Historic Cedar Shingle Home

[beavtayl 14]

Hi,

I am looking for some advice and/or a referral. We own a historically important all cedar shingle home in Boston, MA. The house has a massive roof that is severely pitched and measures approximately 40'x120' per side. The house was reshingled about five years ago and the shingles are aging nicely but for the northern facing roof. A slimy green moss has covered the entire roof. During the summer when it is dry, the moss dries out and has a brownish dirty appearance and as soon as it cools down and turns wet, the roof greens up and takes on a mossy, slimy look. It is not a heavy moss coating but rather a thin film. I have had several contractors look at it but once they see the size and pitch of the roof, they never call back. They have all said that they would need to get a bucket truck or lift and then pressure wash. This seems to be a massive undertaiking. Recently I was given other advice and wanted to get the professional's take on this advice.

I was told to purchase the Xjet M5 pressure waher attachment and soak the intire roof in Spray and Forget. http://www.sprayandforget.com The idea is that I could use a pressure waher from the ground and with the Xjet spray the solution 40-50' up to the roof ridge and therefore soak the intire roof in this solution. There has been no representation that the roof would look pressure cleaned but rather after several months the moss will have died and I will be left with a mossless roof but it will still retain the aged shingle look. This would be a fine result since the rest of the house is browning up as the shingles age. Does this sound like good advice? If so, will the Xjet attached to a 2400 psi, 2.5gpm washer spray 50' in the air? does Spray and Forget actually work? are there any other solutions other than bleach? Other thoughts?

If anyone know of a pro in the Boston area who would tackle this thien that may be the best way to go. Thanks for any help that you can provide!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Let's see if any of our roof washers will chime in here...

Beth

[James 625]

It won't hurt to try a sample of that stuff in a small area you can reach. Other wise Shake by shake cleaning and a lift. Once its cleaned you can start a maint. program to control the mold.

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

Yes this could be quite an undertaking.

This product sounds like it may be a quat..

The X-Jet M-5 will very likely not reach the altitude you require with the machine you have.

You might be best served with a sure flo setup similar to what is used by the roof guys in Florida.

Don Phelps is perhaps one of the more widely known and certainly highly experienced guys with asphalt and tile roofing in the Orlando area.. He'll have good advise to be sure.

[Don Phelps 85]

Michael,

Would it be possible to post some pics of the roof and surrounding areas of the property?

As previously stated, I have quite a bit of experience with asphalt and tile roof cleaning. Unfortunately, there aren't many cedar shake roofs in Central FL.

The approach to cleaning the roof wouldn't be any different than other steep-pitched roofs. As long as there is room to get a lift into the areas needed to reach all parts of the roof, that part will be relatively easy. However, the composition of the roof and what chems to clean it with is just as much a question for the wood "professionals" as anyone else. There is the constant debate about using sodium hypochlorite (bleach) on wood, and not being one that does wood restoration, my best guess would be to possibly strip, clean and seal the roof using sodium hydroxide, oxalic acid and either a transparent or tinted sealer. Or possibly a percarb cleaning would do the trick. Let's see if any of our wood restoration professionals will chime in here...:groovy:

As far as the equipment mentioned, those won't be the right tools for the job. This sounds like a project best suited for someone with the knowledge, experience and equipment to do it right and in a timely manner. It probably won't be cheap, but there has to be someone in the area that deals in cleaning cedar shake roofs. Exhaust your resources to find the right contractor for the job.

[beavtayl 14]

Thanks for the advice. Here is a picture of the house. sorry about the snow covering but gives you an idea of how large a roof and the steep pitch with all the dormers. I would rather pay up front to maintain the roof versus doing another shingle job.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Looks like tying off to a chimney with fall arrest gear is an option too. This would eliminate the lift.

Do you have a non-snow photo that shows the shingles?

Beth