Cedar Shakes

The most common cedar shakes are made by splitting cedar into ½" – 1 ½" thick pieces and then sawing the pieces on the diagonal to get two hand-split resawn shakes from each piece. Cedar shakes are commonly 24" long and have a thickness at the butt end of either ½ to ¾", referred to as Medium, or ¾ - 1 ½", which are called Heavies.

Both types of cedar shakes are installed over underlayment with an exposure to the weather of 10". An additional layer of 18 inch wide 30# underlayment is laid course for course with each row of shakes and overlapping each row by 4 inches. The interlayment should not be exposed in the joints between shakes on a properly installed roof. There are other variations of shakes, but these are the most common.

Cedar shake roofs tend to be more rustic in appearance with the rough, split look and variable thickness. Correct specification and installation of underlayment, shakes and flashing are critical to the success of the installation. Your Garlock French representative will assist you in achieving your goals.