Are Cedar Shakes The Right Choice For Your Home?

With so many different types of products in the roofing and siding market, making an informed choice among them becomes critical. Cedar shakes and shingles have been around for hundreds of years, but the quality and performance achieved through continual improvements in production and treatment might surprise you. Wood is the first choice for those who values its combination of traditional appearance and modern performance. It is ideal for the remodeler who wants to maintain the visual integrity of historic homes, homeowners in new developments that increasingly impose appearance standards, and builders and architects serving increasingly environmentally conscious customers.

Here are some key points to help inform you about the benefits of using cedar shakes and shingles:
Performance
Cedar shakes and shingles are built to stand up to the elements both through short-term extremes in weather and through long-term existence.
Wind tunnel research shows that properly applied cedar roofing will withstand winds exceeding 130 mph.
The Haag Engineering test shows that wood roofing is also more resilient to hail than other materials.
Long-term protection against the elements is available through CERTI-Last shakes and shingles which have been pressure impregnated with wood preservatives to give 30 years of warranteed protection against moss and fungal growth.
Fire Retardant Fire protection can be a priority with consumers who are building or remodeling a home, especially in fire-prone regions like California and Texas.
With proper treatment, cedar shakes and shingles fulfill even the most stringent building and fire codes.
CERTI-Guard shakes and shingles provide excellent fire protection and meet the rigorous testing standards for Class C, B or A fire resistance and weathering set by the Uniform Building Code and National Fire Protection Association.
CERTI-Guard products are pressure impregnated with fire retardants and thermally cured for years of protection, and are the only fire-treated shakes and shingles to successfully pass 10-year weathering tests. They carry the FTX lifetime warranty and are the only ones to have received approval from the California State Fire Marshal.
Envirosmart Wood roofing has a number of environmental qualities which make it a good choice for "green" consumers.
According to the USDA Forest Service, wood roofing and siding have higher insulation values than equivalent products, reducing the amount of energy required to heat or cool homes and offices, saving homeowners money on their energy bills.
Wood roofing also is made from a renewable resource and uses much less energy to produce than comparable products.
Old wood roofing, moreover, is biodegradable and can be safely disposed of without fear of environmental harm.

Quality
The blue CERTI labels (CERTI-Split, CERTI-Last, CERTISawn, etc.) are a mark of quality awarded by the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau to several hundred mills in the U.S. and Canada who participate in a stringent quality control program. In order to use the CERTI label, mills must meet quality standards established by the Bureau and undergo regular inspections and audits by independent ICBO-approved quality control agencies. The Bureau offers a 20/25-year CERTI label warranty on qualifying member materials applied by approved installers.

How to Read a CERTI Label: CERTI labels show the key information that consumers need to be confident that they are purchasing a quality product. They tell how the product was made, how it was inspected, and who made it. Knowing how to read a CERTI label will help you to understand the differences in products, and to provide your clients with the best product for their need. Here are some things to look for on your CERTI labels: Identification of the quality auditing company (the independent quality control auditing firm which has inspected the product) located in the left of three small boxes running horizontally across the label; An ICBO ES Evaluation Report number, showing that the mill produces under a total quality program, located in the right of the three small boxes; Manufacturing mill name, address and phone number on the center left; Product grade, found at the top of the label; Product size, at the bottom of the label; The CERTI product registration mark, the assurance of a quality product, at the upper right of the label. Knowing the qualities of wood roofing and siding and understanding what a CERTI label means will enable you to help your customers select a product that meets their needs and provides the quality they expect.

This information was taken from an article that was published in the:
BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST JULY 1996
*Certi-Split Color Coded Diagram added by S&K Cedar Products Ltd.