers in King and Snohomish Counties have gone out of business in the last two years. A good 10-15% are operating in the red currently and are having trouble paying the bills. These are of course guesses but they are educated ones. I am not talking about “fly-by-night” companies either. I mean companies that have done work in your neighborhood with the nice trucks, polite and handsome salesmen, and that have been in business for 20 years.
If you are entertaining roofing bids, I recommend speaking with the local material suppliers to see which companies are current. If you ask your roofing company to steer you to a material supplier, they may steer you to the only one where they still have credit so best to check a little on your own. Checking out business history on the Labor and Industries website can also be helpful.
I don’t mean to make anyone overly suspicious of any roofing company, this is just a word of caution to a real problem that is very avoidable. Once again, you may be surprised at how good a company can look compared to how bad a financial state it can be in.
Best of luck out there! Remember there are good roofing companies that you can trust so just do your homework.
Visit our website, www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 03:51 PM
Although limited, there are Federal Energy Tax Credits available with some composition shingles.
CertainTeed has recently come out with their Landmark Solaris which is an Energy Star rated product. This means there is a tax credit of up to $1,500 available with the installation. The product is a composition shingle with a reflective quality. It comes in five colors and really is a nice looking shingle. Landmark Solaris is a spin-off of the popular Landmark Premium which is part of their Landmark Series.
Advantages: This is a great looking product! Very shake-like in its appearance which works perfectly for the Seattle-area look. Along with the tax credit, this product is proven to lower your heating bills and it also lasts 20-30 years (although the “limited” warranty is for 50 years which they call “lifetime”).
Disadvantages: This is an expensive product and the $1,500 may be nullified by the higher product cost.
There is also the GAF-ELK Timberline Cool Series shingle which comes in four colors. The main drawback with the Cool Series is that the colors are very light-colored wherein CertainTeed’s color scheme offers black and darker browns. Personally, I like CertainTeed’s products above all other shingle manufacturers.
Please visit our website at www.valentineroof.com
Posted by Connor Valentine on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 03:46 PM
Since buying a new roof is not an everday purchase, many are confused about what types of products exist. Here is some info on the two most commonly installed products. Composition and cedar shake.
Composition: (AKA comp, composite, asphalt, fiberglass shingle, laminate, architectural)
Composition shingles are by far the most common and least expensive of all roofing products. They are made of a woven fiberglass mat (also used to make boats) and asphalt (also used to make roads) so there is nothing space-aged about this product. It is however, dependable and waterproof. The simplest of composition designs is known as the “three tab” shingle. Everything else is called a laminate or architectural shingle. Those terms just mean that the shingle is actually more than one layer of shingle laminated together to give it a thicker and better look. Architectural shingles also last longer and are more durable than a three-tab.
Cedar Shake:
Many homeowners with a cedar shake roof have washed their hands of this product and switched to composition. This is usually because no one wants a roof that requires maintanence. Especially when it’s expensive. A good cedar shake roof however, doesn’t require maintanence and can last 20-30 years. Premium grade, pressure-treated cedar shakes will last much longer than the shakes installed on a new construction home. Especially if they are 3/4″ instead of 1/2″.
I would also note that shake is often referred to as “shingles” but they are not the same product. Cedar shingles are 18″ high instead of 24″ and are smooth to the touch instead of the rough “hand-split” shakes on most Northwest homes. Cedar shingles look very proper like something you would see on a British manor. While hand-split shakes look rugged like what you would expect to see on a woodsy cabin.
Why people choose composition over shake:
Price, durability, it’s easier to walk on especially when it’s wet, it’s not as much of a firehazard, it’s basically maintanence free.
Why people choose shake over composition:
It looks classier, it is very much a Northwest favorite, many HOA’s don’t allow anything but cedar shake (this is especially true on Seattle’s Eastside)
Please visit our website www.valentineroof.com