Cedar Shake to IKO Dynasty on Thermal Drive Coquitlam. Robert's Testimonial & Full Project Tour.
A complete cedar shake conversion on an established home along Thermal Drive in Coquitlam. Robert tells his story first. Then the project takes over: the old cedar stripped away, a brand new plywood deck over the original skip sheathing, and IKO Dynasty architectural shingles finished with clean ridge lines you can spot from the street below.
Watch the project. Robert first, then the full tour.
Fifty nine seconds. That is the whole story. Robert opens the video in his own words. Then the camera walks the job. The tired cedar shakes coming off. The original skip sheathing laid bare, spaced boards that cedar needs to breathe but asphalt cannot live on. Sheet after sheet of fresh plywood going down. Ice and water shield, synthetic underlayment, new black valley metal. IKO Dynasty shingles nailed exactly to spec. And the finish: continuous ridge venting capped with IKO UltraHP high profile ridge caps, running straight as a rifle shot against the Coquitlam treeline.
Watch on YouTube · 59 seconds · Thermal Drive, Coquitlam BC
Robert lives on Thermal Drive, up on the Chines in Coquitlam. His home wore its original cedar shake roof for decades. He hired us to convert it to IKO Dynasty architectural shingles, then sat down on camera and told us how the project went. His words open the video above.
Project Quick Facts
| Location | Thermal Drive, Coquitlam, BC |
| Neighbourhood | The Chines / Ranch Park, Coquitlam |
| Project Type | Cedar Shake to Asphalt Conversion |
| Building Type | Established Coquitlam home, hip and gable roofline with brick chimney |
| Reason for Replacement | Original cedar shake roof at end of service life |
| New Material | IKO Dynasty Architectural Shingles, deep charcoal blend |
| Decking Work | Complete re-sheet. New half inch plywood installed over the original skip sheathing |
| Underlayment | Peel and stick ice and water shield at eaves, valleys, and penetrations. RoofNado StormTread XW synthetic over the field |
| Ventilation | Continuous ridge venting under IKO UltraHP high profile ridge caps, new gooseneck exhaust vents |
| Flashings | New black open valley metal, drip edge, rubberized plumbing boots, black-capped chimney flashing |
| Nail Pattern | Manufacturer four nail pattern, every shingle, on the chalk line |
| Year Completed | July 2026 |
| Warranty | IKO manufacturer warranty + 10 year Paragon workmanship warranty |
Why cedar shake roofs on the Chines are reaching the end together
Thermal Drive climbs the Chines, the forested slope that rises between Austin Heights and Ranch Park on Coquitlam's east side. The homes here went up mostly through the 1960s and 1970s. Split levels. Post and beam. Basement entries with broad, confident rooflines. And when they were built, a huge share of them were roofed the same way: cedar shake. Fifty years on, those original and second generation cedar roofs are aging out street by street. Converting one to asphalt is not a simple swap. There is real carpentry underneath.
Project gallery. Before, during, completed.
Documented from tear off to the final ridge cap. Each photo tells a piece of the story.
How the project unfolded
Up the ladder and onto the cedar. Cupped shakes. Splitting. Thinning butts where decades of Coquitlam rain had worn the wood down. The roof had given everything it had. We walked Robert through what a proper conversion involves, skip sheathing and all, and a written quote landed in his inbox within 48 hours.
Robert wanted a roof that would disappear into the neighbourhood in the best way. Deep, dimensional, and dark against the conifers. We landed on IKO Dynasty architectural shingles in a deep charcoal blend, with every flashing on the job matched out in black.
Off came the shakes, layer by layer, straight into the bin. Underneath sat the original skip sheathing: spaced boards with open gaps between them. That is exactly how cedar was meant to be installed. It breathes. But you cannot nail asphalt shingles over air.
This is the step that separates a real cedar conversion from a shortcut. New half inch plywood, sheet by sheet across every plane, fastened to the rafters at code spacing. When we finished, Robert's home had a continuous solid deck for the first time in its life.
Peel and stick ice and water shield across the eaves, up every valley, and around each penetration. RoofNado StormTread XW synthetic underlayment over the field. Then the metal, layered in the correct order. Drip edge. Black open valley metal. New chimney flashing with a black cap. Fresh gooseneck vents and rubberized plumbing boots throughout.
IKO Dynasty shingles went down course by course, every nail placed exactly where IKO specifies, set along the chalk line. Then the crown: continuous ridge venting to keep the attic breathing, capped with IKO UltraHP high profile ridge caps for that bold, finished profile you can see from the bottom of Thermal Drive.
Magnetic sweep across the lawn, driveway, and garden beds. Every stray nail collected. Bin hauled away. Then a full walkthrough with Robert, top to bottom. He signed off, warranty paperwork in hand, and sat down to record the testimonial you see above.
Why Coquitlam homeowners choose Paragon
Family run since 2010. Dual certified by CertainTeed and IKO as a Master Roofer. We've collected 120+ five star reviews across Google, HomeStars, Facebook, and Houzz. Every job runs on our own in-house crew. No subcontractors, ever. Onsite estimates are free. Written quotes land in your inbox inside 48 hours of the inspection. Every replacement carries a 10 year workmanship warranty that transfers to whoever buys the home next, which protects resale value when the time comes to sell.
Coquitlam areas our crews cover from the same dispatch: Coquitlam city wide, Ranch Park and Eagle Ridge, Austin Heights and Maillardville, Westwood Plateau, Burke Mountain, and Port Coquitlam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thermal Drive in Coquitlam, BC, on the forested slope locals call the Chines, climbing toward Ranch Park. The area was built out through the 1960s and 1970s, and a large share of those homes were originally roofed in cedar shake. Those roofs are now reaching end of life street by street, which makes this one of the busiest cedar conversion pockets in the Tri-Cities.
It is a full roof system change, not just new shingles. The cedar comes off completely. Underneath sits skip sheathing, spaced boards installed so the cedar could breathe, and asphalt shingles cannot be fastened over those gaps. So the entire roof gets re-sheeted in new half inch plywood before underlayment and shingles go down. Done right, a cedar conversion leaves the home with a stronger, solid deck it never had before.
Four working days from first shake off to final sweep. Cedar conversions run longer than standard replacements because of the re-sheet: every plane of the roof gets new plywood before any underlayment or shingles can go down. The payoff for the extra time is a deck that will outlast the shingles on top of it.
IKO Dynasty architectural asphalt shingles in a deep charcoal blend, installed exactly to manufacturer specification with the four nail pattern on every shingle. New half inch plywood across the entire roof. Peel and stick ice and water shield at eaves, valleys, and penetrations, with RoofNado StormTread XW synthetic underlayment over the field. Black open valley metal, new drip edge, new gooseneck exhaust vents and rubberized plumbing boots, refreshed chimney flashing, and continuous ridge venting finished with IKO UltraHP high profile ridge caps.
Most single family Coquitlam homes land between $20,000 and $40,000 for a full cedar shake to architectural asphalt conversion. The range reflects roof size and complexity, access, and the re-sheet itself, which adds material and labour a standard replacement does not carry. For a number specific to your home, try our Roofing Cost Calculator, or call 604-358-3436 and we'll come take a look in person.
Constantly. The Chines, Ranch Park, Eagle Ridge, Austin Heights, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody all share the same 1960s and 70s housing stock, and the same aging cedar. Every conversion follows the same playbook you see on this page: full tear off, complete re-sheet in new plywood, ice and water protection, and IKO Dynasty installed to spec by our own in-house crew. Read more in our Coquitlam cedar roofing guide.
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Thermal Drive · The Chines · Ranch Park · Austin Heights · Eagle Ridge · Coquitlam · Tri-Cities
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