What Are the Pros and Cons of Cedar Shake Roofing?

Cedar shake's core advantages are western red cedar's natural extractives that resist decay, a 20-to-40-year service life when moisture is managed, and a hand-split natural patina that weathers to silver-gray, per the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau. The wood itself carries the decay resistance rather than a coating, so a maintained cedar field holds its life span across decades.

Western red cedar weathers to a distinct silver-gray patina that no manufactured covering replicates, and hand-split shakes vary in thickness and grain within a single graded bundle, giving the surface its irregular natural texture. The Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau grades the shakes, and pressure-impregnated fire-retardant cedar reaches a Class B or Class C fire rating under UL 790 and ASTM E108, with a Class A wood roof reached only as a component assembly over a fire-retardant cap sheet, per the CSSB Certi-Guard program.

A detached cedar re-roof counts as ordinary maintenance under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, so a one- and two-family roof-covering replacement carries no construction permit in New Jersey, per the NJ Uniform Construction Code. That keeps the project on a homeowner's own timeline, while a structural change to rafters or trusses still triggers a permit.

Cedar shake's drawbacks center on moisture: moisture management sets the lifespan, and the assembly needs at least 1.5 inches of air space or it decays early, per Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau and NRCA guidance. North and shaded slopes degrade faster, the field demands recurring preservative and cleaning, and moisture, not insects, drives most premature cedar failure.

Moisture cycling cups, curls, and splits the shakes over time, the dominant cedar failure mode, and deep moss or lichen prying the shake edges retains water against the wood. Recurring preservative and cleaning maintenance runs roughly $0.15 to $0.60 per square foot every few years, per HomeGuide cost data, and Newark's average January low near 25.5°F (NOAA 1991-2020 normals at Newark Liberty) adds freeze-thaw stress to any trapped moisture.

Untreated cedar is nonclassified for fire under UL 790 and ASTM E108, so a fire rating depends on pressure-impregnated fire-retardant shakes where occupancy ratings apply, per the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau. A cedar covering also requires complete tear-off rather than a recover-over under N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4, which adds removal cost to every re-roof.

Cedar shake fits an Essex County home whose character calls for cedar's natural look over a ventilated deck with at least 1.5 inches of underside air space, per Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau guidance. The home's owner stays committed to the recurring preservative and cleaning cadence, and the ventilation path determines whether the cedar reaches its full 20-to-40-year life.

The ventilated assembly is the deciding factor, because a cedar field that cannot dry between rain events decays well before its rated life, especially on north-facing and shaded slopes. A shallow slope too low for shakes calls for a different covering, such as a rubber EPDM membrane, since cedar sheds water at the surface and depends on slope to clear it.

A registered New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor documents the cedar grade, the ventilation path, and the maintenance schedule before work begins, so verify HIC registration with the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs and confirm insurance before signing. Newark Quality Roofing provides a free written estimate that sets the scope, materials, and timeline for an Essex County cedar shake roof.