Old Wood Shake Roof

Life expectancy of a shake roof a wood or composite shake roof can last around 30 years except pine which lasts around 20.

Old wood shake roof.

In harsh weather where freeze thaw cycles are common or in wet weather climates they may not last as long. These days most roofers cover skip sheathing with plywood because it stiffens the roof and is safer to walk on. This was possible because wood shakes are stiff planks of wood and would overlay these gaps without posing any sort of issue. Typically it s composed of 1 6 deck boards spaced about 4 5 inches apart.

Boards that allow air to circulate under the shingles and dry them. These can be brushed on or dipped before installation or professionally applied with spray equipment. A cedar shake roof has a much more rusticappearance but may not be historically accurate. Effective wood roof shake or shingle preservative treatments include copper naphthenate with a 3 to 4 metal content and copper octoate with a 1 to 2 metal content.

Tapersawn wood shakes are sawn on both sides for a semi textured look with a stronger shadowline than a wood shingle. Semitransparent oil based preservative stains on wood roofs. A shakeis split to reveal the uneven natural grain of the wood on the face and isusually much thicker than a shingle. 1 handsplit and resawn and 2 tapersawn.

Handsplit and resawn shakes have the split face exposed with a naturally rustic appearance and are sawn on the back. Wood shakes are thicker than wood shingles. Chances are your old wood shake shingle roof was installed over what s called an open spaced deck. If an old roof was once covered with wood shingles or shakes they were likely nailed to skip sheathing which consists of widely spaced 1 in.

Climate can affect its life expectancy.