Roof Installations

Whether you’ve hired a professional or plan to install a roof yourself, understanding the roof installation process and steps involved will help you ensure your new roof is properly installed. Here’s an overview of the roof installation steps for metal roofing and asphalt roof shingles.

It’s always smart to get an inspection for a licensed roof repair & installation professionals before starting your project.

If you know what to expect with your roof installation y0u can have a better understanding of what the process is. Heres a breakdown of what will happen when your roofing contractor comes to install or replace your roof.

1. Remove the Old Roofing

The old roofing will probably have to be removed before the new roofing material is put in place. Many people will install multiple layers of roofing over top one another to save time; but adding too many layers (i.e., asphalt shingles) can lead to premature failure in the roof. The old roof should be stopped down to the sheathing, and rebuilt.

2. Evaluate the Roof
After removing the old roof, evaluate the sheathing. Roof sheathing is made up of flat panels that provide structural support and a base on which roofing materials, like shingles, are attached. Look for any moist areas or trouble spots that will have to be replaced.

3. Protect Against Ice
If you live in an area that’s prone to ice for even part of the year, it’s important to install an ice and water barrier around your roof. This product goes on around the edges of the roof, but especially at the very bottom edge that is most prone to the buildup of ice. This sticky underlayment adheres to the roof sheathing, then nailed down for added strength and stability with roofing nails.

4. Put on the Drip Edge
The drip edge for the roofing goes down in two different parts of the roof installation. For the lower part of the roof it goes on before the underlayment, for the sides of the roof it goes on after. First, install the metal drip edge along the bottom edge of your home over top of the ice and water barrier. Nail it into place flat against the roof.

After you get the roof underlayment installed on your home you have to go over that with drip edge on the sides the same way that you did at the bottom. This prevents water from running over the edge of the siding and then back underneath it.

5. Roofing Underlayment Installation
Roof underlayment, whether felt paper or synthetic, is saturated in water resistant materials and comes in two thicknesses, 15# and 30#. The 30# underlayment is twice as durable as the 15#, but the synthetic products are much more durable than either felt paper option. If you are looking for the most effective way to protect your roof besides for the roofing itself, invest in the more expensive synthetic underlayment, it’s the most convenient and durable option.

Roll the underlayment along the edge of the roof and secure it in place using cap roof nails every four inches along the outside edges and around eight inches in the center. These cap nails should not go through the drip edge, but instead just above it.

Roll out one row of roofing underlayment after another securing it all down with roofing cap nails making sure to overlap the lower row by at least six inches with the next row. Overlap the underlayment sections up to the peak of the roof and then install a row straddling the peak so that the underlayment caps off both sides of the roof at the same time.

How to Install Metal Roofing
Start your metal roofing installation project by deciding which type of metal roof you want to have installed. You or your contractor will then start by installing a string line at the base of the roof peak at the level that you want your overhang. You put the string line in place to help keep your overhangs even around the edge of the roof. Most homes aren’t perfectly square and you’ll  have to make minor adjustments to the roofing as you go to try to keep the overhang even. With the string line in place it will be easy to figure out how to adjust the piece.

Take care to get your first piece on the roof square so that either the side or the bottom edge is running square with the roof. You may not be able to get both sections of the roof square so pick the one that you care about the most and take your time getting it just right. Lay the roofing down so that the side with the taller ridge is facing to the right, this is the side that you want to lap over with the next piece. Now screw the panel down to your roof using screws with rubber washers to help keep water out. Put screws up one ridge at a time and spread them out into two-foot rows vertically. After you finish screwing one ridge move to the next and add the same number of screws in the same rows. Do this all along the panel until you get to the last ridge. Slip the next panel over top of the first covering the last ridge. Line the next panel up with the roof so it’s square and screw down into the overlapped ridge following that same screw pattern. Continue doing this along the entire roof until it’s covered with the metal roofing.

Once you have all the roofing panels in place it is time to cap off the ridge of the roof. Start by installing a ridge vent and insulating under it with a waterproof sealant. Lock the ridge cap down over top of the vent and you’ve completed your roofing installation. Installing metal roofing panels or shingles on your own can be a hard and dangerous job to complete. We recommend finding a local roofing professional when looking for metal roof installation.

How to Install Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are known for being one of the simplest types of roofing materials to install. First, lay a run of starter shingles along the bottom of the roof and nail them firmly into place using roofing nails a couple inches up from the edge of the roof. Lay a row of starter shingles down both sides of the roof as well and secure those in place using roofing nails an inch or two away from the edge as well.

Lay out the first full shingle near the bottom corner of the roof and lock it into place using six nails all just below the tar line of the shingle. Lay the next shingle down and nail it the exact same way. Continue this process until you’ve gone across the roof from one side to the other. For each new row, stagger the roofing. Shingles have broken sections at the bottom and square sections. Line the square section of your next row up with the broken section of the previous row so the break is right in the middle of the square. This gives water something to flow over so it isn’t leaking down behind your shingles. Lay out all the remaining shingles with the new staggered pattern, but use four nails per shingle this time. On the next row of the shingles go back to the original position so that your shingles are lined up with the edge of the roof once again. This maintains the stagger and makes the roof stronger overall. Repeat this process up to the cap of the roof on both sides until you are within five inches of the top.

To cap the roof you need a set of ridge cap shingles. Lay the first shingle on the left side of the roof so it’s overhanging the edge slightly and nail it down on the right side of the shingle to lock it in place. Lay another piece down so it’s overlapping that right edge and covering the nail, and nail it in the same way. Continue this trend until you cover the ridge entirely. Put tar or roofing cement over the exposed nail on the end to finish your installation. We highly suggest reviewing local roof contractors and having them install a new asphalt shingle roof so that you can rest assured that your new roof is installed properly.

Other: Sealing Roof Vents and Pipes
Throughout the installation of the roofing, there will be pipes and vents that need to be sealed. These are usually sealed with a special rubber boot that simply slips over the protrusion. In order to protect your roof and these vulnerable sections of the roof, protective rubber boots are slipped over top of the pipes and installed underneath the higher row of roofing when installing around shingles. When installing on metal roofing, you seal under the flashing using a roofing cement and then fasten the flashing right over top of the metal roofing using rubber washer roofing screws just as you did with the roofing itself.

Now that you know what goes into the roof installation process for a basic asphalt shingle or metal roof, you can decide if you want to do the work yourself or to pay a roof contractor to take care of it for you instead. Find local roofing contractors and get free roofing quotes with the form at the top of the page.