Expert: Tom Souza - 10/26/2009

Question
Hello Tom,

thanks in advance for taking my question.

i have a 12 year old non-leaking cedar shake roof that is in decent repair.  i recently had ~100 shakes (curlers/splits) replaced to nurse it along for hopefully another 10 years.

on the ridges some of the staples are totally gone/popped but the shingles are not missing or angled at this point(i think the staples at the top of the shingles that are covered by the shakes above are ok).  my roofer advised not tapping them down or putting in new nails.  it seems like a problem waiting to happen.is there anything else proactive i can do?  any thoughts?  what's the average midwest lifespan of a good quality shake roof where i don't have too many trees? thanks again.

Answer

Hi Mitchell


When removing the old nails from ridge area fill hole with a good caulking ( sicaflex is one )
When adding new nails also seal the top of that nail with same caulking it should last.

A good medium wood shake roof should last 18-20 years and a good heavy shake roof should last around 20-25 years if done proper, not a lot of debris lands on roof and winds stay normal heavy winds can damage a wood shake roof.

Good luck

Tom