Shake roofs are very popular types of roofs that can provide an excellent cover for your business establishment or home. They are generally, produced from Western red cedar and less frequently from other types of wood such as cypress or redwood.
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Why Western Red Cedar is the most preferred wood for the production of shake roofs? Perhaps because this species of wood has excellent qualities and properties such as impermeability, decay resistance and do not expand or contract due to climatic factors, etc.
Care and Maintenance
However, it should not be forgotten that shake roofs are a product made from wood and as any wood product, are prone to wear and tear due to climatic factors. Of course, this wear is happen over time not overnight and proper maintenance and care can significantly prolong the life of your roof. More than that, good maintenance can keep intact the special beauty of this roof.
1| Cleaning: First, you should periodically remove all the dirt, grime and debris such as bird droppings, pine needles or dead leaves. It is better to do this before the rainy season begins. You need to clean thoroughly the entire roof, making sure that no debris remains, between, shakes and shingles. In fact, you should give a special attention to these roof areas, otherwise debris accumulated between shingles and shakes will capture water, and in time, this humid environment will be extremely favorable for growth of fungi. It is well known that fungi are enemy number one for wooden roofs. In fact, fungi can shorten the life of your roof in half.
2| Drying: To have a good shake roof, it must be clean and dry. Drying your roof is critical if you want to prolong the life and beauty of a wooden roof. Your roof surface, should receive as much sunlight as possible without any obstruction. Therefore, you should remove all the tree branches that can shade your roof. In fact, they should be removed for two important reasons:
a. The branch shades will delays the drying of the roof surface. So, in time, the moisture penetrates the roof lower layers, not to mention that an insufficient flow of air will considerably lengthen the drying time of the roof.
b. The tree branches that touch your roof will rub continuously the roof surface leading to a weakening of shake fasteners or even compromise them.
These two factors will accelerate the deterioration of your shake roof. However, an excessive growth of lichen and mosses on the surface of your roof is a very clear indication that your roof is not sufficient dried and wood-rotting living things such as fungi thrive and decay the roof surface.
In this case, the best is to clean your roof with chemical solutions or even with bleach. They will kill fungi and clean your roof removing all the dirt, mildew and grime. You can also add different components to your chemical solutions such as pigments and ultraviolet absorbers that can protect the roof surface from harmful action of sunlight.
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