Replacing a Cedar Shake Roof in Victoria: Your Three Realistic Options

A wave of Greater Victoria cedar roofs is reaching the end at once. Shakes went on across Oak Bay, the Uplands and Ten Mile Point in the 1970s and 80s building boom, on the custom homes of Deep Cove and Dean Park in North Saanich, and on the covenanted-tree lots of Broadmead in the late 1980s and 90s. Thirty to forty years on, those roofs are cupped, split and green, and their owners are pricing replacement in a market where cedar itself has become expensive and the crews that install it are fewer.

Two local wrinkles catch people out. First, many original shake roofs were laid on skip sheathing (spaced boards) so the shakes could breathe; asphalt and most metal need a solid deck, so the quote should include plywood over the boards or a full re-sheathing. Second, disposal: old shakes are heavy, wet and mossy, and the bin fills fast. Owners of designated heritage homes in Oak Bay or the City of Victoria should ask whether a change of material needs approval, and properties in the Highlands and Metchosin wildland interface should ask their insurer about untreated cedar before choosing it again.

From the ground, an ageing shake roof shows cupped or curled shakes, splits running with the grain, thin spots where the surface has eroded to the nails, missing pieces after a windstorm, and a green or black mat of moss along the butt lines on the shaded slope. Inside, daylight through the attic boards or damp staining on the underside of the sheathing may indicate the shakes have stopped shedding water. None of these is a diagnosis; together they are the signal to get an inspection rather than another cleaning.

A professional may inspect the shake thickness and how many are split or loose, the condition of the skip sheathing and any plywood, the valley and step flashings (often the original galvanized metal, now rusted), the ridge, and the ventilation path. Do not go up to check yourself; old shakes are slippery when mossy and brittle when dry.

Shakes were traditionally laid on spaced boards so air could dry them from below. Laminate shingles need a solid, flat deck, and most metal systems need either a solid deck or strapping installed to the manufacturer's pattern. That means a re-roof from cedar to anything else usually includes sheathing the roof, which our model prices at $7 to $10 per sq ft of replaced decking; on a 2,400 sq ft roof that is a meaningful line. Get it itemised, and ask what happens per sheet if the boards underneath are also rotten.

Going back to cedar avoids most of that cost, which narrows the gap a little, but it does not change the maintenance picture on a shaded roof.

The right choice depends on sun, horizon and how much the look matters.

• Cedar again: for sunny, ventilated heritage roofs where shake is the street's expected look and the owner will pay for cleaning; insist on No. 1 grade and a crew with recent cedar references
• Shake-look laminate asphalt: the common choice; thick, shadow-lined profiles keep the character at a third of the cost, with 20–30 year life and the widest choice of crews
• Metal in a shake profile or standing seam: the long-hold choice for shaded or waterfront lots; sheds moss, lasts 40–60 years, costs close to cedar up front
• Composite or synthetic shakes: an option for owners set on the look without the maintenance; fewer local installers, so confirm experience first

Cedar tear-offs are messy, so the dry months from May to September are the comfortable window; crews book weeks ahead in summer, and late spring or early fall often offers the best mix of weather and availability. Budget for a large disposal load and for landscaping protection, since wet shakes and old nails end up in the garden beds unless the crew tarps them.

A change of material is the situation most likely to interest a building department, and no Greater Victoria municipality publishes a re-roof rule online. Phone Oak Bay, Saanich or the City of Victoria before signing, and ask specifically about heritage designation if the house is pre-1940.