Pre-Assembled Cedar Shingles

"The new smart way to install cedar shingles."

- This Old House.

Conventional

Non-Ventilated

Installation

Illustration showing problems with unventilated cedar shingle installation. Trapped moisture, cupping, solar vapor drive.

Solar Vapor Drive -

Solar energy forces water vapor through the WRB, into the wall assembly where it can cause mold and decay.

Conventional installation

traps water between shingle layers.

 

Cupping occurs when the surface dries and shrinks while the back of the shingles are still wet.

 

Saturated, non-ventilated shingles require a long time to dry out.

 

Trapped moisture promotes decay.

Ecoshel cedar shingle ventilation ridges / beads.

Ecoshel Built-in

Ventilation and

Rain-Screen

Capillary Breaks between shingles isolate moisture to the top layer, and prevent  trapped water that can cause cupping

and decay.

Ridges on the back of Ecoshel shingles provide ventilation.

Built-in Ventilated Rain-Screen

A gap between the shingles and the sheathing prevents solar vapor drive by allowing water vapor to vent to

the exterior.

Animated Illustration showing Cedar Shingle Ventilation and Rainscreen details. Solar vapor drive and cedar shingles.

Built-in Ventilation and Rain-Screen

Specifying a ventilated rain-screen installation is an important decision. When siding is installed without ventilation, moisture "banked" in the siding can be driven through the vapor permeable house wrap by solar energy. "Solar vapor drive" works as a pump, that moves moisture into the wall assembly where it accumulates and cannot easily dry out. This creates a damp environment inside the wall that is ideal for mold and decay fungi.

 

This hidden decay often determines the lifespan of the structure. Unventilated installations can result in significant levels of decay in the sheathing and wall cavities in as little as 10 years. For this reason, some building departments now require "rain-screen" installations.

 

The Ecoshel Cedar Shingle System includes ventilation ridges on the back of the shingles. These hot melt beads  provide a slight gap between shingle layers, and between the shingles and the house wrap or felt. This built-in ventilation depressurizes solar vapor drive by allowing water vapor to vent to the exterior. The ventilation beads also function as baffles that prevent wind driven moisture from penetrating the shingle assembly.

 

As a true shingle installation, Ecoshel provides excellent protection in extreme weather. Shingle installations function as multiple layers of drainage planes, with each layer directing moisture back to the surface.  An Ecoshel installation provides this same level of protection for both roofing and siding. While more leak prone siding products benefit from the drainage plane that a rain-screen installation provides, the primary role of an Ecoshel rain-screen installation is to prevent trapped moisture and solar vapor drive. The built-in 0.10" rain-screen space works well to accomplish this.

 

Ecoshel's narrow rain-screen space simplifies construction, eliminating the need for door and window jamb extensions, as well as the need for screened vents at the base and top of the walls. The narrow space also minimizes the condensation potential, and reduces the ventilation requirement. An Ecoshel installation is continuously ventilated throughout the entire surface, providing an installation that is both highly weatherproof, and well ventilated.

 

Ecoshel's built-in ventilation system also provides a capillary break between shingle layers, which helps isolate moisture to the top layer, so the assembly dries out much faster than three saturated layers of shingles. Faster drying helps prevent decay. The capillary break also works to prevent trapped moisture between shingle layers. This helps prevent cupping that occurs when the sun dries the surface of the shingle while the back is still wet.

 

Solar Vapor Drive -

Solar energy forces water vapor through the vapor permeable house wrap, into the wall where it can cause mold and decay.

Conventional installation

traps water between shingle layers.

 

Saturated, non-ventilated shingles require a long time to dry out.

 

 

Cupping occurs when the surface dries and shrinks while the back of the shingles are still wet.

 

 

 

Trapped moisture promotes decay.

Capillary Breaks between shingles isolate moisture to the top layer, and prevent  trapped water that can cause

cupping and decay.

Built-in Ventilated Rain-Screen

A gap between the shingles and the sheathing prevents solar vapor drive by allowing water vapor to vent to the exterior.

Solar Vapor Drive -

Solar energy forces water vapor through the vapor permeable house wrap, into the wall promoting mold and decay.

Conventional Installation

traps water between shingle layers.

 

Cupping occurs when the surface dries and shrinks while the back of the shingles are

still wet.

 

Trapped moisture promotes decay.

Ecoshel cedar shingle ventilation ridges / beads.

Capillary Breaks between shingles isolate moisture to the top layer, and prevent  trapped water that can cause cupping

and decay.

Built-in Ventilated Rain-Screen

A gap between the shingles and the sheathing prevents solar vapor drive by allowing water vapor to vent to the exterior.

Pre-Assembled Cedar Shingles

Copyright © 2021, Ecoshel, Inc.

TM: Ecoshel, Smart-Shingle.

Conventional

Non-Ventilated

Installation

Trapped moisture

inside the wall.

Trapped water

between shingles

Solar Vapor Drive

Solar energy forces water vapor through the vapor permeable house wrap, into the wall where it promotes mold and decay.

Cupping

Cupping occurs when the front surface of the shingle dries, while the back is still wet.

Ecoshel

Built-in Ventilation

and Rain-Screen

Capillary

Breaks

Built-in

Ventilated

Rain-Screen

Built-in Ventilated Rain-Screen

A gap between the shingles and the sheathing prevents solar vapor drive by allowing water vapor to vent to the exterior.

Capillary Breaks

between shingle layers isolate moisture to the top layer, and prevent  trapped water that can cause cupping and decay.

Built-in Ventilation

and Rain-Screen