Our shake is 24” long with a 1” butt and is most commonly used for roofing applications.
Our shingle is 18” long with a 5/8” butt and is most commonly used for siding applications, although they can be used for roofing.
A traditional shingle is 16” long with a 3/8” butt and is common used for siding, they too can be used for roofing. 16” shingles are also used for fancy-cut applications.
Yes both our 24” shakes and 18” shingles are taper sawn.
A square consists of 4 bundles of either shakes or shingles and covers an area of approximately 10’x10’ or 100 square feet.
Ridge cap for shakes is a consistent 24”x6” shake that is overlapped on top of the roof or hip. Ridge cap for shingles is a consistent 18”x5” shingle that is overlapped on top of the roof or hip.
This answer really depends on how big the roof/sidewall is. Your roof will have to be measured and the amount you need will be calculated.
Here are a couple of things to remember when calculating the material needed for your roof/sidewall.
- A square of shingles or shakes will cover 100 square feet. A bundle will
do 25 square feet. - The area of a triangle is 1/2 the base multiplied by the height. This formula
is needed for gables or gazebo roofs that are angled into the tip of the
roof. - Remember to add shingles/shakes to make up for the ones you’ll lose
when cutting to fit for hips, valleys, and gable dormers. Just remember
that for every linear foot of hip, valley, or gable roof line that you have you
will lose a square foot of shake or shingles. For example; if you have 50
feet of valleys you lose 50 square feet of shake/shingles therefore add two
more bundles to your total number of material needed. - A bundle of ridge cap does 17.5’ for shakes
- When starting a roof a double layer of shakes is needed to cover all
seams. Measure the amount of linear eave that is on your roof. A bundle of
shakes will cover approximately 25 linear feet of roof therefore you need
two extra bundles if you have 50 linear feet of eave. - If you want an 9” or 8” exposer opposed to the regular 10” exposer you will need more shakes. This is done simply by adding 10% more shakes for 9” exposer 20% more for 8” exposer.
The answer for this question involves many different factors. A typical cedar shake roof should last up to 40 years if installed correctly. If the cedar shakes are just nailed directly onto plywood then you might get 10 years out of them.
The best way to install a cedar shake roof is vertical and horizontal strapping on top of the plywood or old roof. This allows the cedar to breath which in turn helps displace moisture and prevents rotting.
Staining a cedar roof can also add another 15-20 years provided the proper stain is applied.
Cedar shingles on a sidewall can last 100-120 years. This is due to the milder beating from the weather compared to cedar shakes.
Stain can also be added to shingles for longevity and colour.