To last the longest, wood must have a low moisture content - below 21%, in order to be ‘inert’ or not have any microbe activity (microbe activity breaks down the cellulose, rotting the wood).

That accomplished, it must NOT be made rigid (or ‘densified’), or else the differential expansion rate of the wood and the introduced hardening agent (such as silica) will cause tearing to occur in the wood cellulose, effectively fatiguing the original wood to mush over time. Moisture penetration allows a host environment for the microbes in the partial cavities that are unfilled with silica throughout the wood mass.

CedarEX™ 100A does not disturb or change the excellent characteristics of the sound wood fibre itself.

CEDAREX™ ADAPTS TO THE WOOD’S temperature expansion and contraction.

Below is a list of the performance properties of CedarEX™, and why they are critical to have.

Moisture Block - Most grades of shakes or shingles that are 7 years of age or older have lost the majority of the natural oils which served to retard moisture absorption, as well as to frustrate the existence of any harmful microbes. A roof that is 2 years old is absorbing approximately 5% moisture. By the 10 year mark, the same roof is absorbing up to 65% moisture, meaning that after extended rainfall, it has not dried to below the important 21% threshold even after a day or two of clear weather (this depends on temperature and humidity factors). With the CedarEX™ treatment, the moisture absorption is limited to the 9 - 14% range, (thus the wood is inert or not rotting) depending on the shake and shingle grade, roof pitch, overhanging trees, etc. Further, what little moisture has been absorbed, dries quickly after a rainy period (usually within several hours on the first clear day). This fact alone has a HUGE effect on lengthening the service life of the roof wood fibre (shakes and shingles). You will be amazed to see your dry roof while looking at your neighbors roof which is still soaked (and rotting).

Permeability - It is essential that the coating allow the smaller water vapor molecules to escape from the wood. Otherwise, these form a bond-inhibiting layer, which may cause the coating to fail, such as what would occur with a typical oil paint type of coating, which is non-breathing, and highly prone to failure. CedarEX™ allows the escaping of moisture vapor pressure down to the 8% level, the remainder escapes from the uncoated underside of the wood.

Elastomeric Properties - Your shakes and shingles expand and contract a maximum of 17% - many times over the course of the year. CedarEX™ has the flexibility to move without losing it’s ‘grip’ on the wood, thus staying firmly bonded. In fact, CedarEX™ has a flexibility well in excess of that required, to allow for any long term aging effect on the film.

Ultraviolet Block - Through oxidation and burning on unprotected cedar, an upper layer of ‘slag’ cells are created (gray color) which hold moisture longer than sound cells. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to have as close to ‘opaque’ or solid finish treatment as you can. It is technically impossible for a clear or semi-clear finish to effectively block UV as thoroughly as a solid finish can. CedarEX™, with an opaque UV block finish, will reduce the UV graying effect completely.

Preservative - The external weathered portion of the product must be chemically protected from microbe activity in addition to that layer of the shake/shingle into which the chemical has been absorbed. Both of these are achieved with environmentally safe ‘micro biocides’. It also makes sense that since the CedarEX treated wood doesn’t absorb as much moisture as an untreated roof would, the effects of decay would be none existent.

Moss Control – CedarEX™ has the strongest environmentally sound micro biocides available for moss/algae protection. For aggressive areas of moss formation CedarEX will recommend a treatment additive - an advanced chemical engineering approach that to our knowledge is not used by any other manufacturer, anywhere. Mature moss clump formation will be reduced by approximately 80%. As long as the roof is kept clean of debris, there should never be any moss build-up on your roof again.

Fire Retardancy – CedarEX™ 100A is a non-flammable, breathable, environmentally friendly stain. Once applied to your roof, CedarEX will NOT promote flame spread as some products do.

Durability - The primary coating film must be durable, as well; specific active components cannot leach out. They must remain in a fixated state to keep the entire film functioning properly. CedarEX™ has exceptional durability characteristics - it surpassed exhaustive goals by a wide margin. In addition, the real world installations have confirmed the weatherometer testing results, allowing a doubling of the warranty (originally 5 years, now 10).

Stability and Consistency - Simply put, super quality formula components yield a real synergy benefit, as they are much closer to advertised specifications, minimizing or eliminating production variability. Our manufacturing process follows strict guidelines. All components are ‘Mercedes quality’ resulting in top of the line batches with the best materials available.

Colour - Because CedarEX™ must be a near opaque film for functional reasons, a nice side benefit is that we can tint it with attractive colours to match your exterior decor, literally any colour you like, although we have several popular ones. They are: natural, cedar brown, weathered gray and tan and dark tan.
(NOTE - 80% of customers choose the ‘new roof’ or tan colour. Although more expensive, CedarEX™ recommends a darker shade as it will show less dirt and other foreign material over future years.)

Water-based products vs. Oil-based - The cedar shake had cedar oil in it originally, but this oil breaks down and leaves the wood – which is why your roof needs to be restored. An oil treatment is only a short term solution because like the original oil within the cedar shake, it washes out and breaks down as well.
With CedarEX™ 100A (a special water-based hybrid latex-elastomeric/stain), the treatment penetrates the shake and dries into a unique, durable and long term barrier disallowing water penetration (yet allowing the cedar to breathe) and is superior to any oil based treatment.
[If you are interested in a short-term oil-based preservative we have just the solution- CedarEX™ Oil Preservative (tinted or untinted) - Although we recommend re-application every 3-5 years this is a good alternative than doing nothing at all. Please call me for details].

Application - The CedarEX 100A product was tested to a ten year equivalent, at a roof coverage rate of 1200 sq.ft. per 5 gallon pail. Installing the product at a MINIMUM rate of 500 sq.ft. per 5 Gallon pail (5 pails per home average) will ensure a comfortable safety margin for the service life we claim. A majority of the other roof restoration products only require 1 pail of their product on the WHOLE roof – and often it is a watered down version. To actually protect your cedar you can’t ‘cut corners’! Use CedarEX™ 100A full-strength at our recommended application rates and really do some long-term good.

Environmentally Sound – CedarEX™ 100A is non-carcinogenic and passes Canadian regulations for coatings toxicity. It is very mild and will not harm any plants or animals.