Cedar Shake

Good Morning Permies,

Recently I have finished siding my chicken coop with cedar shake, and I am over the moon with how well it came out.

I learned a lot doing it, but now I am having the realization that perhaps my work isn't all done.

Should I coat the shake in something? Does linseed oil have a place to help the longevity of the cedar?

These shingles are mostly protected by an existing metal roof, but they will see some brunt of the weather.

Howdy,

I have split my own shakes. I have made shakes/shingles from sugar pine, ponderosa pine, incense cedar and port orford(white cedar). I have been given shakes made from western red cedar and redwood. I live in the rain belt of S. Oregon, between the I-5 corridor and the coast. The cedars and the redwood last the longest, and I wouldn't use any other type for the roof. I have used sugar pine and pondo to use as exterior wall covering, but pine seems to rot. Not all but its a pain to redo sections that show signs of rotting. To make shakes last longer there should be no sap wood on the exposed area of a shake. I have not used anything to make shakes water proof and shakes will expand when the season because wetter/rainy.  Need to have a gap between shakes when laying up to allow for this expansion.

I learned about shakes and shingling from the Foxfire books. They show shakes made from straight oak hardwood. Also Drew Langsner(?), uses hardwood shakes in his book, "Building a Log Cabin".

Thanks so much Randal!

I have been slowly saving prime shake making material (and a few "accidental" shakes) when I cut my local incense cedars. I was going to use them for a shed I am planning and now I know it will hold up. If it can last where you live it will last where I live!

Howdy,

REALLY STRAIGHT wood grain will make really straight shakes, no twists, no bends. I have some PO cedar shakes that are 30-32" long and almost 12" wide. I have some incense cedar "boards" that are 8' to 10' long. I "found" some incense cedar logs here when I moved, left by the loggers, and straight and pertty. Incense cedar is pinkish/red and I love the color but have not figured out how to make it last.

When using shakes for shingles on a roof you need a good pitch, I think it's 4-1 for starters.

I have also made shakes from really straight Doug Fir. When I am splitting my firewood and I see that pieces are spliting straight, I set some aside to see what I can do, madrone, black oak, tan oak, even white oak. I am what you call a "wood butcher". My motto is "you can always burn it.

Oh so the incense cedar isn't holding up huh? That's kind of what I see in other applications. Anyways, mine are just going to be siding on a metal roofed building so they ought to have a better chance I am thinking.

You can always burn it! Good stuff.