Home Construction Shop: How to Shingle a Roof – Part1

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how to shingle a roof

How To Shingle a Roof

One of the finishing touches to your new home or addition , garage or shed would be roof covering. There are many ways to cover and seal the roof , there are steel roofs , clay tiles, wood shingles, plastic tile , fiberglass shingles, slate and various other types. But today on Home Construction Shop we will discuss how to shingle a roof using basic Asphalt Shingles, the types and there basic application. Asphalt Shingle come in 2 types, Fiberglass or Composite. Their composition is referred to as matting. Fiberglass Shingle have a tough embedded fiberglass matting as opposed to Composite which have an organic matting. Each type is used in different situations as shown below.

To learn how to shingle a roof is not really all that difficult, but does require some knowledge of materials to make the job complete and sufficient.

Fiberglass Shingles

Thinner
Lighter in weight
Better Fire rating
Used in mild to moderate climate areas
Less flexibility in colder weather

Composite Shingles

Competitive cost
Heavier -the more heavier the greater the cost
Retain Flexibility in colder climate
The heavier the more durable

3-tab There is also Architectural Shingle and your basic 3-tab shingles . An architectural shingle offers random patters and various shades in the finished installation. the 3-tab are cheaper , but a bit more tedious to install. So.. once you have decided on what type you will use, and you have considered color and all other aspects, it will be time to learn how to shingle a roof.

Above Home Construction shop displays an example of a 3 tab shingle If you notice the top edge of the shingle , there 3 small perforated cuts lining up with the centre of each tab , also not visible in this diagram are two more of these perforated cuts at each end. These are used to set the consistent shingle height and tab offset , one on top of the other, as shown in the roof diagram below. Assuming you have decided to go with 3-tab Composite shingles and you are from Canada like me and it is ffffreezing in the winter lets take a look at installation.

Follow these concise steps on how to shingle a roof

roof-figure-1

1) The first thing that we must do after the roof is cleaned of debris an protrusions is install a water resistant underlayment. Another very important step when learning how to shingle a roof. The most common underlayment is a #15 asphalt felt, there is also #30 , less common and more heavier, found at most home construction stores. It laid across and stapled onto the roof sheathing horizontally as shown in the diagram. Side over lap to be 2″ and edge overlap 4″.

2) Once the underlay is installed an aluminum drip flashing should be installed around the edges of the roof as shown. In this diagram the drip flashing is installed over the underlayment at the rake (sloping side of the roof) and should be over top of the drip flashing at the front eves (bottom of the roof). This way at the rake , wind driven rain does not get under the shingles and flows off the eves or bottom.

3) Now , assuming that you have found your squareness for the starter course of your home construction roofing project, which i talk about at the end of the post , the next step is to install your starter course. The most common method is to install a whole shingle with the tabs in the upward position. Some contractors will do this with the tabs down and offset from the 1st course shingle by 6″, which also works. Shingle over hang is important , with drip flashing the over hang must be a min of 1/2″. Without drip flash , min. 3/4″. Some installers will go 1″ on the rake 1″-1 1/2″ on the bottom eves.

4) When nailing or stapling your shingle , use a min of 4 fasteners per shingle, if your roof is excessively steep, 6 would better prevent the wind from lifting shingle. The fasteners should be located at least 1/2 ” above the cutout and not in the sealant strip or above it. Below Home construction Shop shows an example of a 3-tab shingle showing fastening locations. On a high wind location or steep pitch a total of 6 fasteners one on each side of the cut outs and one on each end.
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5) While understanding how to shingle a roof you will find that the most common installation method is the diagonal method as shown is the roof diagram above , but another method called racking is also used, where the shingles are installed vertically. If this is your first home construction shingle installation , i suggest to stick to the most common way which is diagonal.

6) Now with the basic concept and starter course laid down and is square , continue to install each shingle with periodic distance checking at each end of the roof measuring from ridge to the top of the previously laid full row of shingles. If you notice a difference in distance readjust horizontal shingle line. Continue to check so that your home construction roofing project is completed square and proper.

When learning how to shingle a roof, alignment of the shingles is very important.

Home Construction Shop shows another diagram showing a way to keep shingles aligned vertically and horizontally to help learn how to shingle a roof properly. This method can be done for your home construction roofing project before the starter course so that each row of shingles aligns properly.
With the perforated cut preset in the shingle as mentioned at the beginning of the post showing the 3-tab shingle diagram, alignment should be easily maintained with periodic distance checking with reference to ridge and shingle distance.This method of alignment eliminates the need for Horizontal and centre chalk line reference as long as the periodic distance check is done every 2-3 rows. If onefeels insecure with this periodic checking method then resort to the method in the diagram.

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