05/26/2026
Cedar shake is one of the most beautiful roofing materials you can put on a home. It’s also one of the most misread after a hail storm. 🌲
Here’s the problem: cedar naturally develops small cracks, checks, and texture variation as it ages. To an untrained eye, including many insurance adjusters, hail damage on cedar can look like normal aging. And that’s exactly how claims on cedar shake roofs get denied or underpaid.
What makes cedar shake inspection different:
→ Cedar absorbs hail impact differently than asphalt, it splits and fractures instead of bruising
→ Fresh splits show orange-colored exposed wood against weathered gray, visible if you know what to look for
→ The damage pattern matters: hail hits consistently across the entire roof surface, not in isolated spots
→ Distinguishing impact fractures from natural checking requires experience with the material, not just a checklist
Liberty has been specializing in cedar shake for over 30 years. We know what hail damage looks like on cedar because we’ve inspected hundreds of cedar roofs after Chicagoland storms.
If you have a cedar shake roof and a storm has moved through your area, don’t call any roofer. Call one who actually knows the material.
📞 Free cedar shake inspection — link in bio.
