Still shaking? You have a decision to make

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Plenty of Portland-area houses still wear cedar: wooded Lake Oswego and West Linn lots, the older eastside streets, rural properties out toward Sandy and Estacada. Cedar in a maritime climate is a maintenance commitment, and insurers have gotten less patient with it. Owners land on this page for one of three reasons: maintain it, fix it, or get off it.

Can a shake roof be maintained?

Yes, within limits. Clearing debris out of the valleys, treating for moss and rot, and replacing split or curling shakes in sections buys real years on a sound roof. The catch is the climate: cedar needs to dry between storms, and shaded Portland roofs barely dry from October to May. Maintenance stretches a healthy shake roof; it does not resurrect a rotting one.

What does conversion involve?

Most old cedar roofs went down over spaced sheathing, boards with gaps left so the shakes could breathe. Composition shingles cannot nail to gaps, so conversion means replacing all the decking before the new material goes down. That is real extra cost, it shows up in the quote as sheathing, and Oregon's permit rule applies when all the old roofing and all the sheathing come off together.

Do insurers still cover shake?

Some do, some will not write it, and several have non-renewed Portland-area owners over aged shake and moss. If your carrier sent a letter, that deadline is real, and conversion vs documented maintenance is the decision the callback should be about.

Is new cedar ever the right answer?

Occasionally, on a house where the look is the point and the owner accepts the upkeep and the insurance picture. For most owners asking in 2026, the honest answer is composition or metal, and a roofer who has converted plenty of shake roofs can walk you through what yours will take.