roofing shakes minimum requirements?

May 18, 2005 9 Replies

I just had my roof replaced but I want to check the contractor did the job correctly.



I'm concern about



the minimum width of roofing shakes (cedar) the minimum distance between the edge of one shake and the edge of the one below/above it the minimum thickness



Is there a national guideline for this type of thing, or where should I go look for a rules that applies to my house (in seattle)? The State? The City? The manufacturer of the shake?


(D) There was an installation sticker w/ every bundle of shakes.

Depending on what particular shake you had, the setback is somewhere between 5 and 9 inches. The minimum width is whatever is in the bundle. Same goes for the thickness. A good installer will reject wildly out of average shakes as he goes. Remember, if you're really talking shakes as opposed to shingles, they're split so variation is the norm.

I'd also note that if you had concerns, the time to have raised them was while the work was in progress....

Here's a link that might help,

formatting link
having said that, the randomness of the shakes is part of the whole appeal. Taking a tape measure to the roof to ensure that every shake meets guidelines seems, well, a little absurd.

Minimum width is around 5" usually, but I don't think there is a minimum width "rule".

One and 1/2 inches.

I think a shake butt is 5/8 ths, no?

Definitely cedarbureau.org mentioned in the previous post!

Probably based on City code. I'm putting up shakes and have to follow City code, which is exact to what is on the cedarbureau website.

They do make a tapersawn shake, which is what I'm using. It's sawn like a shingle, but thicker, like a shake.

Don't know whose you're using, but there certainly are a bunch far less than that in every bundle I've ever laid....more like 3" would be my estimate, but I've not measured them to actually see what the smallest were.

Man, that would take a of material if you mean a setback of

1-1/2"???

Depends on the weight--there are 1/2" too, at least. I suspect there are other variations available as well. Certainly w/ sawn shingles "juniors" of 3/8" are common.

...

That's a heavier weight shingle in my thinking...

I found something in my city code that says roofing should conform to UBC chapter 15. I believe UBC is uniform building code. However, I can't seem to find an online copy to look at. Could someone help?

Ah, thanks for the heads up. Mine haven't arrived yet, supposed to be here next week. Just based the 5" number on my shopping research.

I thought they were asking for the minimum side lap between joints in adjacent courses!

I guess so. They call it a tapersawn shake though. It's installed like a regular shake, using the felt interlay technique.

Not sure really. When I got the permit to reshingle my Mansard they simply photo copied the appropriate section of the city building code for me.

Michael Nickolas

formatting link

As far as I know, all of the model codes are copyrighted by the issuing organization. Librarys sometimes will have them, but you won't find them on the internet, you're supposed to buy them.

...

Ahh...yes, I'd agree that an inch would be a bare minimum in my book...I'd prefer more like two or greater. On a narrow shake like a 3" I mentioned as probably a minimum, I'll certainly shoot for hitting it in the middle.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required