Roofs under the trees in Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Lake Oswego has a large share of custom and semi-custom homes, and cedar shake was a common choice on them for decades. Under constant shade, shakes stay damp, turn dark, split, and grow moss in the gaps between them. Once a shake roof reaches that stage, repairs get harder because each replaced shake has to sit among brittle neighbors. Some owners keep cedar and do a full replacement. Others switch to a heavy architectural composite or a designer shingle with a shake look. Both can suit these houses, so we price each option.

Composite roofs here have their own problem. Moss roots work under the shingle edges and lift them, and needles packed in valleys hold water against the seams. A roof that looks fine from the street can be soft underneath. Pressure washing makes it worse by stripping granules and forcing water under the laps, so we avoid it. Instead we lift moss by hand, treat what remains, and check the decking at the eaves where rot usually starts first. Where moss has sat for many seasons, a band of shingles along the gutter line often needs replacing.

The biggest weather factor here is not one storm. It is that roofs under trees rarely dry between October and May. Rain drips off branches for hours after the sky clears, and fog and cool nights keep surfaces wet. Moss, lichen and algae grow fastest on north faces and anywhere branches hang over. When a windstorm or ice event does hit, the same trees drop limbs. Even a small branch falling from high up can puncture shingles or crack a shake, and a large limb can break rafters. Pollen and leaf litter in spring add a second layer of debris.

We remove moss by hand and with soft-wash methods that do not tear up shingles, then clear valleys and gutters. On many jobs we add zinc strips near the ridge to slow regrowth. We protect gardens, decks and lake-side landscaping during tear-offs. Where branches touch or overhang the roof, we point them out so you can have an arborist trim them. We check Lake Oswego permit rules and pull permits where required.