St. Cloud, Minnesota
Complete Cedar Shake Roofing in St. Cloud, MN
The Pantown bungalows Pan Motor built in 1917 and 1918, and the older houses south of them, are the kind of stock cedar was made for, but exterior work in St. Cloud historic districts follows the city's preservation rules, and the porch and dormer returns on these roofs are too shallow for shake no matter what the main pitch does.
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Steep main pitches, shallow returns, two different roofs
Open a Southside roof and you often find skip sheathing and the remains of the original cedar under later layers, which tells you the house was built for shakes and can take them again. The problem is never the main field. It is the porch roofs and the dormer returns that flatten out to almost nothing, where meltwater backs up behind ice and sits. Shakes do not belong on those planes, so we run metal or membrane there, carry ice and water protection well up past the transition, and keep the cedar on the pitch that sheds. In one of the five designated districts we get the exterior work squared with the city before material is ordered. On houses outside the districts, some owners weigh cedar against asphalt roofing and choose by what the block already looks like.
Cedar Shake Roofing in St. Cloud
What cedar work on an old St. Cloud roof includes
Metal where the pitch goes flat
Porch roofs and dormer returns on these houses run nearly level. Shakes cannot shed at that slope, so those planes get standing seam or membrane and the cedar stays on the steep field.
Ice dam protection at the transitions
The trouble spot is where a steep pitch meets a shallow one and meltwater stalls. Ice and water membrane carries well past that joint and up under the shakes before anything else goes on.
Exposure matched to the original coursing
A bungalow roof laid with modern wide exposure looks wrong from the sidewalk. We set course spacing close to what the house was built with, which also matters if you sit in a district.
Dormer cheeks flashed tight
Southside and Pantown houses are full of small dormers, and the side walls of those dormers leak more often than the roof itself does. Step flashing goes in course by course, woven with the shakes.
Fascia and rafter tails checked
Century old fascia and rafter tails are often soft where a gutter hung wet for decades. We look at them while the eave is open, because a new cedar edge should not be landing on wood that is already going.
Brick chimneys counterflashed properly
Century old chimneys on these roofs are usually sealed in with tar and hope. We cut a reglet, set counterflashing into the brick and step flash the sides so the joint stops depending on sealant.
How we work on St. Cloud historic streets
We square it with the city first
Five locally designated districts here fall under preservation rules. We confirm what is allowed on your street before material is ordered, so nothing gets torn off ahead of an answer.
The quote separates every roof plane
Main field, porch returns, dormers and flashing are listed on their own. On a century old house those are different jobs, and you should be able to see which is which.
Staging kept off old trim
Original brackets, rails and porch columns break when a ladder leans on them. We set standoffs and plan where weight lands before anyone climbs, because that trim is not replaceable.
Open when the ice dams start
We are open twenty four hours, seven days. In January that matters, because meltwater backing up behind a dam does its damage over a weekend, not over a month.
Free estimate, cedar or not
We look at the roof and tell you honestly what belongs on it. If cedar is not the answer for your house, the estimate says so, and it still costs you nothing.
What people near St. Cloud say
Orange Exteriors fixed a minor leak that involved replacing flashing and a few shingles blown off our roof. Timely, quality work. Great ideas to keep our roof going long term.
Jim ThomasStorm damage repair From sales to construction crew to upper management, they helped make an insurance battle a breeze. This is the best contractor interaction I have ever had.
Jim NormanRoof replacement 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
Bungalow roofs and district rules
What people in St. Cloud ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Which St. Cloud streets fall under the preservation rules?
Five districts are locally designated: Barden Park, Pantown, Southside, Southeast and the Commercial District. If the house sits in one of them, exterior work falls under the city's historic preservation rules, which usually means confirming material and appearance before anything is ordered. We get that squared away first, since finding out afterward is the expensive way to learn it.
Can shakes go on my Pantown bungalow porch roof?
Almost certainly not. Those porch and dormer returns flatten out to nearly no pitch, and shakes need real slope to shed. Water backs up under them and the porch deck rots quietly for years. We put metal or a membrane on those planes and keep the cedar on the steep main field where it belongs.
Is the old cedar under my St. Cloud Southside roof worth saving?
Sometimes the sheathing is worth more than the shakes. Skip sheathing under a century of roofing is usually still sound, and it is exactly what shakes want to sit on. The original cedar itself is rarely reusable after that long. We pull it, look at the boards, replace what is soft and build back from there.
Get a cedar plan for your bungalow
Send the address and we will look at the main field, the porch returns and the district rules together, 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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