Roofing Choices: Certainteed Landmark vs GAF Grand Sequoia/Grand Canyon

Are you saying all shakes made today are “second growth” cedar? I would find that hard to believe, and I believe the grading rules do not sllow for all second growth to be used. Been a few years since I was in the shake biz so maybe it’s changed. But second growth would be crap for roofing

Kpratt,

I’m not sure exactly what trees they are using now since we haven’t even bid a shake job in over 10 years. I do know that 25 years ago, when our area was flooded with them they were all garbage. It may have had more to do with our local market than anything. Our entire East side, where most of the custom home builds were, had ccrs requiring shake roofs. You can guess what happened when hundreds of homes had shakes required. The roofers used the cheapest ones they could find. There are still decent 1” butt shakes I’m sure if you wanted to pay a fortune for them, but in our area you won’t find a ‘medium’ shake that will last more than 17-20 years. They may be first growth cedar but they are not old trees.

I refreshed my shake knowledge real quick, and second growth are not allowed. Now that being said, rules are made to be broken, so you can always buy crap if you look hard enough.

Kevin Pratt

Please excuse my abbreviated message sent via iPhone

You might look at the GAF Glenwood for a shake look in composition.

Cedar shingles last longer than cedar shakes, both need to be installed over ventilated decks.

All cedar used for roofing needs to be clear cedar, no knots or other imperfections.

Cedar roofs in my area that fail prematurely are almost exclusively nailed directly to the deck, they soak up water and aren’t able to dry out so they split, curl, & turn to mush.

Also when nailed directly to the deck heat transfers through the cedar and causes ice build up, very impressive massive ice build up sometimes.

In my area a cedar roof is expected to last at least 30 yrs and sometimes in excess of 50 yrs.

It’s not unheard of for roofers or contractors to use improper material and installation practices which seems to be pretty common with cedar roofs.

All of the cedar shakes in our area were nailed over spaced sheathing and lasted an average of 17-20 years. We have replaced hundreds and maybe ran into 2% that were over solid decking, mainly homes with vaulted ceilings and rigid insulation. Probably a combination of bad wood and our long, hot summers. Even good 100% vertical grain cedar shingles start looking rough here after 20 years.

Just to circle back. We had a roof inspector look at our roof and his estimate was between 3-6 years of additional life. We are likely to sell the house within 10-15 years from now so we are likely looking at a new roof. Our HOA allows Certainteed Presidential/Landmark or GAF Grand Sequoia or GAF Grand Canyon. Given that we are talking about staying < 20 years it seems that a 30 year roof is ideal.

Therefore it seems to me that investing in the Presidential may be overkill. Am I right?

… and if there are recommendations for good roofing companies here in the Redmond, WA area I’m all ears.

Yes it would be overkill using presidential if you are allowed to use landmarks AND are planning on selling. I’m thinking that your HOA is specifying Landmark TL though. It is comparably priced with the other options you mentioned. I doubt they are requiring all the premium composition options and allowing’30 yr.’ Landmark to slip through.

Yeah, you are probably right. I was going by the letter of the law though :smiley:

You misunderstood me, you must abide by your ccrs no matter what. It protects your and your neighbors property values.

Yes, agree. I do abide by the CORS. However, when I speak to the letter of the law, I am talking about what is written down in the handbook. But yes, I do see the value in the HOA