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DaVinci Roofscapes Shake Up Log Cabins

• By DaVinci Roofscapes
• Residential

Taking a lesson from homeowners in wildfire-prone western states, the Stonebridge Log Home community in Todd, North Carolina now requires either DaVinci Roofscapes Shake roofing products or pre-approved wood cedar split shakes for both new construction and re-roofing projects.

“The push towards polymer roofing made sense due to long-term maintenance and safety concerns,” says Shawn Gentry, the developer of Stonebridge. “The wood cedar roofs on our one-of-a-kind homes are vulnerable to fire, decay damage and weather conditions.

“We did our research and found that the DaVinci composite shakes are an excellent alternative to real wood. They have the tile thickness we needed plus the profiles that accurately replicate real cedar. But, most importantly, they resist weathering, insects and decay. The Mountain Blend and Weathered Gray Blend colors we’ve specified for our community perfectly replicate real cedar shingles.”

Another added benefit of the synthetic shake shingles for homeowners at Stonebridge is the peace-of-mind that comes with having lightweight roofing solutions with a low-maintenance luxury roof. “Many of our homeowners don’t occupy these homes during the winter months,” says Gentry. “When they’re away from their homes for such a long amount of time they’re less likely to worry about maintenance needs on the DaVinci roof versus the natural wood shake roofs.”

According to roofer Ken Bowman, a high-end contractor who installs eco friendly roofs at Stonebridge, the designation of DaVinci shake shingles has been a true success story for the community. “The humid environment we have in the mountains here works against natural cedar shake, giving them a lifespan of perhaps just 20 years,” says Bowman, owner of Blue Ridge Roofing.

“DaVinci gives the residents the look of cedar shake, but with a much longer life span. Also, the product is not combustible and provides better protection from fire than real cedar shake. Since every home in Stonebridge has at least one fireplace that they use actively, it’s not worth the gamble to keep real cedar wood shakes on a roof when the DaVinci product is available.”

See Roofer Sees Preference Shift in Roofing Products for more insights from Stacey Stines.