I have a customer who wants me to finish the 3rd floor attic space in their large home. It was designed when built with adequate head room, etc., but has one major issue: it has a cedar roof, and wind blown snow sometimes gets into the attic in significant quantities, enough that they put down plastic and shovel it out in buckets when it is really bad!! What can be done to keep the snow out so the area can be insulated and finished, without fear of snow getting in and melting and causing problems?
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A cedar shake roof over skip sheathing, maybe with shake liner but no underlayment of felt over the skip? Wind can blow rain and snow thru that--I know, it was the original roof on my house.
Sounds like it will need to be stripped. I would add 7/16" OSB or 1/2" ply over the skip, then a solid base of felt, then shakes.
I agree, sounds like it's not a shake roof but a shingle roof. Shake would have felt every course and no way would snow get in. Shingles, on the other hand don't have any felt and the only fix is strip them off and reroof.
Wait a minute! He didn't say it was shingles, just that it was cedar, and I notice that a good half of people don't know the difference anyway, so I wouldn't bet the farm on that brief description.
Add to that - not every shake roof was done with interwoven felt like it should be.Regardless, this roof needs to be rebuilt. it isn't doing what a roof is supposed to do.
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Of course, having the open attic will make matters worse, since wind can blow through the courses so easily. If the rafter space was insulated and rocked, eg, the draft would be greatly reduced, and hence the snow infiltration, but probably not enough to prevent a problem.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
True enough, but certainly not worth the risk...
I agree, if snow coming through the roof then it needs replacement.
I think Piffin is right, the roof is probably shakes and it still needs to be redone.
Nevertheless, there's still something intriguing about Snow Falling on Cedars.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
But not ceilings.
Birds return in the spring of the yearIs this thread turning into a cedar snigger or a snow swallow?
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Global warming will take care of the problem in a bit :)
It sounds to me like some shingles have loosend up from the wind, or, were nailed to high on the shingle to begin with making them lift in a strong breeze. I agree with the statement about sheathing the roof over but if you do that then tarpaper should be layed down first on the sheathing then a matrix screen should be placed over the roof deck before the new wood shingles are installed.
I find it hard to believe a cedar roof will let snow through it, and not have any issues with rain.I learn something new every day.How old is this roof anyway?
I built a large home last year with a cedar shingle roof and we had snow issues.The snow was being driven up soffit vents in some areas, and through the tops of valleys in others.We installed a material like coravent in these areas, and it stopped the snow from migrating.
The wind can force snow into the smallest areas.
Greg in Connecticut
you've got a lot of speculation going on here - any way to post a couple of digital pictures of just what this mystery roof looks like?
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I'll try to get a couple pictures posted in the next week. I suspect that cupping of some of the shingles is the problem. The roof dates to 1988 but is in generally good shape.
Jim Hall
>>"you've got a lot of speculation going on here - any way to post a couple of digital pictures of just what this mystery roof looks like?
Speculation? Based on its described performance, I'm still not convinced whatever it is is a roof. ;-)
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
The roof dates to 1988 and is generally in decent shape. It has been maintained and treated with something to prevent moss, etc. I suspect that some of the shingles are "cupped" enough that they don't lay flat and thus have a gap underneath that lets the snow in.
Jim Hall