Cedar Shake Roofing in Surrey & the Lower Mainland

For a typical detached home with a straightforward roofline (few valleys, hips, skylights or chimney flashings), a cedar to asphalt conversion in the Lower Mainland usually lands around a $25,000 investment. That covers full cedar tear-off, new plywood sheathing over the old skip boards, synthetic underlayment, ventilation upgrades and Malarkey architectural shingles. Steeper pitches, more valleys and hips, extra flashing points, multiple old layers or hidden rot raise the number. Real cedar and Brava composite shake cost more upfront than asphalt. Every quote is a written, line-by-line price after a site visit, so you see exactly where the money goes before you commit.

Real cedar in our climate typically needs significant maintenance well before its rated lifespan. Months of damp, shaded north slopes and moss shorten it, and keeping it healthy means cleaning, treating and replacing split shakes on a cycle. A Brava composite cedar shake roof carries a 50-year limited material warranty and skips that maintenance cycle entirely, because there is no wood for moss to feed on.

If the cedar look is what matters to you, Brava composite shake is moulded from real hand-split cedar profiles and holds its colour without treatment, which is why most of our cedar replacements now go that way. Real cedar still makes sense in specific situations (heritage requirements or matching an existing partial roof) and we will tell you when that applies to your house.

Read our walkthrough on replacing a cedar shake roof with Brava for the full decision process.

Shakes are hand-split, thicker and more textured; shingles are sawn smooth and uniform. Brava's composite cedar profile replicates the hand-split shake look, which is the profile most West Coast homes were built with. We can show you physical samples of both looks against your siding before you decide.

In most cases yes. Brava is light enough that structural changes are rarely needed, unlike switching to slate or clay. We tear off the old roof, inspect and repair the deck, redo underlayment, flashings and ventilation, then install the new system. We confirm the structure on site rather than assuming it.

No. Cedar sits on skip sheathing (boards with gaps between them), and shingles need a solid deck to nail into. Laying shingles over cedar traps moisture, voids the manufacturer warranty and fails early. A proper conversion means a full tear-off, solid plywood sheathing over the roof, new underlayment and ice and water membrane at eaves and valleys, then the shingles.

Yes, and usually by a wide margin. Once the old cedar is off and solid plywood sheathing is down, architectural shingles cost less in material and labour than hand-split cedar or composite shake, and the install is faster. You are paying for the deck either way, so the conversion gives you the new structural roof for the lowest total price. Choose cedar or composite when the look is the reason you are keeping the roofline.

Untreated cedar is a combustible roof covering, and some insurers now ask about it at renewal. Malarkey architectural shingles and Brava composite shake both carry Class A fire ratings when installed to manufacturer specifications, the highest rating a roof covering can get. We give you the product and fire rating documentation in your closeout package so you can send it straight to your insurer. Ask your insurer how a Class A roof affects your policy before you choose.

Rotted skip boards or decking are common on older cedar roofs and you can't see them until the shakes come off. We photograph anything soft, show you before we touch it, and replace it at our locked rate of $95 per 4x8 sheet installed. The rate is written into your quote so there are no surprise numbers mid-job.

It depends on roof size, pitch, access and weather. Your written quote includes a schedule for your house, and we only open up as much roof as we can dry in the same day, so the house is never left exposed overnight.

Yes. Cedar tear-off is messy, so we tarp gardens and walkways, park the bin where it does the least damage, and run a magnetic nail sweep over the driveway, lawn and beds before we leave each day. Final cleanup is part of the job, not an extra.

Brava's colour is moulded through the tile rather than applied as a surface coating, so scuffs and cut edges do not show a different colour underneath, and the multi-tone blends are built to look like weathered natural cedar rather than a flat painted surface. Real cedar, by contrast, silvers within a few years unless it is treated.