Which Is Better: Wood Shake vs Asphalt Shingles?

Asphalt shingles cost less to install than cedar wood shake in New Jersey: architectural asphalt installs at $6.50–$11.00 per sq ft and 3-tab at $5.50–$9.50, while cedar runs $10–$20+ per sq ft, per Josten Roofing.

Asphalt shingles keep a full NJ roof replacement inside the $10,000–$25,000 band that HomeAdvisor and Modernize cite for the state, because the fiberglass-mat product carries lower material and labor cost than split cedar. A cedar roof replacement lands at the upper end of, or above, that range, since hand-laid split shakes raise both the material price and the labor hours.

Cedar wood shake also carries the higher ownership cost over time: cedar needs a fungicide/algaecide treatment every few years at $0.15–$0.60 per sq ft plus periodic cleaning and prompt replacement of split or cupped shakes, per HomeGuide and the CSSB, while algae-guard asphalt needs only periodic inspection. Cedar repair averages $400–$1,800 per Angi, versus $400–$1,000 for an NJ asphalt leak repair, so the recoating cadence and repair gap widen the lifetime cost beyond the install difference. The lifetime math is not just install price but the recurring treatment, cleaning, and shake-swap labor that a low-maintenance asphalt roof never bills.

Asphalt shingles fit NJ's fire-rating expectations more readily than cedar wood shake: asphalt carries a standard Class A rating, the top class under UL 790 / ASTM E108, while untreated cedar is nonclassified and unrated, per NAHB and the CSSB.

Cedar wood shake reaches a fire class only with pressure-impregnated fire-retardant treatment, which the CSSB Certi-Guard program rates Class B or Class C; a Class A wood roof exists only as a rated assembly of FR shakes over a fire-retardant cap sheet, not as any single shake. NJ carriers weigh the untreated-cedar fire class, while asphalt's standard Class A avoids that scrutiny, per NAHB and the CSSB.

NJ's humid, freeze-thaw climate pressures cedar that asphalt resists: with about 31.5 in. of annual snowfall, repeated freeze-thaw cycles, and nor'easter winds per NOAA climate normals, untreated cedar fails through moss and algae growth, cupping and warping, edge splitting, and rot beneath cupped shakes, per the CSSB and NRCA. Cedar requires the CSSB air space of at least 1.5 inches beneath the shakes for drying, and north-facing shaded slopes degrade fastest, while asphalt's algae-guard granule options handle the same humidity.

Asphalt shingles also answer NJ's hail and wind exposure: asphalt ages through granule loss, tab curling, and thermal-shock cracking, per the CSSB and NRCA, but impact-rated asphalt shingles rated Excellent or Good on the IBHS Impact-Resistant ratings withstand hail up to 2 inches under the 2025 FORTIFIED standard, with Class 4 the top UL 2218 impact class. Untreated cedar carries no comparable impact rating, so a homeowner weighing severe-weather resilience finds the asphalt path documented against named test standards.

Cedar wood shake makes sense over asphalt for an Essex County home only when historic character is the goal and the owner accepts the upkeep: periodic cleaning, the every-few-years fungicide/algaecide treatment, and the CSSB ventilation detail.

The upkeep commitment is the gating question, not the install budget alone. Cedar carries no fire class until pressure-impregnated fire-retardant treatment brings it to Class B or C under the CSSB Certi-Guard program, and NJ carriers weigh that untreated fire class where asphalt's standard Class A draws no such scrutiny, per NAHB and the CSSB. An owner who skips the treatment and ventilation detail inherits both the degradation modes and the insurance friction.

Historic character is cedar's clearest case: cedar weathers to silver-gray and matches the architectural heritage of districts like Montclair and Glen Ridge, and on a maintained roof the CSSB rates cedar shake 20–40 years and cedar shingle 30–50 years, versus 20–30 years for asphalt per the InterNACHI life-expectancy chart and NAHB. That lifespan ceiling holds only when the maintenance schedule is met; an unmaintained cedar roof in NJ's climate degrades well below its rated life, erasing the edge over a low-maintenance asphalt roof.

The decision checklist comes down to upkeep commitment versus the cedar look without the cedar cycle. An owner who accepts the recoating schedule and the higher install and ownership cost gains the authentic split-cedar texture; an owner who prefers a set-and-inspect roof has two alternatives — architectural asphalt lines from GAF and CertainTeed that mimic split-cedar texture without the recoating cycle, and synthetic-shake products from DaVinci and CertainTeed that reproduce the texture at zero recoating maintenance, costing more than asphalt but less than real cedar.