As most are already aware, during the early 1900s, many amazing properties were built in Shaker Heights. What is widely unknown, is the influence that one company had on house styles in Shaker Heights, which centered around a distinctive roof. That company, Creo-Dipt, sold cedar shingles stained and ready for application being dipped in creosote-based stains. Their success throughout the United States in the early part of the last century led them to create a roof which was to imitate an English thatch roof, including what they called a blend of stains called a ‘thatch color scheme’. Creo-Dipt’s popularity with their unique thatch-effect roofs, which they envisioned to replicate the thatched Tudor cottages of England, spread from coast to coast and everywhere in between primarily in the 1920’s. A surprising number of homes, built in Shaker Heights throughout this period, used this style. This lavish trend slowly began to fade as the Great Depression came into full swing, and Creo-Dipt eventually went out of business.
Fast forward to the 1980s, many of these cedar roofs throughout the country needed to be replaced. Our specialty roofing company was already an established business when a contractor asked us to create one of these unique thatch effect roofs. Having never installed such a roof before, Barry (President of Huber and Associates) started bending cedar shingles over his kitchen stove which would be needed to replicate the intricate curved eaves and gables. His pursuit eventually resulted in acquiring a patent for creating his own steaming and bending equipment. This led to a rebirth of a whole unique style of roof. Further leading restoring and creating new such roofs all over the U.S., and as far away as Japan, installing these ‘Thatch Effect’ roofs on hundreds of homes.
We are so proud to have completed this reroofing project at the Buss Residence and hope to help keep the legacy of faux-thatch roofing alive. Each Country Cottage® roof is truly its own unique beauty, and we hope to continue this style of roofing for many years to come.