How To Shingle Roof Top

A couple of weeks ago we published a two part series showing how a local roofing contractor shingled a roof with architectural shingles.

How to shingle roof top.

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. Starting at the bottom of the roof map out a guideline with chalk. Using alternate patterns 1. You ll need to pry the siding outward to slip in the flashing.

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. Stagger each course to achieve the half pattern. All the other patterns work in essentially the same way offsetting. Many pros shingle in a vertical line up the roof because it s much faster.

This will help determine how the shingles will lay on the roof width. You ll get the most life out of your shingles and your roof by laying them in a smart. If your roof s width is not an even multiple of the shingle s length you will have a partial piece on one end of each row. Most asphalt shingles are 3 feet 91 4 centimeters in length.

The line should be an exact number of courses from the eave as defined by the shingle exposure. Consider four and five. Cut a 50 mm 2 triangle off the top corner to direct water into the valley and embed the valley end of each shingle into a 75 mm 3 band of asphalt plastic cement. In some cases you ll have to remove the siding.

Now nail your first course of shingles with the lower edges following the line but tacked along the top only. Shingle upward from this course to the ridge in normal fashion. If your eave is one straight length then pick an end and work to the other. Use your chalk and tape measure to mark about 12 inches up on the roof for the first set of shingles.

Continue to chalk additional guidelines based on the width of the shingle through at least four courses rows across. Measure the length of a shingle as it lies across the roof. It s critical to flash around plumbing stacks and attic vents because they are the most common roof penetrations.