Welcome back to the DIY Asphalt Shingle roofing guide Part 3.
CAUTION: “These instructions are for IKO asphalt roofing shingles only. Other asphalt shingle manufacturers may have different guidelines.”
We cut 90mm off the first piece of starter course. This stops the cutouts lining up on the starter and first courses of asphalt roof shingles.
Now we bring the first piece of starter course just past the hip line of the roof making sure we line it up on the chalk line. Make sure that the adhesive glue strip is on the bottom edge as this seals down the first full asphalt roof shingle and nail twice to hold in place.
Follow this chalk line nailing down the starter course. The pieces of starter course should but up close together.
Now find a join in the starter course near the centre “middle” of the roof. Hammer 2 nails 165mm apart on either side of the cut out. This is half a tab apart and is used to align the shingles vertically.
Now you can use a full asphalt roof shingle to mark a vertical line up the roof. On a small Gazebo this is adequate, if you are building something bigger it is advisable to find the exact 90° angle as a small mistake will show over a distance. Climb up the roof and snap the first vertical chalk line. Now measure 165mm and hit another nail at this point. Snap a second chalk line and you now have a great guide to line up your shingles.
Now that you have your two vertical chalk lines at 165mm apart you are ready to install the main asphalt roof shingle part of the roof.
Now we have to cut the starter course “first course” off the main three tab asphalt roof shingle pieces. I will explain what a starter course is in a minute. To do this I simply place the bundle of asphalt roof shingles upside down, use the back of a shingle piece as a guide and carefully cut off the tabs of the shingle. The cut line should line up with the top of the cut outs of the tabs. Each piece of starter course will be 1000mm wide so only cut as much as you will need.
TIP “Keep the pieces “tabs” that you have cut off as these can be used as fill in pieces up the hips or along the ridge if you have a ridge.”
TIP “PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the tape of the bottom side of the asphalt shingle. The sole use of this tape is to stop the asphalt shingles sticking together before they are put on the roof’.”
Measuring 180mm from the bottom of the felt material on both ends snap a chalk line. This will be used as a guide for the starter course. The Starter course strips are 190mm deep and when lined up with the chalk line the bottom edge will overhang the felt material by 10mm. This creates a secondary “drip edge” for the water.
We cut 90mm off the first piece of starter course. This stops the cutouts lining up on the starter and first courses of asphalt roof shingles.
Now we bring the first piece of starter course just past the hip line of the roof making sure we line it up on the chalk line. Make sure that the adhesive glue strip is on the bottom edge as this seals down the first full asphalt roof shingle. Two nails along the very top edge will be enough to hold in place for the time being.
Follow this chalk line nailing down the starter course. The pieces of starter course should but up close together.
Now find a join in the starter course near the centre “middle” of the roof. Hammer 2 nails 165mm apart on either side of the cut out. This is half a tab apart and is used to align the shingles vertically.
Now you can use a full asphalt roof shingle to mark a vertical line up the roof. On a small Gazebo this is adequate, if you are building something bigger it is advisable to find the exact 90° angle as a small mistake will show over a distance. We will use this shingle as a guide for a vertical chalk line up the roof. Climb up the roof and snap the first vertical chalk line. Now measure 165mm and hit another nail at this point. Snap a second chalk line and you now have a great guide to line up your shingles.
TIP “Spend some time making sure your chalk lines are straight as this will affect the look of finished roof.”
Now that you have your two vertical chalk lines at 165mm apart you are ready to install the main asphalt roof shingle part of the roof.
Click here to go to the DIY guide part 4