How To Shingle An Ashphalt Roof
How To Shingle An Asphalt Roof
1/ Extreme care must to taken when working on ladders and near the edge of roofs. If you are afraid of heights and don’t feel comfortable about doing the job, then call in the professionals.
2/ When you place a ladder up against the roof and there is eve troughs in place; cut a piece of board about the width of the ladder and trim it to size so it will drop into the eve trough. This will keep the eve trough from collapsing due to the weight placed against it. To place the board in place have the ladder placed at a steep angle and have someone hold the ladder while putting the board in place. Once the board is in place, increase the ladder angle to a save working position.
3/ If possible choose the time of the year that is not too hot. Walking on very hot shingles will cause the edges of the shingles to crumble away. Bundles placed up on the roof in extreme heat can cause the shingles to stick together. Cover the shinglebundles with a tarp. If the shingles do get stuck together, you can un-stick them by cooling them in the shade. After cooling, pick the bundle of shingles to waist height and drop them onto a hard surface and they will become un-stuck. Check the weather report and pick a few days where you are free of rain.
4/ Wear running shoes with soft rubber soles to help prevent shingle damage as you work. Use ropes to secure yourself as you move around the roof. Do not tie off the end of the ropes to the bumper of parked vehicles; use substantial trees, iron work and secure fence poles as anchors.
5/ Start by stripping off the old shingles on one side of the house. Use a pitch fork or flat shovel to pry the shingles loose. Place a large tarp on the ground where you will be throwing the old shingles. The nails and small pieces will be easier to cleanup. Throw the old shingles off the roof into a neat pile for easy clean-up. After every three or four rows, clean the roof off with a push broom. The grit that comes loose from the old shingles is like a thousand tiny ball bearings and can cause you to slip. Pull up all the shingle nails left in the boards; they also can cause you to trip.
6/ Now that the roof is cleared off, inspect the boards for missing nails, replacing where necessary. Drive in all the nails that have popped up due to the shrinkage of the boards over time. Sweep the roof clean again!
7/ Roll out the first row of roofing (tar) paper and staple into place. If you don’t feel comfortable about rolling out the tar paper on the roof; then measure the length of the roof and cut it to length on the ground.
8/ Place a drip edge along the entire length of the roof edge, let it overhang about ¾ of an inch and nail into place.
9/ Start your first row of shingles, by placing the shingle with the grit side up and the solid edge lined up with the drip edge. Extend the shingle over the side of the roof ¾ of an inch, same as the drip edge. All shingle in the complete project will extend ¾ of an inch over the edge of the roof bottom and side roof edges. To cut the shingle, turn it over and score about halfway through from the underside; then snap it apart. Secure each shingle into place with four well placed shingle nails (large round head). Each nail should be place so the next shingle row will cover the head of the nail. The nails should be about an inch from the top edge of the shingle.
10/ Start the second row directly over the first row with the shingles spaced so that the grooves are off set from the shingle below. Nail in place with four nails to a shingle.
11/ The first row complete, start the next row by off setting the grooves once again. The bottom edge of the top shingle should line up with the top edge of the grooves of the lower shingle. Note there is a small tab on the shingle that will help you get the proper height of each shingle. Always place the nails so they are covered with the next row. If you live in a very windy area, consider placing the nails a little lower so they pick-up two overlapping rows, rather than one, but still covered by the next row. This will allow the shingle to withstand a greater wind force.
12/ Roll out the tar paper as needed, overlapping about two to three inches and staple into place. After three or four rows of shingles are in place, the roof feels a lot more secure with the non-skip grit of the shingle under your feet.
13/ Complete this side of the roof. When you need to cut around air vents and chimneys; use tin snips.(Tip) When removing the old shingle, pay attention to the way the shingles are laid out, as you will have to replace them the same way with the new ones.
14/ Complete the other side of the roof and all that there will be left to do, is capping the ridge. Cut each shingle into four equal pieces (divide above the grooves). Take note of the direction of the wind and start placing the capping from the opposite end of the roof, and work across the roof to the opposite side; this will shed the rain better. Basically you just fold the shingle over the ridge. Place two nails, one on each side of the shingle near the bottom and that is all that is needed to hold them in place. Overlap by half on each shingle. Place the nails so the next shingle will cover the nail of the first. Finish up with two exposed nails. Cover the head of these two nails with silicone to prevent water from getting under the nail head, freezing and lifting ther nails out.
15/ If you have rented a dumpster to haul the old shingles away be aware there is a charge for every dumpster hauled away. If you just throw the shingles into the dumpster it will take three to fours loads to haul away the old shingles away. If you pile them into the dumpster neatly, the 6 cu yard dumpster will hold all the shingles of an average house (1200-1500 sq. ft) and only one load and one charge is necessary.
16/ Because you don't do this every day for a living and your muscles are not toned up for this work, you will get a very sore lower back from all the bending. If possible have someone else do all the clean-up, as you will be very tired with a sore lower back at the end of the day.
Add to Bookmarks
More How To Tips
Shopping Find N Choose Home Page
Sitemap
© copyright 1998-2008 Find N Choose, Ashphalt Shingling Roof Tips, Serving the Global Community - All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
You resume all responsibility for any problems, damage, injury or loss,
you may have resulting from these instructions!