Wall flashing
Valleys, walls and penetrations get proper metal flashing for a watertight finish.
Cedar Shake Roofing
Cedar Shake Roof Installation Montville, NJ
Installing a cedar shake roof in Montville means getting the slope, sheathing, interlay, spacing and fasteners right before the look of the wood even matters, and walk you through the choices before any wood is ordered. Dial (862) 420-3039 to talk with a local roofer about a new cedar roof.
A cedar roof lasts as long as the installation lets it dry. The wood has to breathe, swell and shrink, so spacing, sheathing and ventilation are designed in from the start. Skip one of those details and the roof can start cupping, rotting or staining within a few seasons.
Choosing the material comes first, and the choices are wider than most owners expect. Split shakes look rustic and heavy, sawn shingles look trim and even, and taper-sawn shakes sit in between. Top grades use edge-grain heartwood with no knots, the most stable wood for a roof.
Code and climate shape the rest. Wood roofs need enough pitch to shed water quickly, generally 4 in 12 for shakes. Your roofer should check the permit requirements, any fire rating rules and any neighborhood guidelines before ordering.
Cedar Shake Roof Installation is often paired with cedar shake roof replacement and cedar shake roof repair, depending on the cause.
Looking for Montville cedar shake roof installation? Call (862) 420-3039 to talk to a local roofer.
Call nowThe process
How cedar shake roof installation works
Each layer of a cedar roof has a job.
Prepare the deck
The deck is either open, spaced boards or solid sheathing with a drainage and airflow layer on top. In cold areas, the lower edge gets solid sheathing and an ice and water barrier.
Start at the eaves
A strip of felt goes along the eave, then a doubled or tripled starter course of shakes or shingles overhangs the fascia by about an inch and a half. The rake edges overhang slightly too.
Install the shakes
Each course of shakes gets a strip of 18 inch felt interlay laid above the butts, so the felt is hidden but blocks rain blown through the gaps. Side gaps are kept even, joints are staggered from course to course and the exposure follows the length and the slope.
Fastening
Nails are stainless or heavily galvanized, two per shake, driven flush but not crushing the wood. Plain steel or electro-galvanized nails rust and stain long before cedar wears out.
Flash the valleys
A wide open metal valley is installed, with shakes cut to a clean line on each side. Walls, skylights and vent pipes get their own flashing woven into the courses.
Ridge caps
Hips and ridges are covered with cedar caps that alternate their overlap, nailed with longer fasteners into solid wood. Pairing a ridge vent with soffit intake keeps the attic dry and helps the shakes last.
What is included
What a cedar installation covers
Ridge caps
Cedar caps finish the hips and ridge, often over a ridge vent with longer nails for wind resistance.
Felt interlay
An interlay of felt sits under each course hidden from view but doing real work.
Choosing the wood
The style, grade and treatment are chosen with you with fire and preservative treatment where needed.
Deck layer
Sheathing is installed or repaired to suit a wood roof so the cedar can dry from both sides.
Related service
Cedar Shingle Roof Installation Montville, NJ
Shingles give a cedar roof a cleaner, more uniform look, and their installation reflects that. Exposure depends on the shingle length and pitch, and it is shorter than for shakes. The keyways between shingles are kept narrow but never closed.
Felt interlay is a shake detail, while shingles rely on overlap for protection. Shingles can be installed on spaced boards or on solid decking with a ventilated layer beneath. A Montville roofer can lay out samples of each so you can compare.
Local help
Cedar Shake Roof Installation Near Me
New cedar roofs in Montville go on everything from custom homes to additions that need to match an existing wood roof. Across Montville and nearby towns like Lake Hiawatha, Towaco, Boonton and Pine Brook, the key questions are the pitch of the roof, how much shade it gets and whether local rules call for fire-treated wood, so a site visit comes before any material order.
Need cedar shake roof installation around Montville? Call (862) 420-3039 for a Montville roofer who serves the towns around it too.
What the local climate does to a roof
Winters here are long and cold, with snow on the roof for weeks at a time and plenty of nights below freezing. When warm attic air melts the snow, the meltwater runs down and freezes again at the eaves, which is how ice dams form and back water up under the shingles. Strong coastal storms push rain into every weak spot at the flashing and valleys. Most homeowners in Montville, NJ have the roof checked in the fall and again after the snow melts.
Why call
Why act early
Smaller repairs
Small roof problems caught early usually stay small repairs.
Roofers who know Montville
Roofers in Montville know the roof types and weather wear common in local homes.
Know what happens next
Ask your questions before you agree to anything.
Common questions about cedar shake roof installation
What is the difference between cedar shakes and cedar shingles?
Shakes are split from the log, while shingles are sawn. Shakes are rugged and heavy with deep shadow lines, and shingles are trim and even. They also install differently: shakes use felt interlay between courses and longer exposures, and shingles do not.
Do cedar shakes need a preservative treatment?
Whether to treat depends on moisture, shade and fire rules. Treated shakes last longer in humid or shady spots, and fire-treated ones may be mandatory in wildfire zones. A Montville roofer can recommend the right combination.
Can cedar shakes be fire rated?
Untreated cedar is combustible, which is why fire-retardant treated shakes exist. Treated shakes, often combined with a special underlayment, can meet higher fire ratings required in some wildfire areas. Check local rules first, since some areas restrict untreated wood roofs.
How steep does a roof have to be for cedar shakes?
Cedar shakes need a slope of about 4 in 12 or more. Cedar shingles can go on roofs as low as 3 in 12 with a shorter exposure. Lower slopes need a different roofing system.
What goes under a cedar shake roof?
A cedar roof is built over either spaced boards or solid sheathing with a breathable mat. Shakes also get strips of felt interlay woven between each course, and an ice barrier goes along the eaves in cold climates. Everything under the shakes is chosen so the wood can breathe.
More questions? Call (862) 420-3039
Often needed together
Cedar Shake Roof Replacement
Full replacement of worn-out wood roofs, from tear-off and sheathing to the new ridge, when the old shakes are too thin to repair.
Learn moreCedar Shake Roof Repair
Replacing split, cupped or missing shakes, clearing moss and fixing valleys and ridge caps, without tearing off the shakes that still have years left.
Learn moreRoof Installation
Installing a new roof layer by layer, from drip edge and underlayment to flashing, vents and the finished roofing, whether it is asphalt shingles, metal or another material.
Learn moreRoof Ventilation
Roof ventilation work that keeps the attic dry in winter and cooler in summer, so shingles and decking last as long as they should.
Learn more
Looking for something else?
See all roofing servicesGet cedar shake roof installation help in Montville
Call (862) 420-3039 to talk to a roofer serving Montville, NJ.