Hi Ralph, The usual thing to do is to install the first row upside down. Up here we should also install what is known as an ice dam which is a 30 inch wide roll of the same material as shingles all along the bottom edge of the roof. this covers over the overhang of the eve which is likely to be cooler than the rest of the roof so melting water which might freeze as it passes over the eve can't lift and get under the shingles and run down the walls of the building.
The shingles are called tabbed. This means that there are a series of cuts up from the bottom edge about one third of the distance into the shingle. These tabs usually go down but in the first row one customarily lays the tabs up so the long uninterrupted edge is toward the eve and overhangs the drip edge by some amount, half an inch or three quarters of an inch as you like. The second layer is installed with the tabs hanging down toward the edge of the eve the same distance as the first course but you stagger the joints. Usually one cuts away the length of one tab of the first shingle of the row and you do the same thing on subsequent rows to keep the shingles joints staggered. When holding a shingle you will find a small sort of cut as you run your finger up the end of the shingle just about two thirds of the way up the shingle about as far from the top edge of the shingle as the top of the tabs are up from the bottom edge of the shingle. the cut is only about half an inch into the end of the shingle but you can press the shingle down at this point and it forms a sort of ear which can catch on the top of the preceding row of shingles. This precisely lines the row up on the one below. There are usually marks or small holes in that top third of the shingle to indicate where you can put nails. It is not necessary to use these precisely. when you watch roofers working they often do not run row-to-row end-to-end of the roof, they will move up and across one section then move over and run another four or five foot section several courses high, what ever they can reasonably reach without having to move over and drag bundles of shingles along. Sometimes they work in pairs, especially now with power nailers, one slapping down shingles, the other nailing them off. The drip edge is usually an aluminum strip bent and formed which goes down along all edges of the roof deck before any shingles or ice dam is laid down. There are various methods now of doing valleys and hips. The peak may have a roll applied first unless there is a peak vent and the shingles applied are often, maybe usually one tab cut off and folded over the peak with the overlap in the direction of the prevailing wind. Some insist on covering the deck with building felt, others do not. I never have and I haven't yet had any trouble. To return to the original question though, it is the edge of the roof deck which establishes the position of the rows of shingles. Hope this is helpful. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ralph Supernaw To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 12:01 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Shingling the house Hi, When shingling a roof, What do you use as a jig to line up the shingles across the roof? Thanks, Ralph [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
