I had this shakes job lined up at the last minute they went with somebody else cheaper, well I guess they got what they paid for
There were also 18" Taper sawn shakes as well as 18" barn shakes. The barn shakes were a natural split shake on both sides. These were all installed at 7 1/2" exposure.
There used to be a lot of back yard shake cutters that would cruise the job sites at night and pick up the grading labels to put on their bundles to sell them at the market rate. It became such a problem that the shake mills used to give us 50 cents a label if we returned them So they could stop the scam.
We always would buy 24" Premium Resawn 100% edge grain in either Mediums or Heavies. The best were a 24" Taper split that were split from the butt of the tree to get the natural taper that allowed for the natural wood grain on both sides of the shake. A saw cut surface always caused the shake to rot from the underside especially with the woven felt causing condensation. We also used a lot of 24" taper Resawn shingles. All of these were installed with a 10" exposure.
The shakes on this roof look like what they would sell as "culls" around here. Shakes and shingles should always have a label on each bundle from the Shake and Shingle Bureau showing the grade.
twill59 Said: Arent they sposed to be 7 1/2 OS? These look like 10 or more10" exposure is standard and the maximum. A buddy of mine I just talked to, went to look at an addition. The existing roof was a cedar shingle(5" exposure). For some reason the roofer used cedar shakes turned smooth side up to match the wood shingles on the existing roof lol what a mess. Anyone seen this before?
clvr83 Said: Ok, Ill ask. What are we seeing hanging over the cupola?I believe it is just a piece of I&W turned upside down. These shakes come from one of the best roofing suppliers in Atlanta, for everything but shakes. Over the years I have used their shakes a few times because that is where the builder would get them. If I have any say so about it , I steer them away because their shakes are always sub-par compared to the shakes of 2 other local suppliers. Idonno maybe its because they are 20/sq cheaper. Anyhow I knew this builder wanted to use the cheap chit, I said something about how bad their shakes could be, next thing I know Im out of work for a month.
Ok, I'll ask. What are we seeing hanging over the cupola?
I remember working for a Native fellow back in the mid 80's that got a contract to install 160 square of shakes on a community centre on a Reserve. Two sides of 65 square each and a 30 square lean to attached to one side. No pipes, no chimneys, no valleys and only 120 feet of wall flashing to install.
The only monkey wrench in the whole job was that the Native Band was splitting their own shakes. Well some bundles had maybe 20 shakes in them while others weighed over a hundred lbs. The wood was terrible. Lots of 3" wide pieces, lots of twisted and bent pieces. There were some that were 20" wide but had a 4" curve to them. We called them "Indian surf boards". We would show up each morning and they would have about 20 square loaded on the roof and we would get 12 to 15 square out of it and kick the rest over the roof edge to the ground below. They split over 225 square of material to get us enough product to cover the job. Even at that, what went on was not the best quality. Lasted only 15 years and they re-roofed it again.
Would have been a hoot to see it if they had to make their own capping. That was an art in itself back before you could buy factory ridge capping.
It doesn't look like they even used a starter.
Would have liked to see a 25' valley. They can't seem to keep a 5' one straight.
The only thing that really shocks me on the whole thing is why they didn't use white caulking on the chimney.
Well.........coming from the land of shake roofs, I must say this is the most pitiful batch of wood I've ever seen. Over 50% of the wood looks like it is flat grain. Some of the butts look like they are a 1/4" thick at best, while other ones have knobs about 3" thick that they have roofed over. Half that roof wouldn't have even been good to make kindling for the wood stove. Sad-sad-sad.