How to Roof a House Yourself

Roofing is a hard work. You cannot hide from the risks that come with falling from rooftops. Before undertaking the project stipulated below, try this: use a ladder to the rooftop of your house. If you’re unable to walk comfortably, then you need an expert. If you’re comfortable with the first test, imagine yourself carrying climbing ladder with shingles on your shoulder going back on forth many times.

If you’re having the gut until now, then you can give it a try. Instead of lifting heavy shingles, you can have roofing supplier hoist them on the roof for you. Spread the shingles evenly on the entire length of the roof peak.

Stripping the roof clean, start nailing the dip edge flashing flush along the eave of the house.

When it rains heavily, the wind can let water under properly laid shingles. In worst cases, snow that builds on roof edges (ice dams) can wreak havoc by letting water percolate through lower shingles and drip inside your house. To prevent this from happening, apply ice barrier which self-adhesive waterproof underlayment. It adheres and seals around the nails that are driven through roofs. It can be bought from home centers or roof supplying companies. In harsh climate areas, the building codes of 3 to 6 feet up from eave are recommended. You can contact your building inspector for more details concerning this.

You should cover the rest of the roof with asphalt-saturated felt underlayment or a premium synthetic underlayment. While doing this, each layer should overlap the lower layer with at least two layers going in. Then nail the drip edge on top of underlayment. As you did earlier with flashing, the upper pieces should always overlap the lower pieces. The purpose of the felt is to keep the deck of the roof dry before laying the shingles this helps in protecting against windblown rain.

The next step is to locate roof center both at the top and also the eave. Then draw a vertical line. Most experts use this chalk line to start shingling working from left to right in direction of the rakes. You should check package recommendations, for some shingle manufacturers require one to start on the edge of left rake.

In the first row of the shingles, cut off the tabs from the 3 tab shingles and apply self-adhesive sealing strip. Be keen, this row should overhang slightly further from drip edge. Starter course is meant to prevent the roof by filling the spaces under the first course shingles.

To finish the project, drive the nail through first course shingles on top and flush using starter course. Each shingle should have 4 roofing nails as the package recommends. Once you lay this course, you should breeze the horizontal chalk lines from up the roof to straighten the rows. Remember to uncover 5 in every shingle tab where the tab bottom edge meets the cutout top.