Waconia, Minnesota
Precise Cedar Shake Roofing in Waconia, MN
Cedar is a choice here rather than an inheritance. Roughly half the houses in Waconia went up since 2000, so most of the shake roofs we install are going onto houses that have never had them. That is a clean slate, and it also means the wind coming off the lake gets designed for from the first course rather than discovered later.
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Open water changes the fastening schedule
Wind has miles of open water to build across Lake Waconia before it reaches the lakeside plats, and it arrives at the roof edge head on. That is where cedar comes off: the rakes, the eave course and the ridge caps. We hand nail into the sheathing, double the fasteners in the first courses back from the edge, and set ridge caps with a longer nail than the field takes. Wind driven rain is the other half. On an exposed west facing plane we carry the underlayment further up and detail the valley open so the volume it carries in a squall has somewhere to run. The upside of that exposure is that these roofs dry fast, which is exactly what cedar wants. If you would rather not think about wind uplift at all, our asphalt roofing page walks through what you give up and what you gain.
Cedar Shake Roofing in Waconia
Cedar built for a lakeside Waconia lot
Extra fasteners at the wind edge
The rakes and the first courses back from the eave take the worst of the fetch off Lake Waconia. Those courses get twice the fasteners so the shakes do not lift and hinge in a hard west wind.
Caps nailed into solid wood
Ridge is the first thing to leave a lakeside roof. We lay alternating cedar caps with longer fasteners driven into solid wood, not into the top course of shakes, so the line holds through a straight line wind.
Thicker butts on exposed planes
Full sun and constant wind are hard on a thin shake. On the planes facing open water we go to a heavier butt so the courses hold their shape instead of checking and curling in the first few summers.
Permits filed through the city portal
Waconia runs roofing permits through its ePermit portal and publishes its own roofing guidelines. We file the paperwork, work to those guidelines and schedule the inspection so nothing stalls mid job.
Cedar that suits a newer house
Shakes on a 2004 elevation can look pasted on if the exposure is wrong. We size the exposure and the shake width to the pitch and the massing so it reads like part of the house.
Attic airflow sized to the roof
Newer Waconia houses are built tight, and a cedar roof over a starved attic cooks from below. We check intake at the soffit against exhaust at the ridge before we set a single course.
Why homeowners near the lake call us
We check the wind exposure first
Before quoting, we look at which planes face the open water and how much shelter the lot actually has. That decides the fastening schedule and sometimes decides against cedar.
The upkeep is in the handover
When we finish you get a short list of what a lakeside cedar roof asks for and when: the rake courses to look at after a hard blow, the keyways to keep clear, and the season to do it in. Nobody has to guess a year from now.
The load stays off your yard
Cedar comes in heavy bundles and lakeside yards stay soft into June. We stage the load on the drive, run plywood where a wheel has to cross grass, and keep the trailer off your turf.
We wait for a dry window
Cedar goes down best on a dry deck. We watch the forecast and pick a window rather than opening a roof ahead of a lake storm, which is usually a day or two of patience.
Everything named on the estimate
Our estimate names the shake grade, the exposure, the underlayment and the metal. Hold it next to another bid and you can see exactly where the two differ.
What people near Waconia 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
Waconia cedar roofing, answered
What people in Waconia ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Does wind off Lake Waconia rule out a cedar shake roof?
No, but it changes the details. Cedar holds up in wind when it is fastened into solid sheathing with enough nails at the rakes, eaves and ridge, which is where uplift starts. What it will not survive is a light fastening schedule copied from a sheltered inland lot. Exposed planes get the heavier one.
Will a cedar roof on the lake go gray faster?
It will gray, and on an open plane facing the water it will get there sooner because sun and wind do the work. That is weathering, not failure. What matters is whether the butts stay thick and flat. If you want the color held, that is a treatment on a schedule, and we will tell you honestly what it involves.
Is cedar worth it on a house built in the last twenty years?
It can be, and here is what decides it. Cedar suits a roof with pitch, sun and moving air, and most newer Waconia lots have all three. It suits a cut up, shaded, low slope roof much less. We look at the planes, the attic ventilation and how the house is massed, then give you a straight recommendation.
Talk cedar before the next west wind
We will come out, read the exposure on each plane and price a cedar roof detailed for the wind off Lake Waconia. Free, no obligation, and we file the permit if you go ahead.
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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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