Shake Roof Replacement
Class A is required. You have three ways to get there.
1,200+ reviews · 4.8★ on Google Licensed & insured · CSLB #1030917
Serving Fresno, Clovis, Visalia, Sacramento and the foothills.
Free for homeowners. $299 for real estate transaction inspections.
- $15–20Per sq ft,
shake replaced - $9–13Per sq ft,
composition - Class AThe fire rating
you need - FreeInspection with
video proof
- We’ll price shake, synthetic and composition so you can compare
- Solid sheathing goes on as part of the job, not as a surprise
Still have a shake roof?
Two minutes, three questions. We’ll come look and tell you what your options are.
Free · No obligation · We route you to the nearest crew
Start here
If you still have shake, your options have changed
Two things happened to shake roofing, and neither is obvious from the ground.
The first is fire rating. A replacement roof needs to be Class A. Wood shakes are still available and they come pre-treated to meet that standard, so shake is not off the table — but the untreated shake most of these roofs were built with is not what goes back on.
The second is price. Shake is no longer mass produced the way it once was, and it now runs $15–$20 per square foot. That is more than metal on some jobs, and roughly double composition.
The ones who keep shake are usually doing it for the look — a house or a building where the character depends on it, and the extra cost is the point rather than a problem. That is a completely reasonable decision. It should just be a decision, rather than something you find out about halfway through a quote.
The three options
Everything here gets you to Class A
Treated wood shake
Real shake, pre-treated to meet Class A. Keeps the look exactly, costs $15–$20 per square foot, and needs the most maintenance of the three. The right answer when the building’s character depends on it.
Synthetic shake
Composite made to look like shake. More durable than wood, doesn’t need the same upkeep, and holds its appearance longer. Often the better option, and the one we point most homeowners toward first.
How replacement works →Composition shingle
The cheapest route at $9–$13 per square foot. You lose the shake look entirely, which for plenty of people is fine — and for others is the whole reason they had shake.
Composition replacement →We price the options side by side rather than steering you. The gap between them is large enough that it should be your call, made with real numbers in front of you.
The part nobody mentions
What’s under a shake roof isn’t a roof deck
Shake was installed over skip sheathing — spaced boards with gaps between them, so the shakes could breathe and dry from underneath. That’s what you’re looking at here, photographed from inside the attic.
Nothing else goes on top of that. A modern roof needs solid sheathing, and that is code on a tear-off now. So a shake replacement is not a straight swap — the old shakes come off, solid decking goes down across the whole roof, and then the new system goes on.
That work is real and it costs money. We include it in the quote rather than discovering it on day two, which is exactly the kind of thing that turns a fixed price into a change order somewhere else.
It’s also the moment the deck and framing finally get looked at, after decades under a roof that was designed to let air through.
Straight numbers
What it costs
Per square foot, tear-off and replacement. Solid sheathing is part of the job.
| Material | Per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Treated wood shake, Class A | $15–$20 |
| Metal | $16–$22 |
| Composition shingle | $9–$13 |
Synthetic shake sits above the composition range and is quoted per job, because the products vary more than the categories above. Pitch, the number of roof planes, and what we find in the deck and framing once the shakes are off all move the final number. Every price is written and flat-rate before work begins.
Recent work
Where shake still makes sense
We recently completed a shake roof at a public park in Sacramento. That is the case for keeping shake in one sentence: a building where the material is part of what the place looks like, and where changing it would change the building.
Same logic applies to homes in the foothills that were designed around it, and to anything under an architectural or HOA requirement. If shake is what belongs on your building, we’ll install it properly, to Class A, over solid decking.
What we won’t do is quote shake by default because that’s what came off. At $15–$20 a square foot, that decision deserves to be made deliberately.
Verified reviews
What customers say
1,000+ verified Google reviews across four California markets at 4.8 stars. Read them all →
“Carlos came out and gave us a detailed on site estimate with clear pricing and explanations… I’m so grateful to have a company that didn’t take the check then not communicate or show up for days.”
“We had three different roofing companies visit… Eduardo visited the roof and attic and discovered issues that the other two did not.”
“The crew worked in a very structured way, laying out materials neatly and keeping the site organized… The final result looks clean and even.”
Related
Working out what to put back on
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Can I still put wood shake back on?
Yes. Shakes come pre-treated to meet Class A, so a real wood shake roof is still available. It costs $15–$20 per square foot and needs more maintenance than the alternatives, which is why most people now choose synthetic or composition instead.
What exactly does Class A mean?
It’s the highest fire-resistance rating a roof assembly can carry. Your replacement roof needs it. What varies is the detail around it depending on where your property sits, so we’ll tell you what applies at your address before you choose a material.
Why does the whole roof need new sheathing?
Because shake was laid over spaced boards rather than a solid deck. Modern roofing needs solid sheathing underneath, and on a tear-off that’s code. It’s included in our quote rather than added later.
Is synthetic shake convincing?
From the street, yes, and it holds its appearance far longer than wood does. Wood shake weathers and moves; synthetic doesn’t. If the look matters to you, ask to see it in person before deciding — it’s an easier sell close up than most people expect.
Can a shake roof be repaired instead?
Sometimes, and we’ll tell you if so. Individual shakes can be replaced and flashing details corrected. But if a roof is losing shakes across the field, patching is buying time rather than fixing anything, and it’s worth knowing which one you’re looking at.
Find out what your shake roof actually needs.
Free inspection, video proof, and shake, synthetic and composition priced side by side so you can choose.