subject: Handling The Installation Job Of Roof Shingles [print this page] Installing roof shingles is a difficult and dangerous job. Misapprehension can prove costly for your roof. Always glue yourself to the highest level of safety standards. Since shingles render a protective shield to your roof, be precise when it comes to the quality and installation of shingles. For safety and precision, the shingling work must be done by a professional. However, you also can install roof shingles yourself using instructions given below.
Kick things off by taking the measurement of the roof. Such information is vital for estimating the amount and quantity of the shingles, roofing felt and nails to be purchased.
Now, calculate the total square feet area of your roof by multiplying the length of the roof with total breadth. Purchase all the roofing materials from any of the home construction or repair shop.
Take account of the roofing felt you are going to purchase. The quantity of the roofing felt must be equal to the square footage area of the roof. Coming on to the shingles, they are available in 'squares' that are in a set of three to four shingles. The total number of shingles you are going to purchase can be easily calculated. Divide the total square feet area with one hundred and the resulting amount is the number of shingles you will need. Do not forget about the nails and purchase three pounds of nails per square foot.
Lay down the roofing felt on the plywood boards of the roof. Do it carefully as this layer of roofing felt is responsible for waterproofing. Lay down the roll of felt starting from the apex and up to the edge of the roof. Slightly overlap the seams of felt and nail them.
Use a caulking gun to apply a layer of cement on the setting of nails. Clear the extra cement with the help of putty knife.
Now, bring up the shingles on to the roof. First of all cut down the flaps of the shingles with shingle cutter. Now, lay down a series of solid seven inch shingles at the outer periphery of the roof. The shingles should be installed in a series from the edge up to the apex of the roof. Nail each shingle with as many as four nails.
Remember that the edge of the shingles of one row should be in contact with the middle point of the shingles of adjacent row.
