A Brava representative gave this Stanwood homeowner a name and a phone number. That is how a lot of good roofing projects actually start, with someone who knows the product pointing you toward someone who knows how to install it. The homeowner called Amor Roofing, and what followed was a full cedar shake tear-off and a new composite shake roof on a home that sits right on the water at Lake Goodwin.
The roof that came off
The original roof was real cedar shake and it had reached the end of its life. Up close you could see it: shakes curled and split, edges gone soft, the surface weathered down to bare gray. A lakefront exposure is hard on wood. Wind comes off the water, the roof never fully dries out in the wet months, and shake that starts to cup holds moisture instead of shedding it.
Cedar at that stage cannot be patched or covered over. It has to come all the way off, and what sits underneath it usually needs attention too.
A composite shake roof replacement starts with the deck
Old cedar shake is typically installed over skip sheathing, which is spaced boards with gaps between them rather than one solid surface. That works for wood shake, which needs to breathe from both sides. It does not work for most modern roofing, which needs a continuous nailable deck underneath it.
So this was never just a tear-off. Once the shake was stripped, the crew re-sheeted the roof with new plywood across the whole structure. That is the part of a composite shake roof replacement most homeowners never see and most estimates gloss over, and it is the difference between a roof that lays flat for decades and one that telegraphs every gap underneath. The skylights were reset as part of the same process.
The new roof is Brava composite shake, a synthetic product molded from real shake, so it carries the same texture and shadow line without the upkeep that comes with wood. On a house with this much roof visible from the water, that texture is doing real work.
No pressure, and no games
Ask the homeowner what stood out and he does not lead with the product. He talks about William and Santiago, and about the fact that they could answer any question he thought to ask. Not deflect it, not talk around it. Answer it.
That is rarer than it should be. A roof is one of the largest single purchases a homeowner makes, and the sales process around it has a reputation for a reason. There were no moving numbers here, no pressure to sign, and no games. He got straight answers, and the same transparency held from the first conversation through the final walkthrough.
Protection first, and a cleaner site than we found
Working on a lakefront home means working on someone's view, their landscaping, and their siding all at once. The crew covered and protected the house and the grounds every day they were on site. When the job wrapped, they left the property cleaner than they found it.
Start to finish it ran about three weeks, with no mishaps along the way. The homeowner recommends Amor Roofing without hesitation.
Thinking about composite shake for your own roof?
If your cedar is curling, splitting, or growing moss faster than you can clean it off, you are probably closer to a replacement than a repair. Composite shake is worth a look, especially on an exposed site. So is the question of what is under your shake right now, because that is what shapes both the timeline and the number.
Amor Roofing is a small, family-owned company serving Snohomish County and North King County. Call us for a free inspection, or get your free estimate today.