When it comes to home improvement, there are some jobs that you can take on yourself, and others that are best left to the professionals. In our experience at Hicks Residential Roofing, shingle roof installation is a project that falls into the second category, and we strongly encourage you to hire trained roofers rather than attempt this process yourself.
However, just because we don’t recommend that you take a DIY approach doesn’t mean that we won’t explain how it works, and in this article, we’ll provide a simplified outline of the steps in the installation process so that you can know what to expect.
- Install the Flashing- Assuming that the roof deck has been installed already and that any debris or old roofing materials have been removed, the first real step in shingle roofing installation is to install the flashing, or the metal strips that cover the joints and seams in the roof.
- Plan the Shingle Layout- The next step in the shingle roofing installation process is to plan the layout of the shingles. It’s important to know where the shingles are supposed to go before you start nailing anything in place. Our team has extensive experience with this process, so we know exactly how to place shingles in order to provide maximum coverage and protection.
- Install the Shingles- The final step in shingle roofing installation is to actually install the shingles. This is done in rows (or courses, to use the industry term), working from the edge of the roof up to the peak. Each course of shingles should cover the nails in the shingle below by about an inch.