How to Re-Roof Without Felt Removal

Removing the Old Roof

• 1

  Place tarps at the bottom of your walls to catch the debris from your roof and to make cleanup easier. Cover all shrubs and remove fragile decor items that may be damaged by falling roofing out to at least 10 feet from the wall.

• 2

  Lift the edges of the old shingles, starting along the bottom edge of the roof, with a wide, flat shovel. Pry the shingles up and slide the front edge of the shovel under them, keeping the shovel slightly lifted to prevent tearing the felt.

• 3

  Pry the shingles up to pop the nails loose. As they come up, shove the shingles off the edge of the roof onto the tarps below. Work across the bottom edge, and then move up, using the same technique to remove all of the old shingles. Hammer old nails down firmly if they won't come out so they won't tear the felt.

Prepping the Roof

• 4

  Inspect the felt and cut pieces larger on all sides than any damaged areas. Nail these patches in place with 1-inch roofing nails with nylon washers.

• 5

  Check the drip edge flashing along the bottom and side edges of your roof. Look for rusted or loose pieces. Hammer down any loose nails. Cut new pieces to replace damaged sections, using tin snips. Nail the new pieces in place, overlapping at both ends and driving the nails into the edge of the decking.

• 6

  Sweep the roof with a broom to remove all nails, shingle debris and other material that may get trapped under the new shingles.

Installing Shingles

• 7

  Roll out a starter strip along the bottom of the roof and nail it in place above the black tar line, using one 1 1/2-inch roofing nail every 8 inches. Start the first row of shingles on top of the starter strip, with its bottom edge flush with the starter and edge of the roof. Use six nails above the tar line to nail it in place.

• 8

  Add full shingles, butted up on the narrow edge of the one before, as far as possible, nailing in the same way. Cut a shingle to fit at the end of the roof.

• 9

  Overlap the next row so that the bottom edge aligns with the small darts on the sides of the first row. Start with the cut-off piece from the last shingle of the first row, to stagger the tabs. Nail them in the same way.

• 10

  Add rows of singles to within less than 4 inches of the peak. Install the shingles on the reverse face of your roof in the same way. Cut single tabs with a utility knife to create ridge shingles. Fold them in half and install, working in from both gables.

• 11

  Nail the shingles in both faces of the roof, behind the tar line. Overlap each shingle, toward the middle of the roof from both ends, so that they cover the tar line on the shingle before. Install a single shingle to cover the gap where the two rows meet and nail it in all four corners.