Blaine, Minnesota
Skilled Cedar Shake Roofing in Blaine, MN
Cedar needs to dry, and here there is almost nothing in the way of that. The subdivisions that fill Blaine sit on open sand plain with few mature trees over them, so a shake roof gets sun and moving air on all four sides. The same open ground is what pries at ridge caps and works under the first courses along a rake.
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Open ground helps cedar, wind does not
Tear off on a Blaine plat usually finds a deck built in the 1990s or early 2000s, sheathed solid and never intended to breathe. Cedar cannot go straight onto that. We set battens or a breather mat so air moves under every course, hold the keyway spacing and the offset between courses, and use stainless fasteners, because cedar tannin chews through plain steel. Then we deal with the wind. On an open plat the failures start at the edges: ridge and hip caps lifting, the starter course peeling back along a rake, shakes at the first course working loose until water gets behind them. Those areas get closer fastening and a shorter exposure than the field. If the house is a rental or the maintenance is not going to happen, asphalt roofing is the honest recommendation and we will say so at the estimate.
Cedar Shake Roofing in Blaine
Building a shake roof with no windbreak
Ridge and hip caps that stay
Wind crossing a treeless plat gets under the caps first. We hand fit and fasten the ridge and hip lines tighter than the field, because that is the line that opens on a bad night.
A roof that dries on every side
Blaine's open sand plain gives shakes what they need most: sun and moving air on all four planes. This is one of the few places nearby where cedar behaves the way it is supposed to.
Rakes and starter courses locked down
Wind finds the first course and the rake edge and peels from there. Those courses get doubled starters and closer fastening, so the edge of the roof is not the weak part of it.
Silvering that stays even
With nothing shading the roof, the color moves from honey to gray at the same rate on every plane. Shaded lots go blotchy. Yours will not, and that shows most on a big simple gable.
The first plats are due now
Blaine permitted 135 new housing units in 2025 against 880 in 2022, so most roof work here is reroofing the earlier plats rather than covering new ones. Those first wave roofs are at the end of their run.
One permit, two counties
The city sits across Anoka and Ramsey counties, which confuses plenty of homeowners trying to look up requirements. It does not change how a shake roof is built, and the permitting is ours to sort out.
How we work on a Blaine plat
Wind night calls get answered
The phone is covered around the clock, all week. After a hard night the first thing we go look at is the ridge line, because on a plat with no windbreak that is where the roof will have opened.
We stage on a small new lot
New plat lots do not leave much room. We plan where the delivery, the dumpster and the tear off debris go before the truck shows up, and we protect the sod.
The ventilation method is in writing
The estimate says whether we are running battens or a breather mat and how the assembly exhausts. Cedar fails when that part is vague, so we do not leave it vague.
We show you the edges
Before we bid we photograph the ridge, the hips and the rake, because that is where an open plat roof gives out first and where the work should be concentrated.
Family run, and it shows
We are a family run, faith based company. That turns into plain answers about what your roof needs and what it does not, and no pressure behind the estimate.
What people near Blaine say
Orange Exteriors did an excellent job with my new roofing install. Very professional, on time and hard working crew. Completed the job in one day.
Dick JohnsonRoof installation We live in Eden Prairie. Orange did an excellent job on our siding replacement and provided great customer service all the way through.
Thomas DeSutterSiding replacement, Eden Prairie, MN Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair
Cedar questions from Blaine
What people in Blaine ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Which part of a shake roof gives out first out here?
The edges, every time. Out on the open plats there is no windbreak, so the pressure lands on ridge caps, hip corners and the first course along a rake. We shorten the exposure and tighten the fastening in those zones. The field of the roof is rarely the part that lets go.
Blaine sits in both Anoka and Ramsey counties. Does that affect my roof?
Not the roof itself. A shake assembly on the Anoka side is detailed exactly the same as one three blocks into Ramsey County. What actually changes the job is the age of your plat and how exposed the lot is. We handle the permitting either way, so the county line is our paperwork, not your problem.
How often does a cedar roof out here need cleaning?
Less often than one under trees. The open ground here means sun and wind hit every plane, so shakes dry quickly and moss struggles to hold. Plan on a look every few years, a clearing of the keyways and valleys, and treatment when the wood starts drinking water instead of shedding it.
Ask whether cedar suits your Blaine plat
Tell us your street and the year the house went up. We will look at the exposure, the pitch and the wind side, then give you a free estimate with no obligation attached.
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Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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