All About White Cedar Shingles | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva explains the architecture, installation, and maintenance of white cedar shingles
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Tom explained the maintenance of exposed white cedar shingles, which are a common building material in coastal New England.
For the demonstration in the barn after the house call, Tom demonstrated SBC white cedar shingles in a variety of stains (sbccedar.com/). The combination house wrap/air gap Tom used on top of the sheathing was Slicker HP Rainscreen 6mm [amzn.to/2xWmsVX], which is manufactured by Benjamin Obdyke (www.benjaminobdyke.com/). For nails, Tom recommended a 6p box nail with a galvanized finish. In the demonstration, he used Grip-Rite [amzn.to/3aI0yTv] 6p galvanized box nails, which can be found at most home centers (www.grip-rite.com/).
Expert assistance with this segment was provided by SV Design (www.svdesign.com/).
About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers-and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Jenn Nawada.
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All About White Cedar Shingles | Ask This Old House
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[@roullacontopoulos4943]

Love watching Tommy,

[@gerrys6265]

Thanks guys..simple straight forward...cheers

[@BostonMark]

great Info here! i've noticed on new england homes the north elevation is always the mold/moss elevation.

[@nighthawkj30A4]

I remember this old house had only 100k subscribers now its 1.9 Million. Been watching this show since 2006.

[@mixmaster1976]

Now 2.1 million

[@thomaslandry403]

Glad to see you have painted them on both sides,

[@TheGgbk]

7:50

[@shinguon]

Good information guys 👍🏻

[@csp1977]

Pressure treated shingles are a good option for roofs that are in higher humidity climates and shaded areas. They are larger, 1/2” and cost more though.

[@rapidsk8]

Tom is a wealth of info

[@mixpick138]

Ya' know, every now and again I wanna' say Tommy acts like a know it all. Then I listen a bit and realize it's just experience talking. That kind of advice/knowledge --you no can buy! Thanks for the videos/shows!!

[@jadielfox2190]

Instablaster

[@dra1469]

Brother did you see the way he just whipped the pencil out of his tool belt to mark 5”? I’m sure it was done before the cameras were rolling, but the man knows a thing or two haha

[@2pugman]

We had to replace the shingles on our home with vinyl siding. The shingles were 90 years old. They had been painted at some point in time and that required yearly touch ups.

[@scottmcintosh2988]

I was on the Ocean out on the end of a peninsula one hundred feet from the ocean I used clear white cedar shingles used Norm Abrams method for Cape Cod the first ten courses close together untill it was five inches to the weather then I added six coats of clear Olimpic Stain oil the trim was #6 base storm Stain with Lindseed oil boiled Storm Stain as I HATE scraping paint stain you need not to ! Thanks Norm !

[@johnnybq2]

I was hoping you were going to show how to replace that bottom row or two of moldy shingles where the meet the roofline… must be a common problem.

[@JustPete781]

I have cedar shingles, and when they were installed 300 years ago someone didn’t put the flashing high enough in one of the spots and I get a continuous ceiling leak from it. Wondering how I could rectify that?

[@ajbrown7245]

Sad to see Tommy not swinging a hammer anymore. Tommy, I've been watching since I was a small kid. Always wanted to meet you someday. I've learned so much from you and TOH.

[@rickyrickharris4908]

I keep asking. How do u cover the nail holes from the shelf that u set the shingles on??

[@kennypayne7807]

I live in the DMV area and I’m getting ready to replace my roof.Should I get WHITE or LIGHT GREY Roof Shingles for better reflection of the SUN?? My upstairs rooms get extremely,hot during the warmer months.If so,what shingle from what company do you recommend(Premium)??

[@Pukkpukkpukk]

Can you start the beginning corse with a three inch reveal and move incrementally to a four or five inch reveal to create an umbrella effect to shed water away from the home I have seen this on old colonial buildings with clapboards.

[@LALA-yg3lg]

Do you know why color fall off on a new roof, specially when it rains

[@daveramsey1226]

My house has this

[@crow6763]

Tom, How would you trim the gable end shingles that were in contact with the roof?

[@plasmac9]

He wouldn't. At the end of segment he tells the homeowner to replace all the shingles on the entire house.

[@brandonvenditti]

If you aren't just going to replace anything, you would just use an oscillating multi tool to trim the shingles.

[@KaifLifeDave]

Dont Use Galvanized nails as natural acids in the cedar will cause corrosion to the nail over time. Must use stainless steel metals when working with cedar

[@bastiononly1245]

Nice

[@gersonpineda9768]

cool.😁😁

[@leonk.1031]

Are they actually filming in the barn they are always showing or are they filming in a studio?

[@N-hunter]

Its the actual barn

[@my3jeeps]

Please don't take this as an insult, but that thumbnail of Tom looked just like Cliff Claven.

[@vinnyditty8775]

I always thought Cliff Claven looked like Tom!

[@kbpavao]

where can you buy that microfiber non-porous barrier?

[@Thehrengineers]

Found it! It is Benjamin Obdyke's Slicker HP - if you go to their website you can search for where to buy near you.

[@rcChris31]

I live in socal... why am I watching this?!

[@arelyvillegas286]

i have shingles in my house that need repair in socal haha

[@akoznasovajusername]

Oil-based paint, glossy finish. Re-paint once every 10 years, and no problems with water or sun or salt or moss or fungus at all.

[@zaxarispetixos8728]

Yes but 10 years is a lot i would say more like 5 depending on the climate

[@akoznasovajusername]

It will crack here and there, but more than 50% will still stay on glued to the surface since an oil-based paint is still by far the best protection for wood and metal, although they want to forbid it.

[@nholt]

On my house and all the houses around here they are installed with a double course. Two layers of cedar shingles and each row is installed further apart than in this video.

[@royleevaughn2990]

Love this old house but i dont think those shingles needed replacing... As a long time house painter another good option would be to pressure wash the shingles, apply wood brightener and spray / back brush semi solid stain.... Cost a hell of a lot less it will look better than new shingle look and will provide many years of protection.

[@maynorgantenbein4510]

I do all kind of siding everyday and I don’t know how people still do cedar Shake I personally think hardy shake is way better and last much longer.

[@Nill757]

What's the fire risk from cedar siding? Raw cedar goes off like a bomb when ignited. The home owner up at the beginning was identified as having untreated shingles.

[@deadlata9767]

Mark Heslep Like 90% of houses in most coastal New England communities have them. Have you noticed a glut of fires burning these houses down. Cedar shingles are generally not made from cedar they are Thuja.

[@Nill757]

@@deadlata9767 Maybe they're treated with fire retardant, maybe not. Maybe they are moist most of the time in that climate, maybe not. Any maybe most of the fires that do occur there are due cedar. I don't know. Hince my question. I do know that untreated dry cedar shingles burn explosively.

[@deadlata9767]

Mark Heslep they aren’t treated. I use old ones to start my fireplace all the time. Clapboards and trim are commonly made of cedar or pine and they burn just as easily.

[@Nill757]

Dead Lata “old ones”. Yes me too in the fireplace, cedar from an older siding. So you know untreated cedar burns like fire crackers. My old house didn’t burn down, but like surviving walking in traffic that doesn’t mean untreated cedar shingles are not a crazy risk.

[@bencashman1017]

The biggest risk of untreated is significantly higher insurance premiums. Using a fire retardant treated shingle will reduce both the risk of fire and the risk of taking a big hit on insurance costs, but of course treated shingles do not have the same nuance of character architecturally as untreated. Also, it’s best to use white cedar only for siding. Roofs should be red cedar.

[@toddk4115]

Just replace with Certainteed 5" Sawmill shingles. Last a lifetime and look like the real thing.

[@markbelanger5757]

When you nail a strip of wood you are leaving nail holes in the siding. There are ways to avoid this.

[@michaelz4680]

I was thinking the same thing, but what do you recommend to avoid it?

[@coolintheshade]

@@michaelz4680 chalk line?

[@kevinruesch9658]

Mike Dica

[@carissasanders]

1:00

[@PrimeSuperboy]

Turned a window in to a door today and found that behind the vinyl siding there used to be wood shingle siding. It was an absolute headache to clear all of that out and almost made me want to remove all the wood siding from the entire rear wall.

[@FluffyPantsStudio]

I discovered the same about my house and now I want to remove vinyl siding and revert to the original wood siding. :D

[@ethan-L]

Q. When you replace shingles, what do you do with the old nail holes? Energy loss, unpredictable condensation, Heat Transfer are my concerns. Also, oil-based stains is feeding the mold to grow, oddly on South Side more problematic than North side. We had to switch to water-based Solid Stain, instead.

[@Varifyable]

Nail holes in the wall sheating? I wouldn't worry about that.

[@harveypost7799]

Those where non electric self breast pumps for a mother

[@rondail5675]

Want not recommend red-cedar shingles? Last longer, don't curl, don't open big gaps

[@jcsrst]

They cost A LOT more than white, unless you're using pre stained clear white. Red is superior in every way!

[@KarlBunker]

Short version: that homeowner is going to need a second mortgage. 😕

[@ALMX5DP]

Well sounds like it was all caught in inspection so hopefully they used that knowledge in their negotiations.

[@Nill757]

Nah. New siding house that size $20k, plus paint or stain.

[@plasmac9]

@@Nill757 Not where this guy lives. Double your estimate at least.

[@kellyfrancis1873]

@@Nill757 and that paint/ stain jobs another 20k lol

[@Nill757]

@@kellyfrancis1873 Eh, if building not too high, under $8k for siding alone around here. More for trim.

[@annamartha9924]

Dr Alaho Olu cured me from HPV

[@Vl7248]

If you time it right and redo the house when you’re around 45 years old the 30years will get you to 75 years. From that age you won’t care about the rotting siding as you’ll be barely alive

[@61spindrift]

My completely active and "alive" 83 year old mother would take offense of that. And she has white cedar shingles on her home.

[@Vl7248]

@@61spindrift ok. So 55.

[@inspectorsteve2287]

Only getting 5 or 6 more years out of the shingle from staining it doesn't seem worth it to me. If you put them on bare you get 30 years. If you do the back breaking staining work you get 36+- years. I'd rather not.

[@plasmac9]

They don't get stained on-site. They stain them in the factory.

[@inspectorsteve2287]

@@plasmac9 he said you need to stain them every few years. I'm assuming that means every few hours the homeowner gets out the ladder and stain and goes to work.

[@peterpowers4851]

I will stick with vinyl siding.

[@harveypost7799]

Young man,wife green hav rain barrel no water pressure only 50 gal.ROGER says 650 gal water pillow under porch..cool .I would of asked Roger ur attaching this large drain with a filter onto wooden porch.dogs and cats shouldn't there r a rain guard on wood frame of porch u attached large drain leading to water pillow .wife says hi to Roger and husband in a bikini.roger seems to be stud ( Carpenters joke)( Over flow of water ) THE HARVEY

[@paulozeruga8454]

Money pit

[@txshah78]

No to shingles, bricks and stone are so much better

[@bobcougar77]

I don't like hearing Tommy sounding old

[@petecheng1]

it will cost him a ton, just do vinyl siding.

[@alryan37]

what an over complicated way to build a house.

[@serge.crispino418]

So do they rot or not ?? You told us 2 different things. Also rain water is not SUCKED up by the shingles that are touching the roof the term is water is wicked up......

[@scotttovey]

As far as the average home owner is concerned, the water is sucked up by the wood. Tommy isn't green, he's just a lot wiser than people like you.

[@ryansteffen8169]

Scott Tovey ...lol, that was a microphone drop reply 😂

[@scotttovey]

@@ryansteffen8169 People are often very shocked when I have one of those. 😂

[@serge.crispino418]

@@scotttovey - Dude you don't know me so why judge me on my comment ? You Seppo's are easily triggered and I am guessing that you haven't left your Mother's basement since 1976. Have a lovely day and a cheerie salute to you !!

[@serge.crispino418]

@@ryansteffen8169 - suck it up Princess or should I say wick it up - LOL