Installed Roofing Shingles

Use the chalk line to snap a straight line vertically every 6 inches.

Installed roofing shingles.

Repeat this on both sides of the roof. Known in the trade as vertical racking or staggering this how to lay shingles method enables the roofer to install a single column of shingles all the way to the peak without the wasted back and forth motion necessary to fill several rows of stair steps. Before you begin make sure you re comfortable measuring laying out a job driving nails and cutting with a knife. You can install shingles by hand using a roofing hatchet but the work will go more slowly.

With one or two helpers you ll be able to shingle a 1 500 square foot roof in about two days. To start installing shingles line up aluminum drip edge flush with the edge of the roof and make a pencil line at the top on each end of the house. Many pros shingle in a vertical line up the roof because it s much faster. Pull the drip edge down about a half inch from that line to create a gap between the drip edge and the fascia board.

Every 5 inches make a new mark until you get to the rop of the roof. Using the chalk line snap a line between the two marks to get a straight edge.