When it comes to choosing the right roof material for your home, sorting through all the choices can be exhausting. With so many different types of materials, each available in a variety of colors and styles, many homeowners tend to shy away from non-traditional materials.
Wood shingles, also known as shakes, have a checkered past. Depending on who you ask, these unique roof shingles come with their fair share of risks, but they also bring many benefits as well. Due to the costly nature of roof repair and replacement, many homeowners simply don’t want to risk installing a roof material they haven’t used before.
Advantages
Wood shingles offer a variety of colors, style of cut and dimensions. They can be easily tailored to fit many angles and roof lines, as well as cut in various styles. Many homeowners may use them to cover the entire roof, or provide a designer style accent to a portion of the roof. Some homes even use wood shingles to accent portions of the exterior wall to the home.
Wood shingles are typically made from cedar, a naturally water resistant and aesthetically appealing wood. They are lightweight and allow air to flow beneath the shingle to the underlying materials, which can provide necessary heating and cooling effects to the attic of a home. These days, wood shingles are available in a recycled version, which is made from recycled wood and scrap lumber. Recycled roof materials have become popular among the green roofing movement.
Disadvantages
Wood shingles do require a bit more maintenance than other roof materials. Since they are made from wood, they tend to be more vulnerable to water damaged, mold and insects. However, regulations require that wood shingles get chemically treated to reduce the risk of fire or water damage. The increase maintenance requirements can also lead to an increase in the costs associated with maintaining the roof materials.
Wood shingles can be a great roof material choice for many homeowners. Choosing an unfamiliar roof material is not a bad idea as long as special considerations for the weather conditions and maintenance requirements are upheld.
