Tips on Caring for Your Wood Shake Roofs and Siding

Keeping up on roof maintenance and investing in professional roof cleaning services can help maintain the condition or restore the beauty of your wood shake. Here’s a look at roof cleaning in the Twin Cities, and some care and maintenance tips for preserving wood shake roofs and siding.

About wood shake

Wood shake roofs are often made of cedar. They hold up very well in some areas of the United States, especially in places that experience high winds or hail. Like other wood sections on your house, wood shake roofs need routine care and maintenance to keep it looking good and going strong for years to come. If you neglect or fail to maintain wood shakes, they can become susceptible to warping, splitting, falling off and rotting over time.

Most cedar shakes are western red cedar, which offers stellar properties and benefits. Western red cedar has a defect-free straight grain and dimensional stability. It’s also lightweight, water-resistant and decay-resistant. You should install a roof that is decay- and rot-resistant, unless you plan to replace your roof frequently. Luckily, cedar is this way thanks to natural substances found in the wood.

Care and maintenance

It’s not too difficult to maintain a cedar shake roof as long as you keep up on regular cleaning and maintenance tasks. You can also hire a professional roofer to inspect and clean your roof on a seasonal basis:

• Remove tree debris: It’s good practice to remove all tree litter from wood roofs, including leaves, pine needles, twigs and pollen. These types of debris can build up between individual shakes and in the valleys of the roof’s structure. Schedule a time to have your roof cleaned of debris before and after the rainy season.
• Don’t attract fungi: All types of wood are susceptible to rot, and therefore, your wood shakes can grow a wood-rotting fungi. The thing about wood-rotting fungi is that it needs water to form and continue growing. Reducing the amount of water on your wood roof can stop fungal organisms from forming.
• Promote drying: Remove tree branches that hang over your roof, because they shade shakes from the natural drying power of the sun. Moss and lichen growth is a sign that your wood roof is not drying properly. Additionally, trim back limbs that touch your roof to avoid damage to shakes when they sway back and forth.
• Pressure washing: Have you decided that shampooing or pressure washing your roof is your best option? Make sure to hire a professional, as rental equipment may be too strong for the soft cedar.
• Cedar siding: Cedar wood siding is strong, attractive and long lasting. By performing regular maintenance of your cedar siding, you can avoid permanent damage to the exterior of your home. Cedar siding has some of the same issues as cedar shakes and similar care and maintenance steps to prevent problems like mold, mildew, water damage and rot.

If your home needs new siding or roof cleaning in the Twin Cities, don’t hesitate to call Diamond Roofing, Remodeling & Roof Shampoo!