Cedar Shake Roof Maintenance
Many of the Cedar Shake Roofs we are asked to inspect and clean show signs of neglect from lack of proper maintenance. This is often because the owners of Cedar Shake Roofs are not aware that they need to ensure that the roof is kept clean, the valleys clear of debris, and the roof clear of organic material.
A Cedar Shake Roof will not decay on its own, it requires some outside help, such as organic debris building up and creating an infestation and damp. It takes moisture combined with an infestation to create the decay that affects cedar shake roofs.
Once the debris is removed and cleaned off the roof it can sometimes occur that an area of the roof will need fixing or changing. If the roof has been left too long then you may find the cedar shakes have rotted and the felt underlining gets damaged. The felt protects the roof and the shakes protect the felt.
Proper cedar shake maintenance is simple; making sure the valleys of the roof are clear and there is no build-up of organic material, fungus, algae, brown rot, or fallen debris such as leaves. These checks can be done at the same time as the gutters are cleaned.
Cedar Shake Roofs need to stay dry in order to function properly and to reach their full potential lifespan. It is important to keep all tree cover cut back from the cedar roof. Tree cover provides too much shade and moisture which doesn’t allow the cedar roof to breathe and stay dry. Also a cedar roof should have a cleaning every six to eight years, which is subjective. Yearly maintenance of your cedar roof will go along ways to extending the life span of your roof. This is just being pro-active and will save you from a premature roof replacement. So keep the valleys clean of debris, keep any tree cover cut back and have a routine cleaning schedule in place and your cedar roof will last decades.
