Don't Seal Cedar Shake

So according to the Cedar Shake Bureau you're not supposed to seal any cedar shake after cleaning it because it can't breathe and allow moisture to naturally evaporate. Instead you're supposed to clean it as usual but apply a penetraiting oil finish rather than sealant. This is supposed to keep the wood moisturized and healthy. Seems like everyone's sealing them instead. Any thoughts? Here's a link to the page where I read about it.

http://www.cedarbureau.org/faq/maintenance.htm

The terms stain & seal are used interchangeably (is that a word?) all over the forums which can be misleading to some. What you have to use is a non-drying oil (WoodRich Timber Oil, Ready Seal, Wood Defender - a parafinnic, non curing oil) Again with the pigments, you need them - using a clear "stain" (seems like a conflict of terms) will have those nice pretty shakes gray in a matter of no time.

Celeste

Oddly enough, one of my customers was advised by the man who sold him the roof to NOT have his cedar shake roof even cleaned. It looks very grey to me. It supposedly has a 30 year garantee. So what is he supposed to do, let it torn black and green for the next 2 decades. It's only 7 years old and looks bad. Any ammo I can use with this guy?

It's kind of like the guys that sell Trex - call it maintenance free, or the guy that sells asphalt shingles and says you can't wash them - or the guy that builds wood decks and says they need to sit a year before you do anything. Salesmen SELL. If this homeowner is not happy with his cedar shakes, clean them. It's a very delicate procedure, different than doing a deck. We removed stain and restained over 60K square feet last year - feel free to call Roger on this if you want

Celeste

PS - I have some pictures if you need to use them on this man - just email me.

good call. we'll see if i can convince him of the same.