Cedar Shingle Roof

This cedar shingle roof is a one of a kind. It was installed a few years ago in Sacramento CA. I would not call this a thatch style roof but many have used that term to describe roofs like this. This cedar shingle roof sets in front of McKinley Park, a large park in the center of Sacramento and because of its unique look, it gets lots of attention.

The “thatch work” you see is where the shingler has boosted or stacked multiple courses of shingles to raise up to look like an eyebrow. Some like this style some do not. It is obvious that this homeowner did – because the added cost of this custom work is not cheap.

Cedar shingles are 18 inches long and smaller in sizes compared to cedar shakes is typically 24 inches in length. These shingles are 3/8th of an inch in thickness and are bundled in random widths. The type of roofing is normally applied directly to the skip sheathing so that the shingles can breathe. Nowadays the cedar for roofing is treated with a fire-retardant which gives a roofing system that has a fire rating of C, B, or even a class A rating with a few added features to the system.

Cedar shingle roofs can be class A, B, and C fire rated

Dove FinialShingle roofs have been used as a roof covering in North America for many years and in fact, was used on the first President of the United States home in Mt. Vernon. George Washington’s personal home had wood shingles. They most likely milled from sugar pine trees from Virginia. These shingles were milled with a fancy butt design called fish scale, on the house and a final and were painted a bright red before installing. This same style has been repeated at Mt Vernon many times over the years, down to our modern-day having the same clean look as when the President lived there.