Composite Shake Tops One Man’s Castle
A man’s home is his castle. Nowhere is that more true than in Ida Grove, Iowa — otherwise known as Castletown, USA.
While he has no mote or drawbridge, homeowner Jon Devitt does have a turret on his roof. The Ida Grove resident also has a roof worthy of a king. That’s because he recently had impact- and fire-resistant DaVinci composite shake tiles installed on his roof.
Roof Failures 
Much like a castle, Devitt’s home was constructed in 1981 to withstand intruders and bad weather. Similar to many other homes in Ida Grove, his house has a rough stucco exterior. And, at the time it was built, a real cedar shake was added to top off the structure.
Unfortunately, like many cedar shake roofs, this one didn’t last. It was replaced with an asphalt shingle product. Alas, that one also failed. It was damaged by severe weather in 2020. As a result, there are leaks and stains on the ceilings throughout the main floor.
Authentic-Looking Composite Shake
To rebuild his “castle” from the top down, Devitt called on the team from Premier Systems Inc. They introduced him to the DaVinci composite shake product.
“When we saw how closely the DaVinci Shake looks to real cedar shake, we were sold,” says Devitt. “The look of this product is outstanding. In addition, the Lifetime Limited Material Warranty and top ratings are what made the case for the additional investment in the DaVinci product.”
The Devitts selected the Black Oak color from DaVinci’s Nature Crafted Collection. The color general reminds people of natural cedar shingles that have been saturated with moisture and mold for many years. In other words, the color tells the story of dark, aged cedar — perfect for a man’s castle.
“Our home has dark trim accents that contrast with the white stucco exterior,” says Devitt. “That made the Black Oak a fairly easy choice. The black bark coloring looks so much better than the ‘orange’ asphalt that was previously on the roof.”
Roofing Experts
Once the composite shake arrived, the roofing team got to work.
“We do about 30 DaVinci installations every year,” says Austin Bettin with Premier Systems Inc. “These composite roofing tiles are ideal for our geographic area. The Class 4 impact rating of the shingles gives homeowners great peace-of-mind.”
According to Devitt, the roof on his home is a key factor in the overall design of the house.
“This DaVinci product truly looks like an authentic shake roof,” says Devitt. “I’ve never had more people call and ask about our roof. Everyone loves it.
“Plus, we really lucked out with the Premier Systems team. They were fast and professional. I didn’t find a single nail when they were finished. Thank goodness … I didn’t want to send anyone to the dungeon!”