Impressive Composite Shake Roofing Stands Up to Rough Calgary Weather
Rugged weather takes a heavy toll on a home’s exterior in Calgary. On the edge of Alberta’s Hailstorm Alley, and with winter temperatures often below 20 degrees for several months at a time, people here are extremely cautious about the products they select to help protect their homes and their families.
When it was time for Chad McDonald to replace the worn-out pine shake roof on his Alberta home, he decided on DaVinci Shake roofing tiles. Backed by a Lifetime Limited Material Warranty and designed to resist both fire and impact, the composite shake roof provides McDonald with a reliable solution for protecting his suburban home.
“I struggled with my options for replacing my roof until I was shown the DaVinci Shake,” says McDonald. “The qualities of this product are impressive, and it’s definitely the most authentic looking product I’ve seen — and I’m in the building products business.”
Shaking Up Canadian Roofs
McDonald, the operating partner of Monarch Siding, Exterior and Roofing Centre in Canada, learned about the DaVinci synthetic product from his roofing manager, Rob MacCannell. “We decided to use my personal home as a demonstration project to showcase the DaVinci roofing product to roofers and contractors in our area,” says McDonald.
“Many contracting firms came by during the installation and now that the roof is complete. The ones I’ve spoken with expressed the same reaction that I did on seeing this man-made roofing product — they’re pleasantly surprised by the authentic reproduction of the shakes. Several of these contractors are now quoting home re-roofing projects in our neighborhood and are including the DaVinci products in their offerings.”
McDonald selected the Espresso blend for his roof, featuring four shades of Tahoe brown to create a realistic look. He also chose Sunik Roofing to remove his old pine shake roof and install the new polymer cedar shakes.
“This was the first time we installed a DaVinci roof,” says Nick Sims, president of Sunik Roofing in Calgary. “We were impressed by the appearance of the tiles and how it’s a great imitation to cedar shake. Plus, unlike real wood, there are color choices for homeowners, and we didn’t have to worry about grading of the product. Each piece was consistently perfect which helped speed up the installation process.”
Showing Off Synthetic Shake
“My wife and I love this roof,” says McDonald. “We’re proud that people stop and ask us about the composite shake tiles. Our area is dominated by shake roofs, so now we’re working to educate homeowners, roofers and contractors on the benefits of this synthetic shake product.
“Monarch Centres is 21 years old and we like to consider ourselves a leading distributor of new and innovative products. Showcasing this high performance DaVinci product on a home is the best way to introduce it to our marketplace. Now we have a permanent show piece facing real-life Calgary weather conditions to highlight the beauty and reliability of these polymer tiles.”