What Is Wood Shake Roofing?
Wood shake roofing covers a sloped roof in hand-split or tapersawn western red cedar laid over a ventilated assembly that lets each course dry from the underside after rainfall. The air space beneath the shakes manages the moisture that drives most cedar wear.
What Wood Shake Roofing Is Available in Bloomfield?
Newark Quality Roofing installs, repairs, and maintains cedar shake and shingle roofs across Bloomfield, building a ventilated assembly on the steep-slope pre-war Colonials, Dutch Colonials, and Capes that define the township and on the period homes near Bloomfield Center.
Cedar shake and shingle systems lay hand-split or tapersawn western red cedar over a ventilated assembly that lets each course dry from the underside after rainfall. A Newark Quality Roofing cedar installation builds at least 1.5 inches of air space beneath the shakes, because moisture, not insects, drives most premature cedar failure, per Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau and NRCA guidance.
Pre-war Colonials, Dutch Colonials, and Capes carry the steep slopes that suit a cedar roof across Bloomfield's older streetcar-suburb grid, and the period homes ringing the Bloomfield Green show the natural texture a cedar covering delivers. A Newark Quality Roofing crew hand-selects each shake, sorts for color, and gaps adjacent shakes for moisture expansion across the surface.
Bloomfield Center parcels add a historic check, because exterior roofing work on a parcel listed on the Township of Bloomfield's Historic District Property List requires a Historic Preservation Commission application under Bloomfield Township Code Chapter 302 before a construction permit issues. A Newark Quality Roofing job confirms a parcel against that list before scoping a cedar covering near the Green.
What Wood Shake Roofing Problems Are Common in Bloomfield?
Moisture-driven decay is the defining wood shake challenge in Bloomfield, because moisture, not insects, drives most premature cedar failure, per Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau and NRCA guidance, and shaded north-facing slopes under mature street trees degrade faster.
Mature street-tree canopy in Brookdale and across the older grid loads cedar valleys and surfaces with leaf and branch debris that holds moisture against the shakes, and shade feeds the moss and lichen that signal moisture retention and decay. A Newark Quality Roofing maintenance cycle clears the debris and applies a fungicide or algaecide treatment that slows the moisture-driven decay shortening cedar service life.
Fire rating governs whether cedar is code-compliant on a Bloomfield home, because untreated wood shakes are nonclassified for fire under UL 790 and ASTM E108, while pressure-impregnated fire-retardant shakes carry a Class B or Class C rating. A Class A wood roof is reached only as a component assembly of Class B fire-retardant shakes over a fire-retardant cap sheet, per the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau Certi-Guard program.
Cupped and split shakes cross the replacement threshold when more than 25 to 30% of the shakes cup or split, or when a shake cracks under the light-bending flex test, the InterNACHI field check for advanced cedar degradation. A Newark Quality Roofing inspection runs the flex test on suspect shakes before sizing a repair against a full re-roof.
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Addressing moisture and debris on a cedar roof early limits the decay that shortens its service life.
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What Is Our Process for Wood Shake Roofing in Bloomfield?
Newark Quality Roofing inspects the cedar roof and the attic, runs the flex test on suspect shakes, and presents western red cedar grade and treatment options matched to the building and the Essex County climate. A written estimate documents the cedar condition with photographs and sets the scope, labor, materials, and timeline before any work begins, per Integrity Home Exteriors documentation guidance.
Newark Quality Roofing strips the existing covering to the bare deck and rebuilds the ventilated assembly with at least 1.5 inches of air space beneath the shakes. A permitted re-roof requires complete removal of the existing wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile under N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4, per the NJ Rehabilitation Subcode, so a crew tears off to the deck, replaces deteriorated sheathing, and installs spaced skip sheathing or a breathable interlayment for the drying space the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau and NRCA guidance require.
Newark Quality Roofing hand-selects each shake, fastens with corrosion-resistant stainless steel nails, and reseals the valley, wall, and penetration flashing to specification. A crew sets thicker shakes at the eave courses, gaps adjacent shakes for moisture expansion, and reflashes the cedar transitions where flashing corrosion and lifted laps admit water, the most common leak source across roof types, an industry estimate attributed to the NRCA. A magnet sweep for nails closes the job, backed by a written workmanship warranty.
How Much Does Wood Shake Roofing Cost in Bloomfield?
$10,000–$25,000
Typical NJ roof-replacement range per HomeAdvisor and Modernize; cedar sits at the premium end. Final cost depends on roof size, pitch, material, and access. Newark Quality Roofing provides a free written estimate.
Why Choose Our Roofing Company for Wood Shake Roofing in Bloomfield?
- Specialized wood shake roofing experience in Bloomfield — we know the local building stock, codes, and common issues specific to Bloomfield homes and businesses.
- A registered New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor, fully insured for wood shake roofing work throughout Essex County.
- Transparent, written estimates for every wood shake roofing project — no hidden fees and no pressure to commit.
- A local Bloomfield crew familiar with the area's permitting and property-access challenges.