Homeowner Advice: Don’t Wait Too Long To Get a New Roof

Kenton Howenstine has a good philosophy when it comes to his home: get out in front of any problems. That’s why he replaced his 31-year old real cedar shake roof.

“With a roof, it’s better to replace it too early than too late,” says Howenstine, who lives in Mequon, Wisconsin. “Our original roof was still in decent shape, but it had only a limited life remaining.”

Gaining HOA Approval

Because the Howenstines live in a homeowners association community, they knew approval would be needed for the new roof they selected. Fortunately for them, their HOA had researched cedar roofing alternatives the year prior. Even more fortunately, the association had approved of Select Shake composite tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes.

With 26 homes in their community, the Howenstines are the first to install a cedar shake alternative roofing product. “We’re lucky that Select Shake was approved right about the time we decided to reroof,” says Howenstine. “Both my wife Janet and I really like the natural appearance of this product. For us it’s exciting to be the first in the neighborhood with this durable and authentic-looking composite roofing.”

New Roof

Reliable Roofing Product

After deciding on the faux shake roofing, the next step was selecting a color. The family chose the Chesapeake blend New Roofof soft grays to complement part of their home’s gray siding and white trim.

With decisions made, the team from Community Roofing & Restoration came in to tackle the job.

“We’re pleased this community has embraced the Select Shake synthetic tiles,” says Josh Fraundorf, president of Community Roofing & Restoration, Inc. “I personally think Select Shake is the best option for homeowners who want to keep the look of their original cedar shake roofs but don’t want all the hassles that go with them.

“We’ve been in business 45 years. We’ve worked with more than 12,000 clients. Those experiences have given us a great deal of exposure to roofing materials. From my perspective, there is no other composite product on the market that comes close to the DaVinci product.”

Once Fraundorf’s talented crew came in to reroof the home, the transformation was complete within a short time.

“Overall we’re very pleased with the DaVinci roof,” says Howenstine. “While it’s not an inexpensive investment, we believe it will be well worth it in the long run. Part of the reason we decided to purchase this particular Select Shake roof is because it brings us peace-of-mind. We know we’ll never have to worry about another roof on this house.”

Icing on the Cake

The new roof has generated many compliments from friend and neighbors.

“Since the DaVinci roof was installed in August of 2019 we’ve had a variety of people remark on the appearance of our house,” says Howenstine. “Just recently, a full year after the installation, we had the ultimate compliment.

“We received an unexpected call. Someone had seen our house and asked if we would entertain a cash offer! Our house isn’t even on the market. Just looking at the exterior of our home enticed these people to call us. Now that’s what we call the benefits of curb appeal!”