Old Wood Shake Roof

Climate can affect its life expectancy.

Old wood shake roof.

There are two main types. Life expectancy of a shake roof a wood or composite shake roof can last around 30 years except pine which lasts around 20. Semitransparent oil based preservative stains on wood roofs. These days most roofers cover skip sheathing with plywood because it stiffens the roof and is safer to walk on.

Chances are your old wood shake shingle roof was installed over what s called an open spaced deck. Boards that allow air to circulate under the shingles and dry them. In harsh weather where freeze thaw cycles are common or in wet weather climates they may not last as long. 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.

These can be brushed on or dipped before installation or professionally applied with spray equipment. Typically it s composed of 1 6 deck boards spaced about 4 5 inches apart. 1 handsplit and resawn and 2 tapersawn. Cedar roofing comes in two varieties shingles or shakes.

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. Tapersawn wood shakes are sawn on both sides for a semi textured look with a stronger shadowline than a wood shingle. A shakeis split to reveal the uneven natural grain of the wood on the face and isusually much thicker than a shingle. A shingleis tapered and smooth sawn on both surfaces for a uniform appearance.

This was possible because wood shakes are stiff planks of wood and would overlay these gaps without posing any sort of issue.