Are you ready to replace the roof on your home, and you think you want to use cedar shake roofing material? Here are a few things about this unique material that you need to know.
How Are Shakes and Shingles Different?
There are two types of roof shingles that are made out of wood, which are wood shingles and wood shakes. While the two are made out of similar material that are wedge-shaped, the difference is in the thickness of the material. Shakes are going to be much thicker than shingles, which is immediately noticeable to others when they look at the roof. Shingles will have a lower profile and smoother appearance.
The biggest visual difference though is that shakes are hand-cut. The size of each shake is variable, which creates a more rustic look since it appears that the roof has been handcrafted
What Are the Different Types of Wood Shakes?
There are three types of wood shakes that you need to be aware of. These types include taper sawn, medium split and resawn, and heavy split and resawn. What makes heavy and medium split and resawn cedar shake unique is that it has a highly textured surface due to the nature of how the material is cut, which gives it a heavy wood shade. Heavy split is going to have shakes that are notably thicker than the medium split variation. Taper sawn shake is a bit different, with a more uniform size to the material.
What Are the Different Grades of Cedar Shake?
Cedar shakes also have different grades to describe the material. Know that the cheapest material is called common cedar shake, which is then followed by select cedar shake. The premium grade is known as 100-percent straight grain shake. The difference between these grades is the quality of the wood. You'll see that common shakes can be made from different parts of the tree, while 100-percent straight grain is going to be selected by hand to ensure its quality is high. Select will be a blend of the previous two grades, with there being a mix of both straight grain and common shakes.
How Long Will Cedar Shakes Last?
You'll find that cedar shake is an incredibly durable roofing material, with it being capable of withstanding hail damage, UV rays, and various weather conditions. You can get about anywhere from 30 to 50 years out of this roofing material before it needs to be replaced.
For more information, you can turn to a company such as Travis Smith Roofing.
When you have something you like inside a jar, you probably put a lid on it — right? In a way, you can think of your house in the same manner. You like and value the items inside, along with the inside of the house itself. So, it only makes sense that you would protect the interior of your home with a lid. That lid is your roof.
Keep that perspective in mind as you read this blog. Learning more about roofing will feel more interesting if you remember what a roof does: it protects the inside of the home and the people who live in it.