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Community and Q&A

How does Eastern White Cedar weather?

hunterchap | Posted in Green Products and Materials on

Good evening! I’m in the process of designing my first home, and I had been planning on using eastern white cedar shingles. Being from Massachusetts, I liked the idea of using a material that was relatively local to me and I’ve always admired the way that it weathers to a beautiful, silverish grey. However, I live in Western Massachusetts, a good bit inland from the coast. I was recently made aware that by installing eastern white cedar and leaving it natural would cause it weather to a dark brown over time, rather than a silver/grey, supposedly based on the difference in humidity, salt content in the air, etc. Wondering if anyone here can speak to the validity of that statement based on personal experience? Would truly appreciate any insight into this, because it seems as though everyone has differing opinions. Thanks folks, and have a great night.

– Hunter

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Replies

  1. GBA Editor
    Patrick Mccombe | | #1

    Yes, white cedar shingles will turn brown, progressively darkening before turning grey. The transformation is not consistent with different elevations, even different parts of the same wall changing on a different schedule. I love cedar shingles. They're beautiful, repairable and as you suggest have low embodied energy if they come from nearby. However they can look kinda weird on their transformation to a uniform grey.

    1. hunterchap | | #2

      Great answer, thank you sir! For a second I thought I got a reply from Patrick Mahomes hahaha.

      1. GBA Editor
        Patrick Mccombe | | #3

        I'm guessing he's thinking about other things right now.

  2. Expert Member
    DCcontrarian | | #4

    In my experience the biggest variable is how much sun they get. South faces gray the most quickly, north the least.

    1. hunterchap | | #6

      My southern elevation faces the street, so I guess we'll have to ask the neighbors what they think.

  3. PeteChuk | | #5

    In our area we use a lot of CVG v groove vertically run WRC, and run into the issues of weathering . Look into the Sansin Wood sealer … it makes everything quickly turn into the nice even grayed out look . And goes on easily with a pump sprayer.

    1. hunterchap | | #7

      Oh nice man sounds beautiful. Whereabouts?

      1. PeteChuk | | #8

        Columbia county in the Hudson Valley in upstate NY. Beautiful area . Used to fix up a lot of older houses back in the day, and past few years have gotten modern new builds more frequently . Just realized you’re in W Mass lol . Not far

        1. hunterchap | | #10

          Oh nice man I'm semi-familiar with the area. Stayed in Weedsport a couple years ago for a Phish show in Syracuse. Great area.

    2. paulmagnuscalabro | | #18

      +1 for the Sansin products - I've had good luck with them.

  4. Expert Member
    DCcontrarian | | #9

    I've used Cabot Bleaching Oil with good results, it causes shingles to gray more evenly. You can buy the shingles pre-treated too.

    1. hunterchap | | #11

      I've thought about both options, leaning more towards the bleaching oil. Thanks for the tip!

      1. Expert Member
        Michael Maines | | #12

        I've used bleaching oil--now called bleaching stain or weathering stain--on many projects; I've been designing and/or building along the New England coast for 30+ years. Just be aware that it specifically does not carry a warranty, because it is meant to wear off over time with exposure to weather.

        But in the same way that unfinished shingles maintain their original color longer in protected areas such as under eaves, bleaching stain remains intact under the eaves and ends up looking a bit odd as the rest of the shingles age naturally, since the weathering stain is not a perfect match for aged shingles.

        The main factor that determines the shingle color is sunlight; even on coastal projects, the north facade never ages as quickly as the other facades. But salt air and/or humidity must play a role as well, because even the west-facing, 50yo shingles on my house are darker than what I see on the coast. Maibec, the shingle brand I use when prefinishing is desired, now has two colors of bleaching stain--one light, one darker gray.

        Here's an example from a few years ago: The house is directly on the Maine coast. This is the northeast facade. The builder patched in the naturally aged shingles with Maibec shingles with the light gray bleaching stain. (At the time it was the only option.) On the far right, you can see naturally aging shingles facing southeast.

        I'll also attach what bleached shingles look like when brand new.

        1. hunterchap | | #13

          Michael,

          Thanks again for your expert opinion. It is always appreciated, and I'm willing to absorb whatever you'll throw at me. If I'm understanding correctly, the second photo is newly installed eastern white with a bleaching oil? The shingles look brand new, and that is exactly the look I'm looking for, however I'm well aware they will age over time. Nicely done, and thanks for chiming in. I'm a huge fan of your work.

          - Hunter

          1. Expert Member
            Michael Maines | | #14

            Thanks Hunter, very kind of you. Yes, the second photo was taken at project completion. You can see that the unfinished cedar deck boards had already started to lose their color.

            The shingles under the roof overhangs will look very close to new for many years. The rest of the shingles will age to look like the ones in the first photo.

            I always recommend letting shingles age naturally, just as I prefer when people age naturally rather than undertake surgery to preserve the appearance of youth. But most of my clients can't be convinced.

            If you really want to preserve the "new shingle" look forever, bleaching stain won't do it. I recommend using solid stain instead. It obscures the subtle wood tones with a monochromatic finish, but the grain still shows through and the color remains consistent over time. Maibec has many options meant to mimic aged shingles. It also extends the life of the shingles. Here's what that can look like.

        2. Expert Member
          DCcontrarian | | #16

          "The 50yo shingles on my house are darker than what I see on the coast."

          Last summer I had occasion to reshingle a barn where the shingles were about that age or a little older. The west wall was noticeably darker than the other sides. Turns out they were red cedar shingles. Don't know how they snuck in there.

  5. Expert Member
    DCcontrarian | | #15

    This is an eastern-facing wall. The shingles were pretreated with bleaching oil when it was shingled, 12 years ago. The window on the lower left needed replacing recently. I was able to remove and reuse all but about a half dozen of the shingles, the replacements were also treated with bleaching oil and you can see the difference.

    This house is within sight of the ocean.

    1. hunterchap | | #17

      Those have aged beautifully, nicely done. Cool wall as well.

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