- Elevating Exteriors – From Concept to Completion
- Elevating Exteriors – From Concept to Completion
For most homes in Skagit, Island and Whatcom counties, cedar shake is worth it only if you're prepared to actively maintain it — otherwise a well-detailed composition or metal roof will serve you better and longer. Cedar can look beautiful here and it does have real advantages, but our wet winters and shaded lots make it one of the higher-upkeep choices you can put on a house.
Cedar shake roofing is a legitimate option in this part of Washington, not a mistake, but it's a material that rewards attention and punishes neglect. If you love the look, have a roof with decent sun exposure and airflow, and you're willing to budget for periodic cleaning and inspection, cedar can last a long time and age gracefully. If you want a roof you can largely ignore for 20-plus years, cedar is probably not your best match — a dimensional composition shingle or a standing-seam metal roof will give you fewer headaches in this climate.
Cedar shakes and shingles are wood, and wood's biggest enemy in the Pacific Northwest is prolonged moisture combined with limited drying time. Skagit, Island and Whatcom counties see long stretches of steady winter rain, overcast skies, and heavy dew, which means a cedar roof here can stay damp far longer between rain events than the same roof would in a drier climate. That extended dampness is what allows moss, moss, and lichen to establish themselves, especially on north-facing slopes or sections shaded by mature fir and cedar trees — which, ironically, are everywhere in this region.
On the plus side, cedar is a genuinely good insulator compared with some other roofing materials, it's lightweight, and it has a long track record of holding up to wind when it's installed correctly with the right nailing pattern and fasteners. Many older farmhouses and craftsman-style homes around Mount Vernon, La Conner and Bellingham still carry cedar roofs that have been re-treated and maintained for decades. It also complements the look of the timber-frame and craftsman architecture that's common throughout the valley, which is a big part of why homeowners ask about it in the first place.
The tradeoffs are real, though. Cedar needs periodic cleaning to remove moss and debris, occasional treatment to slow fungal growth, and more frequent inspection than composition or metal roofing. It's also more susceptible to woodpecker damage and to splitting if it dries out unevenly during rare hot, dry summer stretches. Insurance can be a factor too — some carriers charge more to insure a wood shake roof or require proof of a Class B or Class C fire rating (cedar shakes typically need a fire-retardant treatment or a pressure-treated fire-rated product to meet that), so it's worth checking with your insurer before you commit.
A few local conditions matter more here than almost anywhere else cedar is installed. First is the sheer duration of our wet season — it's not just that it rains, it's that the ground and rooftops here often stay damp for days between drying opportunities, particularly from November through April. That's the single biggest driver of moss growth and the reason a cedar roof on a shaded lot in Sedro-Woolley or a tree-covered property outside Burlington will need attention far more often than one on an open, sun-exposed roofline.
Second is wind. Homes out on the Skagit flats and anywhere near the water — Anacortes, Camano Island, La Conner, and the shoreline properties around Stanwood — regularly experience steady wind off Skagit Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Cedar shakes handle wind reasonably well when they're properly fastened, but any roof near open water needs correct fastening schedules and starter details, and that installation quality matters more with cedar than with some other materials because a lifted shake exposes the underlayment immediately.
Third, for island and near-shoreline properties, there's salt air to consider. It doesn't rot cedar the way it corrodes some metal fasteners, but it does mean that any metal flashing, valleys, or fasteners used with a cedar roof on Camano Island or coastal Anacortes should be a corrosion-resistant grade, or you'll see premature rusting and staining well before the wood itself is due for attention.
Fourth, up toward the foothills and higher elevations inland, homeowners occasionally deal with light snow and icing in cold snaps. Cedar sheds snow reasonably well, but ice damming at eaves is still a risk on any roof type here if attic ventilation and insulation aren't adequate — and the Washington State Energy Code's ventilation and insulation requirements exist partly to reduce that risk by keeping roof deck temperatures more even.
Start with an honest look at your specific roof rather than the material in the abstract. A steeply pitched, sun-exposed roof on an open lot in Mount Vernon is a very different proposition than a low-slope, heavily shaded roof tucked under fir trees in Bellingham. If your roof gets real sun and airflow for a good part of the day, cedar has a realistic chance of performing well with routine care. If it's shaded most of the day, moss and moisture will be a persistent fight no matter what treatment schedule you keep.
Alpine Exteriors walks homeowners through that comparison honestly, including telling people when cedar isn't the right call for their specific roof. We install and maintain cedar roofing throughout Skagit, Island and Whatcom counties, but we'd rather put a homeowner into the roofing system that fits their lot, their tree cover and their tolerance for upkeep than sell a look that will frustrate them in five years.
With good installation, decent sun exposure and regular maintenance, cedar shake can last several decades in this region, but shaded, damp roofs age faster and may need more frequent shingle replacement or a full re-roof sooner than a sunnier equivalent. Maintenance habits matter as much as the material itself.
Most cedar roofs in western Washington benefit from a moss-inhibiting treatment applied periodically, along with physical cleaning to remove existing growth, because our long wet season gives moss more time to establish than drier climates do. Skipping this step is the most common reason cedar roofs here deteriorate early.
Untreated cedar shakes have a lower fire rating than composition roofing, which is why many jurisdictions and insurers require a pressure-treated, fire-retardant cedar product carrying a recognized Class B or Class C rating. Check with your local building department and your insurance carrier before installation, since requirements can vary by property and insurer.
Cedar itself tolerates salt air reasonably well, but wind exposure and any metal components — flashing, valleys, fasteners — need to be specified for a coastal environment, or those metal parts will corrode well before the cedar needs attention. It's a workable choice near the water as long as the installation details account for wind and salt exposure.
If you're weighing cedar shake against composition or metal roofing for a home in Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Bellingham, or anywhere else in Skagit, Island or Whatcom counties, Alpine Exteriors can walk your specific roof, talk through sun exposure and tree cover, and give you a straightforward cost and maintenance comparison before you commit to a material. Reach out to schedule a roof evaluation — WA contractor license ALPINI751OW.
Call Us Today
Alpine Exteriors has been Whatcom and Skagit County’s premier exterior remodeling company.Find Best Residential Siding Company & Contractors near me in bellingham
Lic#:ALPINS*823PA
Gallery
© Copyright 2003-2025 Alpine Siding Contractors
