Insurance Companies Refuse to Insure Real Wood Shake Roofs
Residents of Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills take wildfire concerns very seriously. So do the insurance companies that cover homeowners in this tinder-box geographical area of California. That’s why David and Ann Crockett had to replace their real wood roof — because their insurance company was going to drop them.
“We live in a high wild fire area,” says Crockett, a resident of Los Altos Hills. “Our insurance company refused to renew our homeowners insurance because we had thick wood cedar shake shingles on our home. That’s when we went searching for an alternative product and found fire-resistant, Class A DaVinci Roofscapes.”
Six Sides of Roofing Needs
Crockett liked the look of wood shake shingles on his unique hexangle form home. Constructed in 1967, each room is a hexagon. The main house has two bedrooms, a den, living room, kitchen and two bathrooms. There’s also a basement under the living room with a workout room, media room and breakfast sitting area. Attached is a secondary hexagon structure with two additional bedrooms and a bath.
“This distinctive structure looks best with shake shingles on the roof,” says Crockett. “I did extensive research for a wood shake ‘look alike’ before selecting the DaVinci Multi-Width Shake product.
“We were impressed with the fire-resistancy of the composite shakes plus the aesthetic look.”
Finding the Right Roofer
While searching for the right roof for his home, Crockett was also searching for the right roofer.
“I interviewed several roofing companies before selecting Daddario Roofing,” says Crockett. “They gave the best presentation and approach that made sense to me. They also helped in the selection of the Black Oak color from DaVinci’s Nature Crafted Collection to complement our entire home exterior.”
Giant Skylight Puzzle
To make the hexagonal roofing installation a bit more challenging, the Crockett home has 20 skylights on the roof — and they added solar panels during the re-roofing process.
“We’ve installed DaVinci roofs for about six years and looked at this home as a great opportunity for the homeowner,” says Joe McNair, estimator with Daddario Roofing out of Capitola, CA. “For David and Ann’s house, the Black Oak shake tile color made so much sense with their overall exterior color scheme. It was exactly the look they wanted.
“As for the skylights, they’re just glorified lightbulbs. We took out the screws, removed them, carefully installed the roofing, and then put the skylights back in. While time consuming, it wasn’t particularly difficult.
“There’s no doubt that this is a one-of-a-kind type of home design. Our roofers felt great about the installation — almost as if they were doing an artisan roofing job. We’ve got a strong amount of gratification for completing this project so beautifully.”
Satisfaction and Safety
Finishing the roofing job in just five days, the team from Daddario Roofing worked closely with Solar Technologies to assure the roof accommodated the installation of the solar panels.
“Everyone worked exceptionally well together on this project,” says Crockett. “Danielle Wiese at DaVinci was responsive to all our questions. We had a good roof removal company and product delivery was good. All worked together as a team.”
Now, with the new roof installed and with his insurance company happy, the Crocketts can rest easier during wildfire season … and every other season … under their new DaVinci roof.