Replacing your roof is more than just nailing down the shingles. There are a number of steps that you need to know about and complete to ensure that your replacement is done correctly. Knowing these steps will also help you prepare correctly for replacing your roof.
Prepare Your Property
The first step in replacing your roof is to protect the rest of your property. This will include the protection of the walls, siding, and garden. To protect the property, you should look at covering it with tarps and some protection plywood.
This is an important step because you do not want to damage your property while replacing the roof. The tiles that you use could cause damage to other parts of your property and this will increase the costs that you face.
Remove The Old Roofing Materials
The next step that you need to take is to remove all of the old roofing materials. All old shingles have to be completely removed before you can start the replacement process. When you are removing the old materials, you need to ensure that you remove everything from the shingles to the nails.
However, you do have to be careful at this stage because you do not want to damage the wooden decking of the roof. This is the base of your roof and if it is damaged, you will have a lot more work to do. You also need to ensure that every nail has been removed before you place any new shingles.
Inspect The Roof
Before you start replacing the roofing material, you will need to complete a thorough inspection of the roof decking. As roof decking is made from wood, you should look for any wet or soft spots and signs of rotting. If you see this you will need to replace the area to ensure that your roof has a solid base as this is the only way for your shingles to stay intact.
When you are inspecting the wood sheets, you also need to check that it is attached to the roof rafters correctly. There are a lot of people who do not take the time to look for missing nails when they complete this inspection. This is something that you have to do because these missing nails could cause bumps in the roof once you place the new shingles on it.
If you are unsure about the nailing of the roof, you should re-nail the whole wood decking. This will ensure that it is attached to the rafters correctly and that you will not get any bumps in the roof.
Prepare The Roof Surface For Shingles
Once your inspection is complete, you need to prepare your roof surface for the shingles. You should never attach your new shingles before preparing the surface. The first step in preparing the roof is to install a drip edge on all the edges of the roof.
The drip edge is a metal band which has a 90-degree bend. This will stop any rain from getting under the roofing material on the edge of the roof. After this, you need to install an ice windshield which is a roof underlayment.
This shield will stick to the wood of the roof decking and will prevent water leaks. This shield has to be installed at all roof penetrations such as chimneys and at the bottom of the roof. Once this is down, you have to install the roofing felt.
Roofing felt will prevent your shingles from sticking to the wood. There are different types of roofing felt that you can use, but it is recommended that you look at the heavy duty #30 roof felt. This will offer the best protection to your roof.
Install The New Shingles
Once all the underlayment is in place, you can start to lay all of the new shingles. When you start laying the shingles, you need to work from the bottom of the roof to the top. You should follow this up by placing the counter-flashing and the ridge vents.
When you are installing the shingles, you have to ensure that all of the shingles are placed correctly. If needed, the shingles will need to overlap and they will need to be in a straight row. If your shingles are not placed correctly, there will be gaps that rain can get into and cause problems with your home.
Site Cleanup
Once your new shingles are installed, you need to clean up. Cleaning up after your roof replacement is important because it will reduce the damage which could be done to your home. You also do not want to have building waste around your property because this will look untidy and could be a habitat for pests that you do not want around your home including termites.
Hire a roofing contractor for roof replacement job for guaranteed and on-time work.