How to Shingle a Storage Shed Roof
There are many things that you should take into consideration when deciding to replace broken shingles or shingling a new roof on your storage shed. First of all, the slant of the roof; will you be comfortable working on it, or is it just too steep? The outside temperature will also determine how the shingles lay.
Once you do decide to do it yourself, remember that personal care and safety should be exercised at all times while working on a roof. Installing shingles is something you can do yourself with the proper tools, techniques, and preparation. Thus, it helps to plan ahead.
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.
So as not to waste time and materials, you should have already figured out your total roof area in order to make a good and accurate assessment of the number of shingles you will need for a particular style, texture, and color of your choice.
Now when you are ready to get stared you are going to want to unroll all of the roofing felt all across the wooden top of your roof. Make sure to staple the felt down very securely so that it will not move and so that it will also go around the edges and cover the entire roof.
If your project involves removing and replacing old shingles you are going to want to strip off any damaged materials so that you can check and see if there has been any damage to the wooden roof below. If all of the plywood is still properly nailed down you are in very good shape. If you are doing this you will want to use heavy felt paper.
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.
You start the next row with a full shingle and correctly position each shingle that you are using with the tar area near the top and the colored tabs on the bottom. Be sure to attach the shingles beginning from the base of the roof. You should use three or four roofing nails with each shingle.
When you start with the next row of shingles going up, make sure that each shingle tab on the row above would be nailed down such that it is offset halfway with the seam of the shingle below it. Repeating this pattern gives the effect of an overhang.
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.
Having a storage shed can be a great addition to anyone’s property no matter what you plan to store inside it. Of course whatever you do plan to store in your shed you are going to want to make sure that it is kept safe and secure. This is where putting up shingles or replacing old and damaged shingles comes in.