I am a roofing contractor in california and need some advices for roofing products to match wood shake. looking for best roof materials. Thanks in advance for your help. Artie
In Ca you can get fire-treated shakes in either Class B or C flavors. We have to take the B rated shakes up to an A-rated assembly by adding a retardant layer prior to felting. They are expensive but the good thing about them is that since so few shakes are installed anymore the quality of the material available is quite good. We did two large projects with them last year.
Being he's from California I bet he can't use cedar anymore due to fires. So wood products are out. Alum. shakes look like crap to me. so my best suggestion is a heavy weight comp shingle. Nothing really looks like a wood shingle roof then a wood shingle roof so their is not much choice. You may be able to use fire treated wood shakes. I think they come with a class C rating but are very costly if I recall. About twice the price of regular wood shakes.
In Colorado a lot of codes are now switching away from wood products, I believe eventually they will not be allowed. Due to this, last year many of our customers were inquiring about synthetics, this is something my company has been installing for many years now. You should consider Davinci shakes or Enviro-shakes, they look great and have outstanding performance, offering 50 year warranties. Be advised these cost more than the average, but if your looking for a long term investment these are the way to go.
Perfection aluminum shakes look like thick butt shakes