SR Timber saw solid single-digit growth in sales of western red cedar (WRC) shingles in 2019 – and we’re really pleased with that.
Shingles only makes up a small part of our overall business but they’re a fantastic natural product and, slowly but surely, they’re being used in a wider variety of projects that really showcase just how stunning they are and how different they are to more traditional roof coverings such as concrete tiles or slates.
The cost still makes them an expensive option, but we’re seeing greater use on projects such as log cabins, where they look great, offer high levels of natural insulation and contribute significantly to the target of zero carbon housing.
At the end of last year we were very proud to see SR Timber’s shingles used on a luxury tree house project in East Sussex that won top prize for the Best Use of Cedar Shingles at the Pitched Roofing Awards.
This year we’ll be pleased with solid single digit growth again and I think this will be driven by increased specification of shingles on projects where there’s an eco-dimension or projects for buildings where the aim is to blend in with wooded or rural environments.
It’s only a personal view but I think as the next generation of architects come through, I can only see use of natural materials increase – and this may even break into the mainstream.
Based on the anecdotal information we get from the merchants and roofing contractors that we supply, 95% of the sales of shingles are for roof application. There’s the odd project that we get to hear about that uses shingles for cladding – but again the cost is more prohibitive compared to other timber that is used for cladding.
Canadian WRC is still definitely the ‘go-to’ species for our shingles. We’re a company that has built a thriving business based on the quality of the materials we supply to merchants and roofing contractors, and while we all know you can source different grades of shingles, WRC is still the best.
We supply Blue Label (100% heartwood and edge grain so the grade won’t include knots or sapwood and can be used on all roof and vertical applications) as well as Black Label (that allows for a small amount of tight secure knots to the top third of the shingle, so none are visible when fixed). And we only purchase correctly dried shingles as this means they seldom cup.
A great attribute of WRC is that it comes from a country that is renowned as a world leader in the lack of corruption in its forestry policies. By choosing them, it means that there is absolutely no problem in meeting the requirements of the EUTR, in terms of buying legally sourced wood supplies. Add to that the ready availability of chain of custody certified shingles.
A core part of our business is having a close working relationship with our supply chain and we visit forests and sawmills in Canada regularly so they can supply us with consistent levels of stock of finished product. The strength of these relationships enables us to get ahead of many suppliers and secure raw materials in advance – and we’ve already done so for 2020.
