• Milling traditions mixed with modern technology.

How Cedar Shingles Are Made

Take a video tour of the Watkins Sawmill to see how milling traditions remain strong. Our shingle mill is the primary manufacturing plant and takes the raw log and reduces it to a roofing grade shake or shingle product. While we use modern technology and treatment methods, cedar shingles are still cut by hand – the same way they were cut more than 100 years ago. Other roofing trends have come and gone, but there’s something to be said for the longevity of cedar roofing and its production.

  • "I've spent a lifetime working with Cedar. It's a beautiful product and I am passionate about my workmanship."

    — Chris Lightner, Watkins' Sawmill Foreman

The Painting and Remanufacturing Plant

Our Sidewall Painting and Remanufacturing Plant ensures our customers always get the quality Watkins Sawmills is known for. In this part of the mill, rougher and slightly off parallel roofing grade cedar shingles are remanufactured to a higher quality product. These shingles are available in multiple faces and painted finishes, giving you a broad range of options to choose from depending on your desired aesthetic.

The Treatment Plant

Watkins Sawmill is the only producer of cedar shingles in the world that pressure treats our own wood roofing products with fire retardant. In our Treatment Plant, all roofing shakes, shingles and sidewall shingles are pressure treated using our special pressure vessel. We offer three classes of fire safety treatment for our wood products which, you can choose based on your preferences of local building code requirements. No matter which option you choose, you can feel confident that a nearby fire won’t ignite your cedar roofing.