Cedar Roofing near you

Section 12 of Approved Document B Volume 1 deals with resisting fire spread over roof coverings. It defines the separation distance as the minimum distance from the roof, or part of the roof, to the relevant boundary, and Table 12.1 then sets out which covering designations are acceptable at less than 6 metres, at least 6 metres, at least 12 metres and at least 20 metres from that boundary, with the answer also depending on the size and use of the building. BROOF(t4) and CROOF(t4) coverings are acceptable throughout the table; the lower designations are progressively restricted as the boundary gets closer.

Paragraph 12.9 is the paragraph that matters for cedar. If the performance of thatch or wood shingles cannot be established, they should be regarded as EROOF(t4). The notes to Table 12.1 add restrictions of their own on the lower designations: they are not acceptable on dwellinghouses in terraces of three or more, or on other buildings with a cubic capacity of more than 1500 cubic metres, with a narrow concession for small isolated parts of a roof surrounded by a material of class A2-s3, d2 or better.

The practical reading for a homeowner is this. If a supplier can produce a tested classification for the specific product and its fixing method, the conversation is about that classification. If they cannot, building control will work from the assumption in 12.9, and on a tight urban plot or a terrace that can rule the material out before anything else is discussed. Ask for the classification in writing at quotation stage rather than after the battens are up. Approved Document B is England guidance; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own, and the Scottish and Northern Irish systems differ in structure as well as in detail.

A wood shingle roof is not a sealed skin. It swells when wet and shrinks when dry, the joints between shingles open and close with the weather, and water that gets past the face is expected to run down the layer below and out. Approved Document C, the England guidance on resistance to moisture, recognises exactly this arrangement: a roof meets the requirement if it has overlapping dry joints, is impervious or weather resisting, and is backed by a material which will direct precipitation which enters the roof towards the outer face. It lists wood among the weather-resisting materials in its technical solutions, alongside natural stone or slate, cement-based products and fired clay.

What makes the difference between a cedar roof that lasts and one that rots is the air behind it. The shingles have to be able to dry from underneath as well as from above, which is why the specification uses counter-battens to create a continuous ventilated and drained cavity rather than laying shingles straight onto a membrane or a deck. Approved Document C's parallel guidance for cladding makes the same point about timber on walls, requiring the space between the cladding and the building to be ventilated to ensure rapid drying of any water that penetrates it.

The rest is geometry. Steeper pitches shed faster and last longer. Headlap, exposure to the weather and the offsetting of joints between courses are set by the manufacturer and are not a matter of taste. Every fixing should be concealed by the course above, and each unit should be fixed appropriately, which Approved Document C addresses by pointing at the workmanship code of practice for slating and tiling, BS 8000-6:1990.

Against slate and clay, cedar is lighter, warmer in appearance and easier to work around curves and turrets, and it is the only one of the three that changes colour noticeably over its life. It is also the only one whose fire classification you may have to prove rather than assume, and the only one that can rot. On a rural plot with generous boundary distances that trade is often worth making; on a terraced street it frequently is not.

Against a modern composite or a fibre-cement slate, cedar wins on appearance and loses on predictability. A synthetic product arrives with a declared classification and a defined service life; cedar's performance depends on grade, pitch, orientation, ventilation and how much of the year it spends wet. The honest comparison is not material against material but roof against roof: the same cedar on a steep south-facing slope in an open landscape and on a shallow shaded rear elevation are two different propositions.

The one comparison worth resisting is with North American practice, where cedar roofing is a mainstream product with a large installed base and a deep pool of experienced fitters. In Britain the pool is small, which makes the choice of contractor a bigger variable than the choice of shingle.

Cedar is priced on material grade and on labour hours, and both are higher than for a comparable slate or tile roof. The variables that move a quotation are the grade and thickness of shingle or shake specified, whether a tested fire classification is required for the position of the building, the pitch and the area, the number of hips, valleys, dormers and abutments where the work slows right down, the ventilation build-up behind the covering, the fixings specified, and how far the contractor has to travel, because the trade is thin on the ground in much of Britain. Scaffolding and waste removal sit on top as they do on any re-roof.

LokalMatch introduces you to contractors and stops there. Describe the roof once with your postcode — the area, the pitch, what is on it now, and whether this is a new build, an extension or a replacement — and firms working in your area respond to you directly. Homeowners are never charged for posting a request; the pros pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not install roofs, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend any contractor, so asking for the fire classification, previous cedar work you can look at, and a written ventilation detail is work only you can do.