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Roofing and Siding since 1985
Sat, May 16 2026, 2:43am [ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3 ]
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Date Posted: Fri, Oct 25 2002, 9:37pm
Author: Mark
Subject: Exposed nails on wood shake roof

I recently moved into a house with a wood shake roof. Apparently, at some point in the past, some of the shakes must have started to lift at the bottom so the previous owner drove nails into the shakes a few inches from the bottom to tack them down. Now some of these nails have backed out and are sticking up from the roof surface. I haven't noticed any leaks yet. Given that this damage has been done, what should I do? Remove the nails and patch the felt with roof cement? Insert shims? Drive the nails back down? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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[> Re: Exposed nails on wood shake roof -- A Roofer, Mon, Oct 28 2002, 1:35pm

You are describing what are called "butt nails". They are commonly used on "trac wood" during the installation. Trac wood is the lowest grade of shakes allowed to be installed on roofs. Many of us installers call it puzzle wood. The grain on these are so twisted that not all shakes can be installed next to each other because of the gap created when two shakes that twist in opposite directions are placed next to each other. They are commonly butt nailed during the installation because they are twisted so bad the want to do what you now see them doing right from the moment they are installed. When I was an employee for other companies before I started my own this was the common product installed on 99% of new shake roof construction in the Northwest. The exceptions was when a builder built his own house or a custom home was built and the customer knew better and had premiums installed. Some shake manufacturers offer a premium shake that I consider not to be a true premium. When you have your cedar shakes installed you want to make sure the labels state that the material is "100% edge grain". I have seen some labels claim to be premiums but they don't state this and are of a lower quality. If you had this product installed you should have none of these "fliers" that you are describing negating the need for these butt nails.

My recommendations: I would call a contractor that has time to do some repairs to your roof. They make tools called a "shake ripper" that slides under the shakes and breaks loose the fasteners of the shakes to be replaced without damaging the shakes next to them. These repairs usually run between $100 to $125 per bundle. If there is any paper showing you'll want to replace any shakes necessary to get the felt paper covered back up also.

Hope this helps,
Tim Soth / A Roofer


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