Things to Keep in Mind when Shingling a Storage Shed Roof

In: Home & Family

17 Jun 2009

The very first thing that you are going to want to take into consideration is the pitch of your shed’s roof because this will help to determine if you will be comfortable working on it.

While there would be nothing wrong with hiring someone to shingle your roof for you, if you are well read on how to do the work yourself it is something that you can easily accomplish. If you are going to put shingles on your storage shed roof yourself you are going to need to be sure that you are keeping your personal safety in mind. Making sure that the work is done correctly is very important however you do not want to risk your health to do the job. So if you have the proper tools to accomplish the job and have planned ahead with a safety plan you can do a great job shingling your roof.

The materials you will need are a staple gun hammer, hammer staples, roofing felt, barbed roofing nails, utility or trimming knife, straightedge ruler, ridge cap shingles, and asphalt shingles.

You want to make sure that you are sticking within your budget before you begin a large project like this. To accomplish this you are going to need to go out and take measurements of your storage shed roof so you are going to get an excellent idea of how many shingles that you are going to need to get to completely cover the entire roof of the shed. Then you will be able to figure out exactly how much of all the other equipment and supplies that you are going to need to purchase. It would be a real shame and a waste of money if you over bought things and on the other hand it would turn out to be pretty inconvenient if you did not purchase enough supplies to complete your job.

The first thing to do would be to unroll the roofing felt over the plywood top of your roof. The felt should then be stapled down securely over the surface and around the edges to cover the entire roof.

If you are replacing old shingles, first strip off the old roofing material and check the wood for any damage or rot. Ensure that the plywood is still nailed securely to the rafters all around. In this case, instead of the traditional felt paper, use either heavy felt paper or modern water membrane to prevent leaks caused by ice or windblown rain.

Make sure that the very first row for shingles that you are putting on your roof is being placed on upside down. Be sure that the tabs are sticking face up. You are going to want to cut the first shingle about six inches and make sure that it overhangs the drip edge of your storage shed. You will be using full sized shingles for the rest of your project.

While you continue to place your shingles on the roof of your storage shed set them so that the row above the row you are working on is slightly offset. You can create the illusion of overhang by continuing to use this pattern. Once you are done putting all of the shingles on each side of the shed you then attached the roof top shingles from side to side.

Now that you have all the singles properly attached to your storage shed room you then should then cut off all parts of the shingles that are creating an overhang on the sides of your storage shed. Then all you need to do is the needed cleaning and additional trimming.

Be sure to trim off all of the excess shingles that are overhanging from the sides of your storage shed roof. If you would like to further reinforce your shingles to the shed roof you can use construction adhesive on the shingles. Once you have both sides of your roof shingled you are going to need to attach the roof cap shingles at the peak of the roof from side to side and then finish doing any trimming and cleaning up that needs to be completed.

Shingling a roof is not so difficult once you understand the basics. A good shingling job will provide your roof with a waterproof barrier that will last some 15 to 20 years.

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