How to Redo Roofing

Position a dumpster below the eave of your house’s roof so that you can easily toss old roof shingle pieces into this container during your roof redo project. Pull off the old roof’s shingles using a pitchfork as well as a specialized shovel designed to break up and get rid of roof shingles. Dump all of these old shingles and shingle nails into the dumpster on the ground.

Sweep the roof clean using a push broom, and inspect the roof for areas of loose roof sheathing. Nail these areas down, and apply an underlayment on top of the sheathing, securing it every 6 inches using staples. Note that the underlayment prevents water from leaking from the roof to the inside of your home.

Install flashing around the lower edge of the roof using nails. Put two chalk lines on the roof, one stretching vertically and the other one stretching horizontally. Using the horizontal line as a guide, place other horizontal lines on the roof about 5 inches apart. Create vertical lines about 6 inches apart as well, using the first vertical line as a starting point.

Lay your new roof shingles, allowing the top edge of the shingles to line up with the horizontal chalk lines. Make sure the other shingle ends line up with vertical chalk lines. Start from the edge of the roof in a corner and work your way toward the roof’s center while laying the new shingles.

Drive four nails into each shingle after you lay it. Cut off the edges of the shingles that hang over the edge of the roof using a hook blade knife.

Cut regular roof shingles so that they are 12 inches by 12 inches, and use these as ridge-cap shingles to be placed over the ridge at the center of your roof. Center each of these newly created shingles over the ridge, and secure them using two nails.