Look familiar? Then it's probably time to have your cedar shingles replaced by the cedar shingling experts at Avenue Road Roofing.

Cedar shingles are composed of natural roof material. They have a long life expectancy, but require expert installation and are three to four times more expensive than asphalt shingles.

Avenue Road Roofing is one of the few certified members of the Canadian Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau (CSSB), an organization dedicated to safety and protecting the environment with initiatives such as reforestation.

Cedar shakes and shingles manufactured by CSSB members are the only products labeled with the "Certi" brand name. Certi-label™ cedar shakes and shingles are manufactured by experienced craftsmen who take pride in their trade and the quality of their product.

    See an Avenue Road Roofing cedar shingle project.

Member mills are bound together by a rigid quality code. Unannounced independent inspections conducted by accredited third party agencies ensure that product quality is maintained. Products are inspected to conform to various local, national and international codes and standards.

Each bundle of product has the mill's distinctive Certi-label™ tucked under the bundle strap. Asking for "the blue label" or "number one blue label" is not specific enough: CSSB members' products are the only ones with the Certi brand name on the label.

Avenue Road Roofing is an approved Installer, which means it has agreed to apply cedar shakes and shingles to roofs and walls in accordance with application standards established by the CSSB, or to stricter standards if required by local building codes.

What is the life expectancy of a cedar roof?

The life expectancy of a cedar roof is typically 15-30 years, depending on age, environment of installation area, quality of wood, quality of installation, care and maintenance performed, foot traffic, and amount of overhanging trees. The CSSB administers a limited product warranty on behalf of its manufacturing members. The length of the limited warranty is for 20 or 25 years, depending upon the product type.

See what you can expect in terms of life expectancy by doing some research on the performance of cedar roofs in your area.

What is the difference between a cedar shake
and a cedar shingle?

Generally, a shingle is sawn on both sides and is thinner at the butt than a shake. A shake is typically split on one or both sides. There are important exceptions, such as tapersawn shakes (shakes sawn on both sides).

Shakes are manufactured with hand-held powered equipment. Certi-Split® shakes are made by taking the wood straight split from the block, and sawing it end-to-end at an angle. This creates a shake, which is sawn on one side and split on the other, often called a "handsplit and resawn" product. Medium shakes are shakes that measure nominal ½" at the butt. Heavy Shakes are shakes that measure nominal ¾" at the butt.

Number one versus premium grade

Premium grade shake bundles contain no flat grain shakes. Number one grade shakes contain up to 20% flat grain per bundle.