Building materials found close at hand are the first to be used and, unfortunately, used up. High-country timber stands surrounding Telluride built and heated the town’s first homes and fueled booming mining and milling operations. By the mid-1890s wood shingles imported via oxen- and mule-drawn freight “trains” and the Rio Grand Southern Railroad, covered the roofs and sides of many fine Victorian buildings. Wood is still a popular roofing material across the country. In the West, wood shingles and shakes are usually of western red cedar, but redwood and other woods are available. With a growing scarcity of new wood, Summit Roofing often works with cedar shingles harvested from stumps of previous cuttings and submerged logs. Depending on the climate, wood roofing can be treated with fungicides and preservatives. Some treatments include pigment and alter the color of the roof. Wood roofs can be painted or stained. Wood roofing treated with fire retardant has a “B” fire rating. To earn an “A” fire rating – that’s the same rating given to metal, tile, and slate roofs – Summit installs treated wood roofing over a sandwich of plywood and gypsum board.