Cedar Roofing in Queens, NY

REVMA Roofing replaces cedar shake and cedar shingle roofs across Queens and the Bronx, on the shingle-style Colonials and Tudors you see in Douglaston, Little Neck and Bayside. I'm Stavros Latos, the owner. Cedar is a beautiful roof, but it's a living material and it's unforgiving when it's installed wrong, so I price every cedar job myself.

When a Queens Cedar Roof Actually Needs Replacement

Cedar tells you when it's done. The shakes go gray and then black, they cup and split, moss grows in the shady courses under the big oaks and maples, and the butts at the eaves start to rot first. A few split shakes is a repair. When the whole north slope is soft and you can see daylight between courses from the attic, you're past repairs.

Let's say the front slope still looks okay but the back, under the trees, is rotted. The reality is the whole roof is the same age and the same wood, so the front is usually a few seasons behind. I'll show you photos of both sides so you can decide with the facts in front of you.

What's Included in a Queens Cedar Roof Replacement

Here's what goes into a REVMA cedar replacement:

• Full tear-off to the deck, including old skip sheathing if it's rotted.
• Solid deck or spaced sheathing as the system calls for. Three to five sheets of plywood are included.
• Ice and water shield at the eaves and in every valley.
• Breathable underlayment so the cedar can dry from underneath, which is what makes it last.
• Stainless steel fasteners. Cedar's tannins eat ordinary nails.
• New flashing at walls, chimneys and valleys.
• Hip and ridge built from matched cedar.
• Cleanup and a magnet sweep before we leave.

Most cedar roofs take three to five days.

Western Red Cedar vs Alaskan Yellow Cedar in Queens

Western red cedar is what most people picture: warm color, light weight, and a 30 to 40 year life when it's installed with room to breathe. Alaskan yellow cedar is denser, more rot resistant and weathers to a silver gray, and it costs more. Both are good roofs. The choice usually comes down to the look you want and how much shade the roof sits in.

If you love the look but not the upkeep, composite shake gets close without the moss and splitting.

Cost Range for a Queens Cedar Roof

Natural cedar runs $2,000–$2,600 a square installed in Queens, so a typical 20-square roof is roughly $40,000–$52,000. Yellow cedar sits at the top of that range. Steep pitches add 15–25%, and rotted sheathing past the included three to five sheets of plywood is $110 a sheet.

For the full comparison with slate, composite and shingle: How much does a new roof cost in Queens?

Insurance Claims for Storm-Driven Replacements

When a storm or a falling limb breaks shakes, we photograph and measure the damage and I'll meet your adjuster on the roof. Then we repair what the carrier covers with matched cedar. We don't negotiate your claim or act as your adjuster.

Rot and moss from age are wear, not storm damage, and I'll tell you that before you file.

Attached, Semi-Attached and Two-Family Homes

Cedar on a semi-detached house has to tie into whatever the neighbor has, often asphalt. We flash that joint properly and step the materials so water doesn't find the seam.

Cedar roofs also tend to sit on houses with a lot of landscaping, so we protect the beds and walks before tear-off.

Service Areas for Queens Cedar Roofing

We're based in Bayside and we work Queens and the Bronx only, so the crew isn't driving in from three counties away. Area pages: Queens, Bayside and the Bronx. Neighborhood deep dive: Cedar roofing in Bayside. Around northeast Queens that means Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Whitestone, Auburndale and Oakland Gardens, plus Forest Hills, Jamaica Estates and Fresh Meadows further in, and Riverdale, Fieldston, Throgs Neck and Country Club in the Bronx.

Cedar Roofing Questions from Queens Homeowners