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How To Install Roof Shingles

Before You Begin Your Roofing Shingles Installation

How to Install Roof Shingles | Ask This Old House

Ensure you have all of the proper tools for installing shingles, as well as the necessary safety equipment. This includes a nail gun or hammer, roofing nails, chalk, tin snips, work gloves, proper shoes and a safety harness.

Decide which kind of shingles you want. The two main types are 3-tab and architectural. Energy Star certified asphalt shingles with cooling granules are also available. Make sure you purchase enough shingles to complete your roofing shingles installation.

How To Apply The Felt Roof Shingles

Our felt roofing shingles are easy to fit and can be used on log cabins roofs with a slope of 12 degrees or more.

The tools you will need are a hammer and a sharp knife for trimming. The shingles are fixed to the roof boards with clout nails. 3 shingles make up each 1 metre shingle strip.

Whether youre replacing your shed roof or building an extension, roof shingles are a high-quality, cost-effective roofing solution. They offer a clean, traditional appearance without compromising on strength or reliability. This makes shingles a fantastic alternative to many other pitched roofing materials.

Whilst the exact installation process can vary slightly by manufacturer and material, fitting roof shingles is generally very straightforward. Before you begin however, its important to check these three things:

  • Ensure you have the appropriate underlay membrane
  • Ensure you have the necessary number of fixings and adhesive
  • Ensure you have the correct amount of detail strip
  • Ensure you have the required tools and safety equipment

Additional Considerations And Costs

  • Roofs may have more square footage than your home, due to pitch and shape. This means you might need more materials to cover it than the total square footage of your house.
  • Algae can discolor your roof, and in some tropical areas, fungus may cause damage. You can invest in an algae-resistant roof that contains zinc particles to prevent its growth.
  • An roof will last between 15 and 30 years on average, but if you live in an area with very high temperatures, it will be closer to 15 years.
  • If your roof was damaged in a storm, have your insurance company send out an inspector to check the damage. If they and your roofer agree on the scope of the work, your worker will contract with the insurance company to pay for the new roof.
  • You can install a single layer of asphalt shingles over another layer of asphalt shingles one time without removing them. After this, both layers must be removed.
  • A new roof can increase the value of your home. The amount varies depending on the type of roof and the area you live in.
  • You need a permit to have a new roof installed. Your roofer should take care of this for you.
  • Architectural shingles cannot be roofed over because they are too thick.

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Cool Roof Shingles Cost

A cool roof is an energy-efficient roof that stays cool even in the hottest weather. Three key features characterize these asphalt shingles: thermal emittance , and solar reflectance index or SRI . The higher the SRI rating, the cooler the home will stay. Normally, cool roof shingles will be lighter colors. The cool roof shingles cost about $2.50 per square ft.

How To Fix Cedar Shingles

All About Roofing Shingles and Materials

First things first, swap out old, rotten timber battens should you need to. Once this is done, regardless of replacing battens, install a waterproof membrane under the battens.

Step one: Start off with a double eaves course of shingles, leaving a minimum overhang of 38mm. Maintain a broken bond pattern whilst nailing or stapling each shingle twice.

Step two: When shingles are laid mark the position of the batten underneath, so you can achieve the most accurate fixing location when nailing and stapling. This will also aid in a straight line of fixings to improve the final look.

Step three: Lay courses of shingles up the roof gradually until you get to the ridge.

Step four: At the ridge, trim each shingle to create a shortened ridge course and then fix each shingle along the ridge twice.

Step five: Use pre-formed shingle ridge tiles and, nailing twice, fix these into place with a minimum overlap that is the same as the shingle gauge on the roof covering. When installing ridge and hip shingles, work inwards from the edges.

Top-tip: Use a waterproof membrane under the batten and counter batten to make sure the roof doesnt leak.

For advice on products, installation and fixing, contact our customer service team on 01752 692 760.

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Be Sure To Install A Drip Edge

Dont make the mistake of not installing a drip edge. Drip edges are essential for avoiding water damage to your roof. If any water starts to drip down and off your roof, the drip edge will kick the water out and keep it away from your home and siding. Without a drip edge, the water will drip down and under the roof and towards your home, leading to severe water damage. Dont try and save a few bucks by not using a drip edge on your new roof.

Install The Building Paper

The second step is to install the 15 pound building paper. Building paper can be very slippery so great care must be taken when standing on it.

Roofing paper nails with plastic caps work best to hold the paper without ripping it. Make sure to only stand on places that are well nailed on and also try to always stand on a plastic nail head.

Line the building paper up with the drip edge and install one nail near the corner end. It can overhang the rake and be cut off squarely later.

Roll the paper out along the drip edge. Align it with the drip edge and install a second nail to hold it in place. Go back and install nails every 12 inches along the edges and 24 inches in the center.

The top edge does not need to be nailed because it will be nailed on with the next overlapping row.

Install each successive row making sure to overlap the previous row by 4 inches minimum.

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Can You Use Staples To Install Cedar Shingles

If you are not sure about the process of installing cedar shingles, then let me give you a brief overview. Cedar shingles are actually quite easy to install and should not present any problem. One thing that you will want to be sure of is that your cedar shingles are completely dry before you begin installation. When installing cedar shingles, it is important to ensure that there is no water. Water can warp the shingles over time and this can be very frustrating.

First, youll need to take down your house. If it is necessary, you may want to get someone to hose the grass down in front of where you want to install the cedar shingles. This is so all the dirt that is in the area will be removed and the cedar shingles will be able to stick to the ground properly. This will allow the roof to be covered more effectively if there is snow or rain.

After the house has been taken down, it is time to install the cedar roof shingles. It is important to place them at the same angle and angle as your house. You should have at least two people working on the project at the very least, but I recommend having three people work on it. Make sure you nail the shingles in at the proper angles, because otherwise you will have them coming off every time you walk across the roof.

Roof Prep And Measurement

How To Install Shingles #2 Getting Started

Youre almost ready to get to work, but before you do, you need to take some careful measurements, so you know how many shingles to buy and how much underlayment you need.

To estimate the number of shingles you need, measure the length and the width of each independent section of your roof. Multiply the length by the width to get the area . In roofing parlance, the total square footage of your roof is usually divided by 100 to get a measurement called squares. Youll need the size of your roof in squares to know how many shingles you need to buy.

As an example, if the main section of your roof measures 40 feet by 50 feet, the area is 2,000 square feet, which equals 2,000 ÷ 100 = 20 squares.

Shingles and other roofing supplies are usually sold in bundles, with three bundles of shingles covering approximately 20 squares. If you want to avoid repeated trips to the store, round up the number of shingle bundles you need by one or two. Having extra shingles on hand is never a bad idea and you can always return unopened bundles leftover when youre finished.

Thankfully, felt paper is also sold in terms of squares, so you wont need to do any more math to figure out how much you need. If youre confused, dont hesitate to ask someone at the hardware store. If you tell them how big your roof is, theyll be able to help you figure out what you need.

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Waterproof The Vent Pipes

  • 10.1 – Install shingles right up to the vent pipe.
  • 10.2 – Trim shingles so that they fit around the pipe, then nail.
  • 10.3 – Insert pre-formed flashing around the vent, then glue with plastic roof cement. The boot should extend 4″ over the lower shingles, rise 8″ on the vent, and extend 6″ on both sides.
  • 10.4 – Colmater l’espace entre le tuyau et le solin avec du ciment plastique.
  • 10.5 – Continue installing shingles, taking care to completely cover the upper edge of the flashing.
  • 10.6 – Glue all parts of shingles overlapping the flashing with plastic cement.
  • 10.7 – Coat exposed nails with plastic roof cement

Roof Shingles Cost By Warranty

Because replacing a roof is costly, consumers should weigh the cost of longer-lasting shingles with the potential for a need to replace less often. If you live in a climate that is extremely hot or cold, prone to excessive rain or snow, purchasing shingles that have a longer warranty is a wise decision. Pricing may vary according to brand, and many of the major brands now offer a limited lifetime warranty on their shingles. You can buy shingles with the following warranty expectations :

Warranty
$12

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How To Install Cedar Shingles On A Roof

How to install cedar shingles on a roof will depend a lot on the size and shape of your roof. It is true that the size and quality of the roof will affect the ease of installing shingles. If youre building a new house, it would be best to install cedar roof shingles on top of a metal frame. Also, ensure that the roof is flat. To install cedar shingles on flat roofs, you will first need to prepare them by covering them with tar paper and other tar-like substances. This preparation should be done in order to prepare the roof for cedar shingles.

After the preparation has been made, it is time to start installing the shingles. Installing cedar shingles on a roof can be done in a few simple steps. Simply place the shingle on the roof and then nail them in the correct spot using the right size nails. However, installing shingles this way will only work well with roofs of relatively smaller sizes because of the difficulty in getting nails into tight places. You can also use cedar roof shingles that are larger than your roofs size to maximize efficiency.

You get more durability and a longer life span when you use larger cedar shingles. Additionally, larger shingles can be more difficult to install and are therefore more costly. No matter which tip you use to install cedar roof shingles, the end result will be great for your home and will last a lifetime.

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Shingles Vs Tin Roof Cost

Architectural shingle installation

Comparing shingles vs. tin roof, many differences can be noted. A metal roof is more eco-friendly as its materials can be recycled. In addition, a metal roof reflects heat better, so it keeps your house cooler. Special coatings may be applied that reflect heat as well.

One of the best things about asphalt shingles is that they are easy to apply, and the job is done quickly, sometimes within a day or two. Asphalt shingle roofs are less expensive at $4 per square ft. while a metal roof runs around $10 per square ft.

Metal roofs are longer-lasting, sometimes as long as 40 to 70 years. They are vulnerable to denting when hit by hail or tree branches. A shingle roof will typically last 15 to 20 years.

While a metal roof is more expensive, consumers may find that they save money on utility bills. Also, they may receive a discount on home insurance and may receive a tax credit when the roof is installed.

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Understand The Physics Of How A Sloped Shingle Roof Works

Asphalt roofing shingles simply rely on the force of gravity to shed water from rain or snow melt. If the roof shingles and all accessory roof components are arranged and overlapped with this in mind, the roof should successfully shed water. In the dictionary, to shingle is defined as to lay out or arrange so as to overlap. So now lets look at the sequence of overlapping roof construction components to see how this applies.

The Hip And Ridge Caps

Youve nailed in the last field shingle and you can see the finish line from here. Well done! In this case, the finish line is the hip and ridge capping. When you install the field shingles up to the peak of the roof, you cant just bend them over the peak. Instead, individual ridge cap shingles are used to straddle the ridge and shed water down either slope. There are various ridge cap shingles available on the market but, once again, the procedure for installing them is based on the same fundamental principle of overlapping. For hips, start at the bottom and work upslope. Since ridges are on a horizontal plane, the upslope principle doesnt apply, so ridge cap shingles are typically installed like this: begin at the end of the ridge opposite the prevailing wind direction, for optimum ridge cap wind-resistance. On hip roofs, its also acceptable to install the ridge caps starting at each end of the ridge, with the last piece installed in the middle of the ridge. The last ridge cap piece should be nailed in place and, since this will be the only place on the roof where the nails are directly exposed, the nail heads should be sealed and covered with a suitable asphalt roof cement. Always remember to use longer nails for ridge cap shingles. Because the nails must penetrate the ridge caps and the last course of roof shingles below, youll need longer nails to fully penetrate through them to the roof deck.

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Brava Cedar Shake Cost

Brava Cedar Shakes cost $10 to $13.50 per sq.ft. installed. Each Brava Cedar Shake looks like a hand split cedar shake but is actually fashioned entirely from 100 percent plastic recycled synthetic material. The synthetic shakes have a Class 4 impact rating and a Class A fire rating. The shakes are made to last 50 plus years and require no maintenance to continue looking good. They are designed not to fade and crack. The shakes are also available in numerous colors.

How To Shingle A Roof: The Basics

How to Install Roof Shingles
  • Prepare your roof for a roofing shingles installation.Remove all old roofing materials, including all nails and flashing. Do not install over an existing roof.
  • Evaluate the roof bed, and make any necessary repairs.
  • Install the underlayment, the water resistant layer in between your roofing shingles installation and the roof bed.
  • Install the drip edge, the flashing on the outer edges of your roof deck.
  • Next, you need to install the starter strip, or the first layer of shingles. Use the chalk to mark the exact centre of your roof, going vertically. Center your first starter shingle in the middle of the chalk line, and nail into place. Continue on installing shingles for the length of your roof.
  • Working in ‘courses’, continue installing shingles the entire span of your roof according to manufacturers instructions. Trim your shingles to the necessary size when you reach the edge of the row.
  • When you reach the ridge of your roof, install the ridge shingles.
  • Install flashing in all of the creases or joints of your roof
  • Lastly, clean up all debris and enjoy your roofing shingles installation.

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What Is Roof Pitch

Your homes roof pitch is the angle, slope or slant of your roof. The roofs pitch helps professionals estimate the number of materials needed to complete the roofing and decide on the best roofing materials. When it comes to slope for cedar roofs, pitch is determined by how many inches the slope rises every 12 horizontal inches. For example, if the roof increases in height 4 inches over a span of 1 horizontal foot, then you have a four-in-12 pitch or just a four-pitch.

There are two main types of roofing slopes: a steep slope and a low slope. Most homes are considered steep pitch, ranging from four-pitch to nine-pitch, but more dramatic rooflines may haves roof slopes of 10-pitch to 21-pitch. Low slopes are more typically used in commercial properties, but in the 1960s, it was trendy to build homes with a low-pitch roof with just a bit of slope to allow for drainage.

For determining how much material your roof will require, typically for steep slopes, the cedar shingles will have greater exposure to weather and the roofer will want to purchase more materials so each shingle has lessened exposure.

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