Preventing Improper Driving And Placement Of Roofing Nails
When a nail is overdriven, its head goes right through the shingles mat. Using nail guns increases the likelihood of overdriving nails. For example, if youre using a pneumatic nail gun and have set the pressure too high, that pressure will drive the roof nails directly through the shingle. Rather, roof nails should be flat and flush with the tile and properly penetrate into or through the deck, as discussed above.
Overdriven nails reduce the shingles resistance to wind, increasing their risk of loosening and blowing right off the roof. Overdriven nails will also void your manufacturers warranty, meaning youll be responsible for the cost of purchasing new and placing new shingles.
Nails that are correctly placed capture and secure the top edge of the shingle that lies underneath. Yet if youve placed your nails too high up, it wont capture and secure the shingle below. Further, improperly secured shingles are less wind resistant, tend to slide right out of the nail holes, and can blow off the roof. Improper placement of tiles also voids the manufacturers warranty. In some cases, improper tile placement may necessitate retiling the entire roof.
Can You Roof A House Yourself
Make no bones about itroofing is hard work. Theres no hiding from the elements. You cant be afraid of heights and you need to be pretty fit. Before committing to this how to roof a house project, try this: Get out a ladder and climb up onto your roof. If you cant walk around on it comfortably, hire a pro. If you passed this first test, go to the lumberyard or home center and throw a bundle of shingles onto your shoulder. Imagine yourself carrying that load up a laddermany, many times.
If youre still feeling positive about this how to roof a house at this point, why not give it a shot? You can skip a lot of heavy lifting by having your roofing supplier hoist the shingles onto the roof. Be sure you spread the load evenly across the length of the roofs peak. However, dont have the shingles delivered to the roof if you still have two layers of old shingles to tear offit could be too much weight for your trusses.
After youve obtained a permit and safely stripped the roof clean, nail drip edge flashing flush along the eave.
Cover the rest of the roof with No. 15 asphalt-saturated felt underlayment . Each layer overlaps the lower one by at least 2 in. Follow this step by nailing drip edge along rakes , on top of the underlayment. As you did with the flashing, always lap upper pieces over lower pieces. The felt keeps the roof deck dry before shingles go on, protects against wind-driven rain as shingles fail and increases fire resistance.
Stick The Bottom Part Of The Underlayment To The Roof Of The House
Install the second course just like the first, using the guidelines on the underlayment to get the correct overlap. When an ice dam forms on a roof , ice and water can work their way up under the shingles and leak back into the house. Also, strong winds can blow rainwater under shingles. Self-stick roofing underlayment can prevent this because it sticks to the roof decking to seal out water. It also seals around nails, which keeps water from leaking through nail holes.
Rolls of self-stick underlayment have a plastic backing so the material won’t stick to itself. The backing is separated down the middle. Line up the lower edge of the roll with the outside of the drip edge. Peel back part of the uppermost backing on the roll, and nail the top corner of the underlayment to the decking. Start pulling the roll across the decking using the backing, making sure the material is lying as flat and as straight as possible as you pull.
You’ll be able to roll out long sections at a time if you have a low-pitched roof, but the underlayment may slip off the eaves on steeper roofs, so roll out no more than 10 ft. there . It’s important to make sure all your underlayment lies flat before you fasten it to the decking. Ripples and lumps can telegraph through the shingles and may be noticeable from the ground.
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How Many Roofing Nails Per Square
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How To Calculate Roofing Nails
Your roof is one of the most important structural elements of your house, and in order to complete a successful re-roofing project, a significant investment in both time and money is required. It is highly recommended you hire a professional contractor for roofing work, and it can be difficult to cover the costs of pricey mistakes.
If you are undertaking the project yourself, its critical to remember roof work can be a risky and potentially dangerous job. Anything you can do take fewer trips up and down the ladder to the roof lessens the chance of injury.
A simple bit of math when making your supply plan can help you estimate just how many roofing nails are needed for a roofing job. You will need to know the size of your roof, and then you will be able to calculate an estimate of how many points of roofing nails you will need to buy.
When you are planning out a roofing project, it is key to track how much weight they add to the roof, especially if you are working with an older foundation and framing. In order to have an accurate weight estimate, you will need to include the weight of the nails used to hold the roof shingles in place.
Put In An Ice And Water Barrier
If youre in a warm and relatively dry climate, you may not need to do this step.
But it is often required by code in areas where there are freezing winter temperatures. And with good reason.
Installing this rubberized fabric guards against moisture penetration which can be especially damaging when ice dams form.
For best results, line the valleys and the first few feet of the roof deck along the eaves with this barrier fabric.
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How To Seal Exposed Nails
Exposed nails are those with visible nail heads. Sometimes homeowners put in new nails when trying to attach something on the roof. However, this is a detriment to the roofs performance.
Ideally, your roof will not have any exposed nails, with the exception of the last cap shingle Otherwise, all new nails should be inserted so that they are covered by the shingle above them.
Other: Protect The Pipes And Vents
Make sure that you have rubber protective boots secured by flashing around all of the vents and pipes as you are installing your shingles. These protective boots need to be snug to the pipe or vent with the lower flashing on top of the shingles and the upper flashing below the shingles. On the sides the flashing should run underneath the shingles and be nailed under the shingles. This allows water to flow down the shingles and run right over the flashing and keep on going without making it into your home. Following these steps accurately will ensure you have properly learned how to install roof shingles.
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Install A Metal Ridge Vent
- 11.1 – Snap a chalk line 7/8″ from the ridge on both sides of the roof. If roof trusses are evident, the gap should be 1 ¾” the length of the ridge. Leave 8-10″ along a wall or chimney.
- 11.2 – Measure the thickness of the sheathing and adjust the circular saw to that measurement.
- 11.3 – Cut the sheathing and be sure not to cut down to the rafters. Follow the two chalk lines along the ridge.
- 11.4 – Use a wood chisel to complete the cut at the ends
- 11.5 – Remove the sheathing panel with a pry bar. Remove all nails along the cut.
- 11.6 – Install the shingles up to the ridge so that they cover the sealed strip on both sides of the ridge.
- 11.7 – Cut the shingles covering the vent opening.
- 11.8 – Center the vent on the ridge.
- 11.9 – Nail at the top of the opening every 6″, alternating from side to side.
Build The Open Metal Valleys
- 4.1 – Install metal valley trim on the membrane, starting at the bottom of the roof.
- 4.2 – Center the trim on the valley and secure the edge with roofing nails. The nail head must maintain the flashing in place. Do not perforate the metal.
- 4.3 – Continue along the valley and lap sections of trim by at least 6″. Coat each overlay with plastic cement.
- 4.4 – Establish two lines on either side of the valley where the shingles will end.
- 4.5 – Place a line at the top, 3″ from the centre on both sides of the valley.
- 4.6 – Deviate 1/8″ per foot as you bring the line down to the drip edge, where the maximum deviation should be 8″.
- 4.7 – Snap the chalk line on both sides of the valley
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Installing Roof Shingles In 11 Steps:
Related
Well Start With How To Stop A Metal Roof From Leaking
How to repair loose roof shingles. When you fix rotted wood on your roof, you help to keep it watertight to prevent leaks and additional damage. Slide out the old shingle. If a shingle is simply cracked or torn, you don’t have to replace itjust repair it.
From the time you get on the roof, you want to be aware of any spots that are most likely to leak. Shingle roofs are usually easy to fix. Carefully lift the upper shingle and secure the new shingle with roofing nails.
Use a flat bar to pry up the damaged shingle and remove the nails, being careful not to damage the shingle above it. Use a flat pry bar under the shingle to break the seal. You can avoid replacing your whole roof if you only take care of it one shingle at a time.
Continue laying shingles in the established pattern until the entire repair is covered. Loose roof shingles that don’t seal well can cause roof leaks to occur. When you notice shingles on your home with edges curling up or down, its a sure sign that the roof is near the end of its useful life.
Extensive damage costs $1,000 to $3,000 to fix a sagging roof or leaks with structure repair. How to repair a loose roof shingle. Slide the new shingle up into place.
Replace any nails you removed from the shingles above the damaged one. If the shingles are severely damaged, don’t try to salvage them. Once the damaged piece is removed, slide the new shingle strip or tab into its proper place.
Painting Roof Shingles Shingle siding, Composition roof
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Calculating How Many Shingles Do I Need
How to Measure Your Roof:
- Use a tape measurer to find the length and width of each section of your roof.
- Multiply each section of your Roofs Length x Roofs Width = Roofs Surface Area
- Repeat for each section of your roof.
- Add all of the Roof Surface Area sections together = Roofs Surface Space
- Divide Roofs Surface Space/100 = Square feet also known as Squares
- For example: a 10 Square Roof is actually 1000 sq. ft overall.
- Use this number to buy the correct amount of asphalt roofing shingles and underlayment to cover your total roof area + 10%.
* Full Description below:
The simplest way to get the area of your roof will likely require you climbing up with your tape measure and getting help from a friend or family member. This may be a job best left to the pros if you have any safety concerns about being on a roof. Measure the length and the width of each section of your roof and multiply the two dimensions together. This gives you the roofs surface area of that individual section of roofing. Add all the roofs areas together to find out exactly how much roof surface space there is overall. Do this in feet and then divide the total that you come up with by 100 to get your figure from square feet to what is known as squares. A 10 square roof is actually 1,000 square feet overall.
How Many Nails Should Be In A Shingle
Long time roofing experts suggest 5 to 6 nails per shingle. Place the nails 6-1/8 above the butt edge, 1 and 13 from each end ½ from each cutout. Do not insert nails into or above the sealing strip. For shingles in windy areas use 6 nails per shingle. Make sure none of the nails are within 2″ of joint of shingle. The nails must penetrate well into the wooden roof deck. If the nail fails to penetrate the deck properly then remove the nail and repair the hole in the shingle with bituminous mastic and use another nail. Try not to break the shingle surface with the nail head and repair any incorrectly placed nails immediately. While using pneumatic nail guns, do not set the pressure too high because the nail will get driven too far into the shingle. Do not forget about the special application instructions for nailing into steep slopes and high-wind areas.
There is no doubt in my mind that it’s better to hire a professional roofer to install your homes primary defense mechanism against mother nature. DIY’ers or those seeking to save money- be careful and do your homework.
- Contact Us Now For A Fast & Free Estimate: Royal Renovators Inc. 118-35 Queens Blvd Forest Hills, NY 11375 414-6067 https://www.nycrenovators.com/
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Install Step And Dormer Flashing
It’s possible to reuse existing step flashing and dormer flashing, but the best way to get a watertight seal is to tear off the siding in those areas and install new flashing. Start by running self-stick underlayment at least 6 in. up onto the walls. This provides an additional barrier if water does get past the flashing. Cover the front wall first and then work your way up the side wall. Overlap the sidewall underlayment around the corner onto the front wall about 1 in. or so.
Install the shingles right up to the front wall. Cut a couple of inches off the vertical portion of the dormer flashing, and run the horizontal portion past the side wall that same distance. Nail the dormer flashing to both the wall and the shingles.
Make a 1- to 2-in. cut with a tin snips at the bend in the first step flashing. Run a bead of sealant on the corner edge of the dormer flashing, and then run that step flashing past the dormer flashing the same distance you made your cut. Bend the step flashing around the corner onto the dormer flashing with your hammer.
Install your next row of shingles over that first step flashing, then cover that row with a step flashing, and so on. Nail the step flashing to the wall toward the top of the flashing at the end that’s closer to the peak, so the next step flashing in line will cover the nail. Don’t nail them down through the shingles. For information about flashing around chimneys, see Installing Chimney Flashing.
Shingle Nails: How To Increase Speed Without Losing Accuracy
Well-placed shingle nails are crucial for building top-performing roofs. When roofing nails are positioned improperly or driven incorrectly, the roofing system may become vulnerable to issues, such as punctures, buckling, sealing failures, blow-offs, and raised tabs. Ultimately, improperly installed nails result in lost time, lost labor, material waste, and .
Knowing the facts about proper shingle nail installation can help the quality of your roof installations. You can also increase the speed of your shingle installation and reduce nailing errors by using shingles with clear and wide nailing areas, such as GAF TimberlineHDZ® Shingles with LayerLock® Technology.
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Know Your Shingle Nails
Four nails per shingle is widely accepted as the industry standard, but warranty requirements and building codes may call for more. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association states that the best roofing nails for asphalt shingles are resistant to corrosion and made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or copper. Always keep building codes, shingle manufacturer installation instructions, and application circumstances top of mind, as these can impact the number or type of nails required for proper roof installation.
Strike nails at a 90 degree angle from the roof when hammering by hand. Always adjust nail guns appropriately to avoid improper fastener installation. Look out for underdriven, overdriven, or angled nails during installation to reduce the risk of installation issues. Refer to the GAF Pro Field Guide for additional tips.
