How to Install Roll Roofing With Blind Nailing

Cut 9-inch wide starting strips from the rolled roofing to go along the roof perimeter with a utility knife. Fasten the starting strips at 4-inch intervals and inset them by 1 inch from each edge with galvanized roofing nails.

Install a standard-width roll roofing length over the starting strip on the lowest roof edge. Fasten the roofing at 4-inch intervals and inset the nails by 1 inch from the top edge of the roll roofing. Leave the last 1-1/2 feet unfastened at each side of the roof edge.

Use a flat trowel to apply a thin coat of asphalt-based roofing cement over the starting strip along the bottom of the roof and the two starting strips on each side of the roof. Cover the side strips with roofing cement up to the top edge of the previously nailed roll roofing length.

Bed the overlying roll roofing into the roofing cement with a hand roller. Complete the blind nailing for the remaining 18 inches on each side of the roof edge, using the same 4-inch interval fastening as you did before.

Overlap the top edge of the installed roofing by a minimum of 3 inches with the next length of roll roofing. Notice that your previously installed nail heads on the lower course are no longer in view, which creates your blind nailing system.

Fasten each course at 4-inch intervals along the top edge of the roll roofing. Use roofing cement between courses to glue down the overlap. Keep the last 1-1/2 feet of each length free of nails to cement the side starting strips before finishing the nailing on the overlying layer.