How to Shingle a Roof
Many people like to have that old-fashioned look to the exterior of their homes, especially for roofing. Shingled roofs have that unique, vintage look that looks more appealing and pleasing compared to steel or roofing tiles. If you want to add or replace shingles on your roof, here are some quick and easy steps to show you how.
Tools
To shingle your roof, you need the following tools and equipment:
Shingles. Most wooden, asphalt, or composite shingles usually come in bundles or squares, which can cover about 100 square feet. Shingles can be cut using a very sharp utility knife
Roofing nails and hammer. Roofing nails can be bought from any hardware store, and come in a variety of sizes. If you’re going over a layer of old shingles, you should use at least 1 1/2″ roofing nails. Roofing nails 1 1/4″ long can be used if you’re shingling a new roof.
Extension ladder. A safe, sturdy ladder should be used when you’re scaling the house to the roof. If you don’t have a conveyor belt, the ladder should be strong enough to hold your weight, loaded with tools and shingles brought up to the roof.
Felt paper. Construction felt paper - not art felt paper - is used to protect the roof.
Drip-edge and flashing are used to protect corners of roofs and pipe fixtures that stick out of the roofing panels.
Steps
Before you buy the materials needed to shingle a roof, measure the roof dimensions first. Draw a map of the roof and determine the area of the rectangular portion by multiplying the length by the width. For triangular sections, measure the length times the width, and multiply the value by 1/2. Add up all the values together to get the size of the roof surface in square feet.
It’s best to remove old shingles, but you can go over them with new ones. If you’ll remove old shingling material, start from the top of the roof and work your way to the bottom.
Lay the drip-edge and pipe flashing on the roof features and fixtures before laying the felt paper.
Start laying the shingles from the bottom edges of the roof, and work your way up the pitch of the roof. Make sure to cut and nail the material as instructed by the manufacturer of the roofing shingles.
Lay the final shingles on the peak of the roof and cover the roofing nails with tar.
Shingling a roof can take a while, and should always be done safely. With these tips and steps to shingle your roof, you can get that old-fashioned look over just one weekend.