Instructions for How to Install a Rolled Roof

Bring the broom, measuring tape, pencil and paper up to the roof. Inspect the work area for damage requiring repair before proceeding. Repair any holes, gaps or protrusions not associated with the roof surface.

Lay the tarp on the ground next to the building or near the work area on the roof. Sweep the entire area free of debris. Use the tarp as a catch-all for debris to help you remove it. Rips in rolled roofing usually occur because the material was laid over debris, which later broke through the material as the roof settled.

Measure the work area to the nearest foot on all sides rounding up to the next foot. Multiply the width by the length. Multiply the total square feet by 20 percent. Add the total square feet to the total found in the second equation. This is the total square feet of material needed for your project. (ex. -- A 10-by-10-foot area is 100 square feet. One hundred square feet multiplied by 20 percent (0.20) is 20. Add 100 plus 20 to get 120 square feet of material).

Lay out the felt paper so the short edges hang over the roof but the bottom edge rests 2 inches from the end of the roof. Nail the paper into place.

Overlap the next roll of paper halfway over the previous roll. Allow the edges to hang off the roof. Nail the paper into position. Continue working up the roof to the peak.

Fold the felt paper over the roof peak. Continue working down the roof to the end. Cut the paper to size with the utility knife when you reach the bottom.

Apply the metal flashing along all roof edges. This eliminates anything getting in between the roof and walls.

Start the first roll at a bottom corner of the roof. Roll out a few feet of material. Nail the material to the roof, setting nails every 3 inches along the edge of the material on all sides. Continue this process until you reach the opposite end of the roof.

Cut off the excess with the utility knife. Apply the roofing cement across the top 3 inches of the roll from end to end.

Start the next roll at the same end as the prior roll, overlapping 3 inches onto the previous roll. Push firmly on the overlapping area so the material sticks to the cement. Roll out the entire length to the opposite side, pressing down the overlapping area as you go. Nail the new roll, placing nails every 3 inches as before. Continue this process for each successive roll to the top of the roof.

Stop working on the one side of the roof when you reach the peak. Start working at the bottom of the other side. Apply the rolls on the second side the same way you proceeded on the first side to the top.

Apply the final roll against either end of the sides overlapping 3 inches onto the previous roll. Fold this roll over the peak. Press the other side of the roll onto the cement at the top of the other side. Nail this roll into position.