Learn how to reshingle a roof with these easy tips and tricks.
Use a simple four prong pitch fork so strip off old shingles. Lay it flat under the old shingles and push up – avoid digging into the materials below the shingles. Pry them right off the roof.
Next thing you want to do is tighten the sheathing back up to the rafters. Examine all existing roof sheathing and secure any loose material to the rafters.
Now you’re ready for the underlayment. A thirty pound felt underlayment will act like a release between the underside of the shingles and the board so they will move independent of each other. Start at the top of the roof and place the next sheet of underlayment underneath the sheet above it. This way is a shingle comes off, rain will not drip into the rafters. Secure in place with a staple gun every six to eight inches.
A galvanized drip edge is now placed along the bottom edge of the roof. Gently place it against the roof edge and mark the underlayment where the galvanized drip edge ends. Remove the drip edge and snap a chalk line ⅜ inch below your mark. Then place the drip edge along this chalk line and secure in place using nails.
Create a centerline running all the way up the roof so that it is perpendicular with the drip edge. Using a standard 3-tab shingle, cut the tabs off the shingles (discard tabs) for the first course.
Line the center of the shingle up to your chalk line with the shingle covering the drip edge and extended past the edge of the drip edge by ¼ inch.
Nail the shingle to the roof through the drip edge. Continue this vertical line of shingles (tabs removed) to complete your starter course.
Now you will start your first course of shingles. Leave the tabs on. The first course will cover the starter course. You want these first course to cover the starter course and hang over the tiles by ¼ of an inch. Lay one tile on top of the starter course, extending past the starter course by ¼ of an inch and mark the underlayment above the first course tile so you can make a chalk line for the rest of the first course tile placement.
For the first shingle laid in the first course, line up the top of the shingle with your horizontal line. Line up the the left edge of the shingle with the vertical chalk line. Then continue laying the entire first course when you reshingle a roof.
Once the first course has been placed, you can take a tape measure and create the lines for the rest of your courses. Starting from the top edge of the first course, mark your vertical chalk line every 5 inches. Then make a horizontal line at every mark when you reshingle a roof.
You do not want the slots and the joints of the shingles to ever line up. To avoid this, measure from the center line in 6 inch increments extending outward across the roof. Snap a vertical tape line for this six inch markings. You’ll now have created a grid of vertical and horizontal lines for laying the rest of the roof tiles.
You do not lay the tiles one row at a time until you’ve established your grid and a solid tile pattern. Starting from your centerline and building a pyramid, lay the first 6 rows. Make sure the ends of your lines start and the vertical lines drawn to mark 6 inch increments.
From here, you can lay the rest of your shingles.
Install the ridge cap. The ridge cab is cut from a regular 3 tab shingle into a 12×12 square. Place this tile centered, over the opening along the ridge. Nail above the 5 inch mark. Place the next shingle on top, lined up with the line on the shingle and nail in place. Continue until all ridges are covered. It’s so easy to reshingle a roof!
