Shingling A Roof

The lower edge of a tab on a shingle.

Shingling a roof.

Asphalt roofing shingles simply rely on the force of gravity to shed water from rain or snow melt. This project guide is a combination of those two articles and it covers replacing the existing roof decking installing underlayment and ice dam protection laying the first row laying shingles in the field flashing ridge shingles and vents and more. Measure the width and length of each section of your roof. The cap of each shingle should fall evenly in half over each side of the ridge.

It generally takes three packs of shingles to cover 100 square feet 9 29 square meters. Ensure that each cap overlaps the one below it by 1 4 inch 7 cm. There are between 3 5 bundles of shingles per roof square. Known in the trade as vertical racking or staggering this how to lay shingles method enables the roofer to install a single column of shingles all the way to the peak without the wasted back and forth motion necessary to fill several rows of stair steps.

Multiply the width and length measurements together to determine the area. Center each ridge cap shingle over the ridge and attach with two nails. Understand the physics of how a sloped shingle roof works. Trim the shingles at the ridge and ends of roof.

Many pros shingle in a vertical line up the roof because it s much faster. A couple of weeks ago we published a two part series showing how a local roofing contractor shingled a roof with architectural shingles. See products and services from this episode. If the roof shingles and all accessory roof components are arranged and overlapped with this in mind the roof should successfully shed water.

Place and nail the shingles from the bottom of the roof to the top. When the shingles from one side of the valley are laid across the valley while shingles from the opposite side are trimmed back approximately two inches from the center of the valley. Keeping a solid roofing layer of shingles is an important way to avoid water damage and leaks. Cut 12x12 inch ridge cap shingles from standard roof shingles.

Secure each shingle with four nails. Measure your roof so you can be sure you buy the right amount of shingles. Place the ridge cap shingles over the roof ridges. Nail each side of the cap shingle into the roof.