With a little know-how and the correct technique, installing new roof shingles can be a cakewalk. To get some tips as to how to install roof shingles, read through the article.

How To Install Roof Shingles

No matter how magnanimous your house looks and feels, a worn out roof can mar its beauty significantly, making it look totally jaded and unimpressive. While you can do little to save your roof from the severe blows of mutable weather, algal growth and mildew, a little know-how on how to maintain your roof can save you from blowing away bucks on its maintenance. Roof shingles are one of the most commonly used roof coverings, mostly preferred for their durability and feasibility. Nevertheless, like all other roofing materials, shingles too are sensitive to the weather changes and are likely to wear away over time. In that case, it would make sense to replace them with new ones. You can approach an expert to do the job for you or you can even try replacing them at home, all by yourself. However, there are certain important things to be considered before starting off. It would pay to consider your shingle type, understand its measurement, and get some nails, hammer, roofing felt, vinyl cutter, measuring tape, chalk line, before starting out. To know more on how to install roof shingles, read on.
 
Tips For Installing Roof Shingles
  • Before adding new shingles to your roof, check to see if you have a drip cap around. If you don’t have it, installing one, before you get on with your task, would help. Nail the drip cap on the lower edge of the roof and the eave. Taking a building paper, cover the sheath, starting from the roof and working towards the eave up to the peak. Overlap the rows by at least 2 inches and remember to staple it at interval of every 6 inch.
  • Once you have installed the building paper, nail drip cap on both sides of the roof and the rakes. The drip cap should hang out from the edge of the rake boards. Now, arrange the first row of shingles, starting from the eave. Slice off tabs from the shingles to create the first row. Arrange the shingles in a way, so that they hang over the drip cap by 3/4 of an inch.
  • Peg in the roofing nails after every 5 inches or so, along the top edges of the roof. Now, nail in a complete row of shingles, all along the eave. Drive in the nails one inch away from each end and at each cutout 5/8 inches below the adhesive. You can choose different colored shingles to accentuate the looks of your house. Remember, the lighter the shade of your shingle, the cooler your house will be.
  • To lay the next row, trim half a tab off the shingles and place it as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Pencil a chalk line to manage the alignment and lay the shingles accordingly. Continue laying the rows, one after another, till you reach the peak of the roof.
  • Attach a flow-through ventilating material 1 inch above the free space of the sheathing, at the top of the roof. This will keep the air in and water away from your roof. These side vents actually help in free flow of air.
  • Take a metal flashing and flex it to fit under the siding, above the rafter ledger. Slide in the flashing and nail it at 12-inch interval each. Seal off the gaps between the flashing and siding with a bead of exterior caulk. Shape the caulk by running a wet finger over it.
  • Make an air vent at each end of the soffit with a saber saw. Keep the openings smaller than the vents so that you have enough room to bolt the screws. Install the vents into the open surface and secure them with screws.

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