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It is important to properly install asphalt roof shingles because a bad roofing job can cause a great amount of water damage to your house. Check out these roofing tips that will help you get your roofing job done correctly:
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Roofing can be a dangerous job. Do your best to make your work environment as safe as possible. Do not let your metal ladder touch any power lines, TV antennas, or conduits. Secure your ladder from the top and bottom. Clear the work area of loose nails and asphalt shingles can cause you to slip. Wait for dry weather to start your roofing job, and wait for the morning dew to evaporate before working on your roof. Also make sure no one is near the roof while you are working to prevent objects from falling on someone unexpectedly. Lastly, try to work with a partner. It will be good to have someone else on the roof with you just in case someone slips.
Find out the amount of roof shingles you need for the job. Multiply the length and width of each area of the roof to find the square footage of each area. Add the figures to find the total square footage of shingles you need. Divide the total square footage by 100 to find the amount of squares you need. Shingles are sold in squares containing 3 or 4 bundles of shingles. Get an extra 10% to account for mistakes and replacements. You will need 2 ½ pounds of roofing nails for every square of shingles you install. Get hot-dipped galvanized nails with a 3/8” diameter head and 1/4 -1/2” long. Also need 15 lb. felt to cover the entire area and roofing cement for the edges/flashings.
Cut and staple the 15 lb. felt to the plywood on your roof. Make sure to thoroughly cover the area of your roof to provide complete weatherproofing. Next, find the center of your roof and mark it with a chalk line (parallel with the roof edge). Put a starter-strip along the edge of the roof. The manufacturer usually provides this. If not, cut the tabs off of a row of shingles and use that for your starter-strip. Make sure that your starter-strip extends from the edge of the roof roughly 5/8”. Remark the chalk line that marks the center of the roof. Nail the first shingle directly on top of the starter row using the chalk line for alignment. Put 4 nails into each shingle 5 5/8” from the bottom. Butt the shingles against the edges as you nail them across. After reach the edge you will have the first course (row) of shingles.
Snap a chalk line 5” up from the edge of the first course of shingles. Starting from the center of the roof, nail a second course of shingles on top of the first course using the chalk line for alignment. Make sure to nail the tab-side down towards the first course. The tabs should overlap the installed shingles below. Nail the shingles down until you reach the edge of the roof. Follow this same process to install each course all the way until you get to the ridge of your roof. Once you get to the ridge, start again (with the starter row) from the other side of the roof!
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