Testing Wood Shakes for Quality Assurance

Wood shakes are one of the most attractive roofing options available, but looks alone aren’t good enough. This is why roofing manufacturers put wooden shakes through a series of tests to ensure their quality and long-term performance. In this post, A1 Roofing and Construction discusses the tests that ensure wood shakes of the highest quality.

Wind Testing

Wood shakes are subjected to wind tests to make sure that they stay on the roof even when hit by strong winds. UL certification requires wood shakes to withstand wind speeds of up to 245 miles per hour.

Impact Testing

Wooden shakes like those offered by A1 Roofing and Construction are hit by dropping metal balls to simulate hailstorms of varying sizes. Depending on the type of wood, most modern wooden options available from a reputable roofing contractor have class 3 or 4 impact ratings, with the latter offering the best form of hail protection for your home.

Fire Rating

Today’s modern wood roofing options are designed to be more fire-resistant than their older counterparts, but that doesn’t exempt them from undergoing fire testing. Wood shakes with a class rating of B and C are common options while class A wood shakes will have to be installed over heavy asphalt sheet.

Importance of Test Ratings

Even heavily-tested and highly-rated wood shakes might end up underperforming if not installed according to manufacturer’s specifications. This is why it is important that you hire roof repair or replacement experts to have those wood shakes installed properly.

Make sure you’re only getting wood shakes that have passed strict quality assurance. A1 Roofing and Construction is the leading roofing company in Providence and Warwick, RI, and New Bedford, NJ. You can call us at (401) 265-1019 or fill out our contact form to request a free quote. We look forward to working with you.