Roof shingles are overlapping elements on a roof which are cut into different slacks and shapes, mostly rectangular. Common materials involve cement, metal, plastic, wood, fibre and asphalt shingles. Replacement options involve having a new shingle roof or new shingles over and old one. The second option can save you a lot of time and money since you just carry out timely inspection, cover the old shingles with the new ones after they are cut and trimmed. However, when installing a new shingle roof certain steps need to be followed for better understanding of either fitting them yourself or hiring a contractor to do so.
- The size of the project matters a lot. The area of coverage is an important factor to consider. If you go for do it yourself approaches and feel comfortable in doing so a site inspection is necessary otherwise calling a contractor is suitable since a larger area can be covered by professionals.
- Line up an aluminum edge with the edge of the roof and make markings out of pencil to get an idea of the working space.
- Use a chalk immediately to snap a line between the marked points before losing sight of those points.
- Pull the drip edge down for about a half inch from the chalked line to create a gap.
- Nail the drip edge using nails.
- Repeat the same steps for all gabled ends.
- Lay out the chosen material’s roofing paper and nail it through.
- The next step is to layout the design for the shingles for which you tape the ends, starting from the bottom tape all the edges properly.
- Mark 12 inches up on the roof for the first batch of shingles, next shift to 5 inches. And do this for both the sides.
- On each 5 inch increment snap a straight line using chalk.
- Now snap vertical lines every 6 inches.
- Cut off 3 tabs on the shingle and install them now.
Installing a shingle roof demands a professional roofing expertise that should be done only through professionals.Always ask for a free quote before hiring any roofer.