How To Cut Roof Shingles

Alternatively you can use a starting row of full sized shingles by turning them with the tabs pointing upward.

How to cut roof shingles.

For the kind of shingles you purchase there may be a special starter row of shingles or a roll of strip material that you cut to the length of your roof. Make a 1 to 2 in. Repeat this basic pattern alternating shingles across the roof working toward the right side using the chalk line to keep the shingles straight horizontally. Cut your last shingle on each row to size repeating all the way to the ridge.

The rake edge is the extreme edge of the roof on either side. Cut with a tin snips at the bend in the first step flashing. This may entail cutting across the shingle in a straight line to match the line of the roof or it may require more difficult precision cuts such as ones that allow fitting around pipes or vents. Use 4 nails per shingle and 6 nails on the prevailing windward sides of the roof as wind resistance nailing.

Today s laminated roof shingles have 30 40 and 50 year warranties. Cut a couple of inches off the vertical portion of the dormer flashing and run the horizontal portion past the side wall that same distance. A few have lifetime warranties. So your next course of shingles should cover the nails by 1 inch vertically.

The edge of a roof in professional vernacular is called the rake edge. Lay the starter row of metal shingles at the drip edge and affix to the roof with metal roofing nails. Follow the guideline you created to keep the shingles straight. If you are shingling your own roof you will at some point encounter a need to trim or cut the shingles to a certain size or shape.

Original three tab asphalt shingles had 10 or 20 year warranties and that was about the lifespan you could expect. Nail the dormer flashing to both the wall and the shingles. Butt a full shingle up against the cut shingle and nail into place. Continue adding panels until the roof is covered.

As you continue follow the pattern of lining a full shingle up against the next and nailing it into place. The evolution of asphalt roofing shingles has been a slow and steady improvement in performance durability and looks. You may need to cut panels to fit angles using a circular saw with a metal saw blade.