DaVinci Roofscapes expands line of affordable shake

DaVinci Roofscapes LLC rolled out its most affordable shake in a range of colors once offered only as an option as company officials see new opportunities related to the product's weather and fire resistance.

Called the Nature Crafted Collection, the colors were introduced in a limited basis on the Bellaforté brand of shake last year.

The Lenexa, Kan.-based company timed its national rollout of the colors for the virtual International Builders' Show (IBS X) held Feb. 9-12 and organized by the National Association of Home Builders.

Bellaforté now comes in colors called Black Oak for a look of natural cedar shingles saturated with moisture and mold, Aged Cedar with a reddish tone and Mossy Cedar, which has a damp, greenish character.

"This now completes all of our composite shake product lines offering these beautiful colors. The incredibly natural look of the colors surpasses any other composite shakes available in the marketplace," Wendy Bruch, marketing manager at DaVinci Roofscapes, said in an email.

All DaVinci composite slate and shake products are made with polyethylene, stabilizers for ultraviolet and thermal protection and a "highly specialized" fire retardant, she added.

The nature-inspired colors replicate different stages of the progressive aging processes found on real shake shingles. The colors are achieved with proprietary process.

"The Nature Crafted Collection captures the look of a moment and retains it for decades," Bruch, said. "The popularity of these colors is so great that we're now extending them to our durable Bellaforté Shake tiles."

The three colors, which have been available on DaVinci multiwidth and single-width shake composite roofing tiles, debuted a few years ago, Bruch said.

"The Nature Crafted Collection is for people who are true lovers of cedar shake shingles," Bruch said. "They get the colors they desire from the very first day the roofing tiles are installed, without waiting years for the aging process to occur."

The colors are "locked in" for a lifetime on the roof, she added, without maintenance hassles or decay worries that homeowners would experience with real cedar shingles.

DaVinci entered 2021 with strong marketplace positioning and high demand for its products, according to Bruch.

"Two decades ago, some roofers, homeowners and builders were not familiar with composite slate and shake products. That's changed," she said. "People overall are more educated now about the many advantages of slate and shake composite tiles. Resistance to impact and severe weather make composite roofing especially popular in areas of the country that are prone to large hail storms, hurricanes and severe weather."

Composite roofing also is gaining in popularity in parts of the country that are experiencing wildfires, Bruch said.

"Many areas also must adhere to Wildfire Urban Interface codes, restricting exterior materials to flame-resistant products. Since our composite roofing complies with WUI codes, we're seeing advancing sales in those geographic markets," she said.

DaVinci was acquired by Royal Building Products Inc., which is owned by Westlake Chemical Corp., in June 2019.