Which roofing material is better? |
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Asphalt shingles available in variety of colors from light grey to dark brown. It is a good fit to any house exterior design.
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Natural look of real wood. |
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Most manufacturers recommend installation of 3-tab asphalt shingles on the roofs with 2:12 or greater pitch, but some products should be installed on the roofs with minimum 4:12 pitch. Local building codes might restrict installation of low resistant to wind, of physical damages shingles in certain areas.
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Majority of cedar shakes designed for installation on the sloped roofs with 4:12 minimum pitch. Installation of wood shakes might be prohibited in certain areas due to high fire hazard.
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Depends on product, normally withstand 60 – 70 mph wind.
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Vary and greatly depends on installation quality. Most wood shakes can easily withstand over 110 mph wind.
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Good resistance to impact and withstand hail storms much better compare to asphalt shingles. |
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Very susceptible to open fires.
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Low resistance to moss accumulation. |
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Subject to weathering, but properly installed and treated wood shakes is a durable roofing material. |
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Good ability to withstand feet impacts, but walking on a roof should be done with exceptional care and only in case of roof inspection, maintenance or repair.
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Fair ability to withstand feet impacts. Older wood shakes can be easily broken under the feet. |
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Quality asphalt shingles last about 15 - 20 years.
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Greatly vary and depends on a region, weather condition, and maintenance. Normally lifespan of cedar shakes is 25 - 35 years.
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Maintenance typically includes cleaning of any debris from shingles. |
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High maintenance roofing material. Without proper care wood will rot and can be easily damaged by weather condition quickly. |
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Vary, normally manufactures offer 25-years limited warranty on asphalt shingles. |
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Bundles approximately 13 in. wide and 40” long.
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Bundles different dimensions. |
Typical weight per square foot of coverage area on roof
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Depends on wood thickness, species and exposure. Kiln-dried cedar shakes considered as a lightweight roofing material.
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One of the cheapest roofing materials. |
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Greatly vary, but normally more expensive compare to asphalt shingles. |
Installation cost (labor)
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Charges to install one square of asphalt shingles are lowest compare to any other roofing materials.
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Labor fees for wood shakes installation could be 40% – 60% higher in comparison with asphalt shingles.
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Installation of traditional shingles is one of the easiest tasks. |
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It is much harder to install cedar shakes than asphalt shingles. Not recommended for do it yourself installation roofing material.
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Installation of 30 squares of asphalt shingles on low or medium slope roof normally should be completed by a crew of six in one day. Replacement of same size roof typically takes couple days. |
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Crew of 7 normally is able to install 35 squares of wood shakes on simple gable roof with 6/12 pitch in 3 to 5 days. Replacement might take 4 to 7 days. |
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Depends on damage. It could be a hard task to repair wood shakes on a roof.
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Number of layers possible to install
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A few layers (often 3 - 6) – depending on local codes and roof condition. |
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A single layer of wood shakes can be installed on adequately built roof structure. |
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Blowing off shingles by strong wind, physical damage, moss accumulation, leaking in valleys. |
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Poor installed flashing, rotten wood, splits, gaps in between shakes. |
Asphalt shingles and wood shakes have their own advantages and disadvantages. There is no straight answer which roof is better. With adequate installation and proper maintenance a quality wood shakes roof have longer lifespan compare to budget friendly asphalt shingles which still tends to be much more popular roofing material.
1 Rating was estimated on the scale from 1 to 5, accounting 1 as lowest and 5 as the highest quality of a product. Always consider the fact: not all products made equally the same and performance of particular roofing material significantly depends on individual product quality, adequate installation, and proper maintenance.