It might be hard to see all the options when it's time to replace your roof. It's possible to learn about diagrams of how to shingle a roof on the internet.

With the aid of this article from roofing specialists, you'll understand what's going on here and what each component of the roof and a diagram of how to shingle a roof is supposed to do. Professional roofing contractors are the only ones who should be shingling roofs, and this article is not a replacement for real-life instruction, experts say.

The following are the fundamental stages involved in shingling a roof:

1. Safety is foremost in any roofing job.

Roof work poses fall hazards and other safety problems. Experts suggest using skilled specialists who know how to shingle a roof and are educated in roof safety. Also, make sure the roof meets all municipal construction regulations.

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2. Know how a sloping roof works physics-wise.

Asphalt shingles use gravity to shed rain or snow melt. The roof should shed water if the shingles and other roof components are overlapped. "To shingle" means "to overlap." Let's examine how this pertains to the sequence of overlapping roof components.

3. Deck preparation.

Before installing roofing, ensure the roof deck is flat, dry, and free of gaps or holes. A clean, level deck surface will assist in guaranteeing a smooth, flat roof when shingled.

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4. Work top-down.

We start at the bottom of the roof and with the lowest roofing layer. Asphalt roof shingles are the first line of protection against bad weather, but what's underlying matters more. First, the drip edge is installed. It offers a clean, sharp edge for the roof and prevents water from "defying gravity" and wicking back "up" before leaving the roof.

5. Eaves-ice dam protection.

In a frigid environment, you'd wear boots to protect your feet from ice, snow, and puddles, right? Your roof and house require the protection an ice and water guard provides. A thin, self-adhering membrane goes over the drip edge. An ice protection membrane is a prudent roofing system component that may be required by your local construction code in cold areas. This membrane overhangs the eaves. To be functional, it should reach up the roof at least within the wall's vertical extension. Flash any roof valleys with an ice and water membrane now. Why an ice/water protector? These membranes' rubberized asphalt layer wraps around shingle fastener shanks, giving water-shedding protection.

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6. Secondary roof underlayment.

The underlayment might be asphalt-soaked felt or synthetic. Both give peace of mind under shingles. While asphalt shingles are the main water-shedding layer, roof underlayment has several advantages. The felt overlaps the eave ice and water protection and the valley membrane. Start the underlayment installation at the eave, overhanging the drip edge. It goes over the underlayment on sloping roof edges. Installing a drip edge over the underlayment at the rakes gives a smooth roof edge and increases wind uplift resistance. Wind-driven rain falling on the rake edge would pass the drip edge's top flange and go on top of the underlayment, where it may pose a hazard.

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7. Covering joints and troughs.

When shingles are pierced, disrupted, or contact a wall, Leaks usually occur. These places need flashing and a layer of water-shedding material to prevent water from flowing downhill. Open valleys aren't shingled, while closed valleys are. Experts suggest lining exposed roof valleys with corrosion-resistant metal today. Before installing shingles, install underlayment and valley flashing. Embedding the valley end of each shingle in asphalt plastic cement. The most typical roof penetrations are pipe stacks and attic vents. Flash shingles as they touch walls or chimneys. Ice and water protection membranes flash and protect around skylights, dormers, and turbines. Flashing and shingles should be installed simultaneously to protect joint areas.

After the shingle course, roof planes against vertical walls are secured by a wide metal step flashing. Each new shingle course will have a step flashing. The first-course flashing goes over the beginning strip. Cover it with the end shingle's tab. Don't attach flashing to the wall. This allows the flashing to move independently of the roof deck and wall expansion and contraction. Position the second step flashing piece above the asphalt shingle's bottom edge. Make sure the second course's tab will cover it. Attach the roof flange. The second and subsequent courses will have flashing end shingles.

8. Roof "field" shingles.

It's time to shingle a roof after preparing and installing everything under the shingles. Start at the bottom and overlap as you go across and up the roof, regardless of the asphalt shingle kind or design. Put starter shingles before laying the field shingles. Even if you trim regular shingles to size on-site, both perform vital duties at the roof's eave. They offer sealant adherence for the first course of shingles and water-shedding protection at shingle seams and cut-outs. 

Professional contractors utilize starting strips along rake edges to create a straight edge for field courses. These starting strips improve the rake's wind resistance. If the shingles are overexposed, underexposed, or not offset in subsequent courses, problems might emerge (rows of shingles). You must drive nails flush with the shingle without cutting it. Wind resistance depends on correctly nailing the shingles. The shingles' limited guarantee requires proper nail placement. Closed valleys are finished when shingle channels approach and flow through them. Most closed valleys are "closed cut" valleys, where shingles are laid on one side of the valley first. As shingles are put on the next roof, each course is clipped back of the valley centerline.

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9. Hip and ridge caps.

You've finished a field and can see the finish line. Hip and ridge capping mark the end. When installing field shingles to the roof peak, you can't "bend" them over. Instead, individual ridge cap shingles shed water down an either slope. Various ridge cap shingles are available, but installation is dependent on overlapping. For hips, work uphill. Since ridges are level, the upslope principle doesn't apply; ridge cap tiles oppose the prevailing wind direction for maximum wind resistance. On hip roofs, ridge caps may be put beginning at either end and ending in the center. Since this is the only spot on the roof where the nails are directly visible, seal them with asphalt roof cement. Ridge cap shingles need larger nails. To penetrate the ridge caps and final course of shingles, you'll need longer nails.