Article reprinted from Western Roofing magazine Sept/Oct 2007.

Wave Action

Bent & Thatch/Weave-style Wood Shingles Set Roof Apart in Stockton, Calif.

by Marc Dodson, editor

You don’t see many anymore, but they sure are a crowd pleaser. A thatch-style roof always draws attention. Perhaps it’s because they’re so rare. Perhaps it’s because people appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship involved. Either way, not many contractors attempt these types of projects anymore.

Chris Cotta, project manager for Cool Roofing Systems (CRS), Manteca, Calif., can attest to this fact. “The owners knew exactly the type of roof they wanted, but at least five roofing contractors walked away shaking their heads. We were the sixth contractor she contacted, and we accepted the challenge,” Cotta stated.

The two-story home, located in Stockton, Calif., was built in 1925. The house already had an older thatch/weave-style wood roof in place that needed to be removed. “The tear-off was the first real challenge. The roof area is 35 squares, and with these thatch and weave style roofs, about three times the normal amount of material is used because of all the overlapping and bending. So not only did we have to apply three times the normal amount of roofing material, we first had to remove three times the normal amount of material. So you can imagine the amount nails that were left to deal with,” said Cotta. It took 20 men two days to complete the tear-off and clean-up.

George and Gail Herron have owned the home since 1976. The original roof was wood shake. Later, a red asphalt shingle was applied. When the Herrons purchased the home, they had a wave-thatch roof installed. This was the roof that had to be removed to make way for a similar wood wave-thatch application. “The wave-thatch roof goes with the style of the home, and it turned out great. We’re very happy with the results and very pleased with the work of the roofing contractor. They’re good guys and easy to work with,” stated Gail.

The roof varied in slope, from 10:12 in the front, to 12:12 in the back, and 8:12 on the garage. On approximately 13 squares of roof area, the shingles were boiled for approximately four hours, then bent and formed into place. The field of the roof was applied with multiple layers of wood shingles; almost all were cut to fit the varying lengths and angles that were required to achieve the wave pattern. The shingles were Chemco’s Class B and the small deck in front of the attic window was covered with Duro-Last.

As the roof began to take on shape, it grabbed the attention of many of the neighbors and passersby. There were even a couple of local architects that stopped by to get a business card from Cotta. They were interested in featuring this type of roofing artistry on one of their upcoming projects now that they know it can still be done.

Prior to making the decision to submit a bid on the project, CRS' president, Jamie Billman, had a meeting with his key personnel to discuss all of the aspects of the job. "Safety and the quality of the workmanship had to be the number one thought on everyone's mind throughout the entire project,” Billman said. "I had to be sure that we were all committed to creating a masterpiece."

CRS made sure every detail was correct, even going so far as to prepaint the facing nails brown so as not to detract from the final appearance of the roof. The entire project took the CRS crew about six weeks to complete.

The Herrons are pleased with the outcome, and so was Cotta. “Everything went as planned and it turned out to be something we were all proud to be a part of,” he stated. •••