Cedar Shake Roof Replacement Reading, MA

Reading

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Reading: what actually fails

Cedar runs $12 to $20 a square foot against $6.75 to $11.50 for architectural asphalt. It is the traditional covering here and on the right house it is worth the money -- but it is the only roof on this site that genuinely needs looking after, because cedar has to dry out after it gets wet.

Cedar shake installs at roughly $12 to $20 per square foot in this market, against $6.75 to $11.50 for architectural asphalt. It is the traditional New England covering, it looks like nothing else, and on the right house it is worth the money.

The HIC registration number, on the paperwork
That the contractor is pulling the permit, not you
When the leak appears -- a thaw-only leak is an ice dam
How far the ice barrier runs up the slope

Call (978) 252-8915

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Reading — old wood shingles lifted and split along a roof — **Cedar**This work, on a house like yours

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Reading — clay roof tiles and timber rafters seen from inside an attic — **What fails**The detail this work turns on

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Reading — roofers working on the roof of a blue two-story house, a ladder against the wall — **The walk-round**No figure before the roof is walked

What it costs

Cedar shake roof replacement cost in Reading

Cedar shake installs at roughly $12 to $20 per square foot here, against $6.75 to $11.50 for architectural asphalt. It is the traditional New England covering and on the right house it is worth it -- but it is the only roof on this site that genuinely needs looking after. Two things sit on top of the $12,000 to $22,000 a typical house costs. The winter specification -- ice barrier coverage and ventilation, which are the parts that decide how many seasons the roof sees. And the permit fee, which is the town's and which the contractor pulls.

Typical$12 - $20 per sq ft

From$12

Pricedasphalt is $6.75-11.50 for comparison

Time on site4 - 8 days on site

What makes it work

Sun and air. Cedar has to dry out after it gets wet, so an open site with slopes that see daylight is what it wants, and ventilation beneath the shakes is part of the system rather than an extra.

What kills it early

Shade and debris. A north slope under trees holds damp, moss grows into it, and a cedar roof that should give decades gives considerably less. On a heavily wooded lot the honest recommendation is often asphalt.

How to compare it honestly

Cost per year of expected life, conditional on maintenance. A looked-after cedar roof outlasts asphalt comfortably; an ignored one does not, and the comparison is meaningless without deciding which you will be.

Buildings in Reading

Roofs in Reading, and what that means for cedar shake roof replacement

Two things decide a Reading job. The winter, because wet heavy snow sits and ice damming is a season rather than an incident. And the paperwork: the permit is ours to pull under c. 142A, and a homeowner who pulls their own loses Guaranty Fund eligibility.

The registration that protects you is statewide, so it does not change at any town line on this site -- only the building department does.

It is also the only roof on this site that genuinely requires maintenance. Cedar needs to breathe from beneath and to dry out after it gets wet, so a shaded north slope under trees is where it fails first, and moss holding damp against it will end a cedar roof years early. Ventilation under the shakes is part of the system rather than an optional extra.

Every area we cover

Before you book anything

Two ways to lose $25,000 of protection without noticing

Massachusetts gives you more than most states. Both of the commonest ways to lose it are things the homeowner does.

Do not pull your own permit

This is the one almost nobody knows. Pull the permit yourself and you fall into the homeowner exemption, which disqualifies you from recourse under c. 142A and from the Fund. Obtaining permits is the registered contractor's responsibility under that same chapter.

Get it in writing, because the law says so

Any home improvement over $1,000 must be in writing, which covers every roofing job. A verbal price on a roof is not a contract in this state, and a scope that says only 'strip and re-roof' cannot be held to anything.

Then ask the technical question that matters here

How far does the ice barrier run up the slope? In this climate a token strip at the eaves is not enough -- it wants to reach past the point where the heated building ends. It is the single most useful thing you can ask a roofer north of Boston.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in neighboring cities

All areas

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Wakefield

Lakeside and Victorian. Details, not area.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in North Reading

Big simple roofs under a lot of trees.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Lynnfield

Large houses, complicated roofs, real cedar country.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Wilmington

The simplest roofs here. Layer count decides it.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Stoneham

Hilly, tight, and full of capes with rooms in the roof.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Woburn

A city: every building type within one mile.

Questions

Before you book cedar shake roof replacement

What is worth knowing before you book this.

Questions

What homeowners here ask

Is cedar worth it here?

On an open site with slopes that see sun and air, and on a house the architecture suits, yes -- it outlasts asphalt comfortably when it is looked after. On a heavily wooded lot it is not, because cedar has to dry out and shade plus debris will end it years early. We will say which yours is.

How much maintenance does it actually need?

Keeping it clear of debris, keeping moss off, and keeping the ventilation beneath it working. That is not onerous but it is not nothing, and it is the whole difference between a cedar roof that justifies its price and one that does not.

Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Massachusetts?

Yes in almost every municipality, and here is the part that matters far more than the answer: DO NOT PULL IT YOURSELF. Obtaining permits is the registered contractor's responsibility under M.G.L. c. 142A. A homeowner who pulls their own permit falls into the homeowner exemption, which disqualifies them from recourse under c. 142A and from the Guaranty Fund -- the fund that compensates eligible homeowners up to $25,000 toward unpaid judgments against a contractor. So when a roofer suggests it would be quicker if you pulled it, what is actually being proposed is that you give up your protection to save somebody an afternoon.

What is the average cost of replacing a roof in Massachusetts?

A standard asphalt replacement on a Greater Boston single-family house typically runs $12,000 to $22,000, reaching about $30,000 on larger or more complicated roofs. Per square foot that is $6.75 to $11.50 for architectural shingle against $3.50 to $5.50 for three-tab. Boston-area labor puts these figures roughly 10 to 15 per cent above western Massachusetts, which is worth knowing if you are comparing against a statewide average.

Should a 20 year old roof replace?

Not on age alone. Twenty years is well inside the normal service life of architectural asphalt and at the end of it for three-tab, so the first question is which you have. Then it is condition: granule loss, brittleness, how flat the covering lies, whether the deck is sound. North of Boston, add one more -- whether it has been damming. A roof with twenty winters of meltwater under its bottom courses is considerably older at the eaves than it is anywhere else, and that is where it will fail.

Cedar Shake Roof Replacement in Reading