Replies

1. 
   ToolBear_ | Apr 08, 1999 04:42am | #1

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   It's a losing battle. We had cedar shakes and a handy tree for needles. Hated them. Cedar is about a 15 year roof and it's hard to get good shakes these days. Replaced the lot with asphalt shingles. Happy day.

   Every time you walk on them to clean, powerwash, waterproof (as if), etc., you put more cracks in them. Then the winter winds get under them and pull out pieces. Hope there is good felt under them.

   There has been some talk of copper or zinc strips at the ridge for moss control.

   The waterproofing agents are basically low end bulking agents that try to fill up the grain with something to repell water (for a week or so). The effect is short-lived. High end bulking is best done in a tank, under heat and pressure, and this is not about to happen on a roof.

   BTDT

   ToolBear

1. 
   jcallahan | Apr 08, 1999 05:08am | #2

   *I think that a good deck cleaner (Cabot's makes a good one ....there are others) and a soft bristle brush followed by a good rinse should do the trick . Nothing wrong with a pressure wash as long as it is done gently, otherwise damage to the shakes can results. As far as sealers go, it depends, what kind of color do you want (are they weathered?) and being a roof, most will require fairly frequent application. There's another thread on staining red cedar shingles ..... it might be useful. Good Luck!

2. 
   Guest_ | Apr 08, 1999 05:49am | #3

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   Why bother - the charm of cedar shake shingles (if properly installed so they have an air space underneath) is the green mold. My 250 year old house has it and it looks great.

3. 
   Wayne_Mullis | Apr 13, 1999 10:06pm | #4

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   I worked for a company that pressure washed and treated cedar shake roofs as their exclusive form of business. Here in the northwest there are plenty of cedar roofs to keep one busy. We would pressure wash thoroughly, taking off all mold, and yet avoid causing anymore cracks or burns in the shake. We would then wait a good week or two to let the shakes completely dry. Treatment of the shakes would always be with a oilbased product, either TWP,CWF, or a simple chevron shingle oil mixed with diesel for moss killing. When I was working in the business I could easily tell what roofs had been treated with a waterbased or oilbased treatment just by walking on the shakes.Lots of cracking in waterbased.

4. 
   Beth_Nelson | Apr 14, 1999 02:25am | #5

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   Does anyone have advice on powerwashing and sealing cedar shake roof shingles? We have some mold on the shingles from trees near our house! In the past we have carefully scraped the shingles and hand washed them with bleach! We are thinking of having a contractor powerwash them and seal them. Anyone with experience in this area that could offer advice??

5. 
   Guest_ | Apr 14, 1999 02:25am | #6

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   Beth,

   Check out The Cedar Guild at:

   http://www.wvi.com/~cedarinfo

   They publish an excellent guide on cedar roof care called "Double Your Roof's Life".

   You can also look at http://www.cedarbureau.org/care.htm

   Jon