We've been doing surprisingly well with the new roof washing endeavour. We've got asphalt shingles down, we've done metal. But now, a property management company I've been romancing has finally called...with a Cedar Shake Roof.
My understanding is that the standard mix is a no no and will dry out the shingles. I've done a search but didn't find any way to do a Premium forum search for a cedar specific mix. Soooo...anybody have the recipe for some Cedar Love?
Also...for those who brave the wood...how do you price it out? House is about 1400 ft2 with a 4/12 roof. We normally charge by the gallon of mix and I've been getting that estimate down pretty well...but no clue on Cedar.
First thing to know is that they are very slippery when wet. They will look a lot better when pressure washed, but the price will be much much higher. We just completed a 5700sq. softwash of cedar. This is what you should expect to see.....
You will have to spray at multiple angles, multiple coats and it will soak it up. That algae left behind will appear more discolored when the roof is wet. Many customers will go for this over powerwashing as they do not want to spend the money or risk damage to the roof. Powerwashing it will always look a lot better and your customer needs to be aware of this. Copy that pic of the top half done and show it to them.
First thing to know is that they are very slippery when wet. They will look a lot better when pressure washed, but the price will be much much higher. We just completed a 5700sq. softwash of cedar. This is what you should expect to see.....
Charge .35+ per foot and use your regular mix. It will take about 2x as long as asphalt and make sure they are aware that it is nowhere near as good as powerwashing it but will look much better like the pics above.
I think if your using a Light SH you would not want to use oxalic acid to brighten right after cleaning, They have way Different PH's and are combustible when combined..... I wonder how long you would have to wait after cleaning if you did want to Brighten???
Probably not too long, I think it would still brighten it. It's the same concept as spraying it on after precarb wash. Two incompatible chemicals combine to cancel each other out and balance PH.
You can use the old school process which is everywhere on here. Mike Sullivan has the best explaination for that. Very labor intensive and depending on the age of the shakes and whether they are fungi ridden, powerwasher can cause a lot of damage if not dialed in just right.
May want to rethink using SH, to little will bleach them but not clean them and it won't kill lichen. To much and you'll dry them out which won't result until about a year later.
Remember to have some form of water base oil to hydrate the wood.
Don't seal shakes as you seal in moisture and any algae or mildew that doesn't get cleaned. Also a powerwasher can drive the algae mildew fungi etc. into the wood if not done right.
Yes I have developed a solution that works well but don't care to have it all over the web. Much trial and error and cost went into getting the right combindation. I use 5 different ingredients in my solution. Based upon age, degree and type of infestation and whether old growth or new growth shakes/shingles the ingredients has to be mixed in different portions. There is no one mix for all. Many factors have to be considered.
First and formost, make sure the under felt is in good condition before agreeing to clean or you maybe replacing or repairing the roof. Because if the roof leaks after you clean, guess who the homeowner is going to say the last person was on the roof before it started leaking. Yes, you!