Shingles or Shakes for Your Calgary Roof?

At Century Roofing Limited we know an educated consumer is a good customer, and a good contractor ensures his customer is educated in making good purchasing decisions. When it comes to roofing, Century Roofing Limited is that experienced contractor who can provide you with sloped roofing options.

Cedar shakes and shingles have been a popular and stylish option for many centuries. Initially, cedar shingles were sawn from a block, providing a more refined classic appearance, while cedar shakes were split off using a mallet and froe,  providing a more irregular, rustic appearance. Today, most cedar shakes are made by machines, and are sawn on at least one side. Shakes are sometimes machine grooved to appear more like authentic hand split shakes.

The Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau description is “a shingle is sawn on both sides and is thinner at the butt than a shake. A shake is typically split on one or both sides.”

While machines now do most of the labour in manufacturing, they still follow the dimensional rules of their predecessors, which vary by grade. Shakes are thicker than shingles, ranging from ½ to ¾ inches or greater at the butt end, while shingles range from about ⅜ to ½ inches. Functionally, the most important difference between cedar shakes and shingles is that shingles are milled more precisely than shakes. Cedar shakes are more irregular, and don’t lay as flat when installed, which can be penetrated by wind-blown precipitation.

Because shakes are vulnerable to wind-blown rain or snow, a layer of felt paper is required between courses for roofing installations, allowing shakes to be installed with two layers of shakes and one layer of felt paper, rather than three layers of shakes, which would be quite thick. Joints between cedar shakes must still be offset by at least 1-1/2" from course to course.

Cedar shingle installations are more precise, lay flat, and are never installed with felt interleaving. The shingles are always installed so there are three layers of shingles at any point. Cedar shingles, properly installed as three overlapping layers, provide a highly weatherproof system, even in extreme weather.

At Century Roofing Limited, we offer both shingles and shakes for our sloped roof consumers, and are happy to assist in your decision as to which suits your home’s style best.

Benefits of Shakes in Calgary

Our wood shingles and shakes come with a number of benefits, including energy efficiency, eco-friendliness, low weight, low maintenance, and beauty - few roofing materials capture natural beauty better than wood. To learn more about our roof shingles, Calgary residents can call us at 403-235-5457. We’ll provide a free quote and answer any questions.