"Composite Shake/Shingles"

For the area these would be the Architectural Item of choice.

What about a tile roof? Those are very common in the area on stucco homes. And they last a lot longer than shingles.

weedyacres

The composite are an answer to the initial change from shake, to a cement product that required the roof support structure to be altered to carry the additional weight.

Clay and S pan clay fall into that weight category, while the composites are more fibrous.

" It has a wood shake roof that needs to be replaced very soon."

Can she have it repaired? I know replacing shake with shake is not allowed, but repairs to existing roof is usually allowed.

I had heard from several roofers that my shake roof in Phoenix needed replacement. A good shake roofing contractor removed the damaged shakes and put in new ones for way less than a full replacement.

There are good-looking fake shake replacements:
http://blog.davinciroofscapes.com/blog/fake-cedar-shake is one.

http://www.classicmetalroofingsystems.com/products/country-manor-shake/ is a metal roofing with a shake look

And they might allow shake if it's fire retardant
http://www.watkinsawmills.com/fire.html

lazygardens

Repair roofers have become few and far between and depending upon the condition can be damaged further.

There was a time when treating the shake with fire retardant and identifying with a redline was acceptable. until they discovered that the out-gassing compromised the value of the retardant.