I’m a big fan of cedar shakes shingles. There is something cool about a building product that is just a piece of wood that shaved off a tree and nailed to your house. They aren’t square or perfectly uniform which means they tend to give your home a splash of creativity. Often a dormer on the front of a home is the perfect place to add some cedar shakes to spruce up your curb appeal and give an otherwise ordinary porch some character.

This porch in west Nashville got a makeover this week. I started by installing some new beadboard panels on the porch ceiling over some plain white painted plywood. The beadboard is a welcoming touch to a front porch that helps it feel more like a finished space where you might want to hang out for a while. It’s a detail that was popular in many older homes around the turn of the 20th century and its appeal has not diminished.

The dormer was also covered with painted plywood. It was still solid, but the paint was starting to flake off and soon the plywood would start getting damaged from exposure to the elements. Great time to add some cedar shake shingles.

Cedar shakes come in large bundles that will cover around 25 square feet each. Walker Lumber, on Thompson Lane near 100 Oaks, is a great place to get hard-to-find items like cedar shingles and other exterior trim products.  They’ve always given me fabulous service and really know their stuff.  Cedar shakes come in different grades, depending on the quality, etc.  I like the higher grade shingles for a job like this.