How much area do the bundles of shingles cover?

Short answer:
Our roofing #2 and better and siding #3 cover 25 square feet at 5" exposure. It takes 4 bundles to cover a square.

Long answer:
While the bundles are packed to 25 square feet at 5" of exposure, they can be exposed to 5 3/8" and still maintain a triple coverage over the area. If you find you are running short of shingles to finish a job, you can squeeze the exposure up on the last few courses without effecting the integrity of the roof or wall. I have had to do this on a couple of remote installs where I was a part bundle short.

John Hoffmann Used with permission

Can I stain the shingles?
    part 2) What stain would you recommend?
    part 3) Are any preservatives required?

Short answer:
You can but, it is not recommended for a couple reasons. Sansin stains if you absolutely have to... and no, no preservatives are required.

Long answer:
I do not recommend staining the shingles for a couple reasons; Firstly, white cedar does not take stain well. The same components of the wood that prevent its decay also tend to repel most finishes. I have looked into a number of products that are available but even what appears to be the best of them put you on a 4 to 5 year maintenance hook to re-stain the shingles.

Secondly, finishes that seal the shingle will not allow the shingle to exchange moisture. Any that does get in, won't get out easily. This could promote fungus growth and degrade your shingles.

If you are looking to keep the shingles bright with a finish, be prepared to re-stain the shingles regularly and don't miss a year. One of the major shingle producers have found themselves subject to class action lawsuits due to the stains not holding up.

I am not a stain or paint guy but, Sansin has a water borne stain that seem to have better properties than others that I have looked at. The process is such that it impregnates the pigments into the wood. However, and to their credit for their honesty, their engineers admit that a 4-5 year re-stain would likely be required.

If it is a question of wanting colour on a wall installation, leave the shingles go their natural silver / grey and paint or stain your trims. You would be looking at a maintenance hook of a couple days every 4-5 years as oppose to a week every 4-5 years. 

Bonus answer:
If you feel compelled to stain the shingles; dip them prior to installing them. When re-staining though, you are on the hook to climb with a brush, roller or if you're lucky, a sprayer.

Ryan Pagliaro install of our fishscales Used with permission

I  / We / My company offer web SEO / web design, would you be interested in our services?

Short answer:
No. Not even a little bit.

Long answer:
Aww... What we've got is working for us. While I am not a web designer, I can muddle through. While there are things that I will do that are not recommended by a holder of a marketing BA, they are intentional to show my character and hopefully integrity. We are here for the bacon, not the sizzle. I am not here to put on aires.

To the SEO fellas; as soon as you hang up with me, you are going to go make the same offer to someone else for the same spots and placements at the same costs. This leaves every one of your customers in the same place that they started out.

To the marketing fellas; unless you are interested in a production compensation, co-operative basis sales and marketing model, you are only wasting both your time and mine. If you are interested in such a model, we need to talk.

How long will a cedar shingle roof last?

Short answer:
If installed to best practice, a cedar shingle roof ought to last well in excess of 50 years.

Long answer:
There are several factors that will effect the durability of a cedar shingle roof. Durability will be effected by the installation method and maintenance issues as well as site specific features.

If the roof is installed in a manner that will allow the shingles to dry out and exchange moisture, fungus will have a harder time to take hold and degrade the shingles. I recommend installing roofing shingles over strapping as oppose to on a solid sheeted deck. If the shingles are being installed in Ontario, over a heated area, installing a strapping grid over the deck to allow the shingles to breathe from the under side will allow the shingles to dry out, reducing cupping and curling as well as curtaining fungus, moss and lichen growth.

Keeping the roof clear of leaves and needles, cleaning the roof off a couple times a year will also reduce the occurrence of fungus taking hold in your roof.

If your site is near a lake or river  or a heavily treed area, where humidity can be an issue, the chances of mosses and lichens taking hold is increased. 

Do you offer installations?

Short answer:
Not anymore.

Long answer:
There are some installations that I would consider. Although, those installations would be dependent on my prior commitments, location and complexity of the roof or siding job. I do not want to sound like some sort of elitist snob but, if the location is relatively remote or secluded, and the job is a challenge to me or of an exemplary vision, I could be interested.

Gerald Beaupre Used with permission

Do you use wood from certified forests?

Short answer:
Not specifically.

Long answer:
Some materials that come through our yard do come from certified forests but, we are not part of a certification system. We have not found a need to, or a desire by our customers for such. The cost to participate in such systems do not yield a benefit worth the cost.

There is only one customer. That one customer ultimately gets to pay for everything that a business does. If they don't the business goes under. The cost of tracking chains of custody of specific inventories of product would add a cost to the customer that I do not believe the customer has an interest in bearing.

I am from a family that has had a connection to the land around here for at least five generations. I desire for my children to have the same opportunity for that connection should they choose to accept it. With that connection comes a responsibility to the land to take care of it, to use it without killing it.

We endeavour to purchase our materials from operators that in our opinion, are using best practices. As the vast majority of our infeed stock comes from private cuts, the landowner of that cut has a motivation to have care taken for what is left behind so they can go back to it sooner rather than never for him. There are some operators and landowners that we will not purchase from as we do not agree with their practices.

When we mill that product, we endeavour to not waste what is yielded from those logs. Consequently, there are a number of products that we produce and are developing that are not displayed here on this site. We endeavour to provide our customers with quality information on the use of the product so that its durability is realized. All these points mean that we are going back to the bush less for materials.

They have been harvesting timber out of the Ottawa Valley for over 200 years. The practices of the first in the bush are long gone. The waste that occurred in those days is rare today.

Do you produce cedar lumber?

No but, I have some folks that I can refer you to.