How To Cut Roof Shingles

Use 4 nails per shingle and 6 nails on the prevailing windward sides of the roof as wind resistance nailing.

How to cut roof shingles.

You may need to cut panels to fit angles using a circular saw with a metal saw blade. Butt a full shingle up against the cut shingle and nail into place. As you continue follow the pattern of lining a full shingle up against the next and nailing it into place. 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.

Nail the dormer flashing to both the wall and the shingles. Original three tab asphalt shingles had 10 or 20 year warranties and that was about the lifespan you could expect. 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. Cut with a tin snips at the bend in the first step flashing.

Repeat this basic pattern alternating shingles across the roof working toward the right side using the chalk line to keep the shingles straight horizontally. A few have lifetime warranties. The edge of a roof in professional vernacular is called the rake edge. 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.

Today s laminated roof shingles have 30 40 and 50 year warranties. Follow the guideline you created to keep the shingles straight. The rake edge is the extreme edge of the roof on either side. Lay the starter row of metal shingles at the drip edge and affix to the roof with metal roofing nails.

Metal roofing is also available in the form of shingles. Install the shingles right up to the front wall. Make a 1 to 2 in. 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.

Alternatively you can use a starting row of full sized shingles by turning them with the tabs pointing upward. Cut your last shingle on each row to size repeating all the way to the ridge. Continue adding panels until the roof is covered.