Finally, we are ready to install the main asphalt shingles on the roof. Lining up the bottom edge with the starter course and the right-hand side with the vertical chalk line, hammer four nails in the shingle, just below the self-sealing strip, about 10mm above the cutout. Now you can see the reason behind the starter course: two layers of asphalt roof shingles at all times.
TIP “For this roof, the owner didn’t want to see the nails protruding through the plywood, so I bought a 20mm shank x 10mm head galvanised clout nail. 17mm plywood was also used.”
Thought I’d put this in for a bit of a laugh. Getting your Dad to video your roof installation blog – perhaps not a good idea!
OK, this video shows how we line up the asphalt shingles along the vertical lines. It also shows a little trick with our asphalt roof shingles.
If you hold the asphalt roof shingles by the outer edge and run your thumbs over them, you will notice small cutouts along the sides. This measures the exact height of the shingle on the lower course. Push down on the cutout, then slide the shingle down until it meets the previous course of asphalt shingles.
TIP “IKO asphalt roof shingles have a factory-made cutout on the side and one on the top of each fibreglass 3-tab asphalt shingle. These can be used to position the roof tile correctly on the roof. Don’t use these cutouts as the only guide; be sure to use the chalk line every 3 -4 courses.”
OK, just a continuation of the previous video. Four nails per asphalt roof shingle, 10mm up from the cutouts, but the shingles should not be close together.
TIP “In standard installations, we use 4 clout nails per asphalt shingle. In high wind areas, you can use 6 nails per asphalt shingle. Two nails on either side of the cutout, approximately. 10mm and 1 nail on either end. “
Every 3–4 courses, you should make a horizontal chalk line to ensure your asphalt roof shingles are straight. With our asphalt Roof Shingles, we measure 140mm up from the previous course on both ends and create a chalk line. This becomes the line we follow to keep the horizontal lines straight.
TIP “This becomes more of an issue on a larger roof where your lines can go astray if you are not careful.”
Cutting the capping pieces off the standard three-tab asphalt roof shingle. In this video, I am cutting the capping pieces for the hips and the ridge, if there is one. Each 3-tab asphalt shingle creates three capping pieces. You will notice I cut the capping pieces with a hook blade, cutting backwards at a slight angle. This gives the hip line a much neater line and also folds the hip caps over nicely.
TIP: Each bundle of 21 pieces of 3-tab Asphalt roof shingles can be cut into 63 pieces of hip-and-ridge capping. 63 pieces of hip and ridge capping cover 8.8 lineal meters of hip or ridge.”
And that’s all you need to do! Not yet. I just wanted to show you how to cut straight down the hips using a special hook-blade knife. This tool is essential because it allows you to cut asphalt roof shingles straight through the top.
TIP: “One of the most important tools for building a DIY roof is the hook blade knife. – Rush out and get one today.”
Here we cut our capping pieces off our main three-tab fibreglass asphalt shingle. After cutting the pieces, we snap a chalk line on one side of the hip 160mm from the centre line. This gives us a nice straight line to run our capping pieces against. The first capping piece will overlap the bottom of the hip; it will be cut later. From here, we hammer the capping pieces up the roof, being sure to align them the same way as we did on the standard shingle. At the base of the hip, you can use your hook blade knife and carefully cut the protruding edges off.
The same principle applies when you are installing the ridge capping pieces.
TIP: “You may need to use a longer clout nail here as you are nailing through three layers of shingles.”
Courses of asphalt shingles running up the roof
The courses of asphalt roof shingles are installed up the roof – easy to place shingles on the hip.
Here we follow the same formula and install the asphalt roof shingles courses up the roof. On or near the hip line, it is often a good idea to hammer a couple of nails into these pieces to hold them in place. The Dual-colour 3-tab asphalt roofing shingle gives the roof some definition and depth, whereas flatter-coloured shingles lack it.
TIP: When walking on an asphalt shingle roof, it is a good idea not to wear heavy working boots, as they may leave marks on the shingles. Many roofers use tennis shoes to grip the roof surface.”
The easiest way to run asphalt shingles to the hip is to lay them over and cut them at the end along a string line. If you have any large pieces left over, be sure to cut them off and use them somewhere else.
Running a chalk line down the hip makes cutting easier.
Run a chalk line down the hip to make cutting straight easier.
Cut down the hip with a hook blade knife
Cut straight down the hip. Easy stuff… Are we there yet… Nearly.
Reuse the diagonal cut on the felt on the other side of the roof
Here you can see that you can use the felt roofing material on the other side of the hip with the same cut.
Finishing the last hip
Great feeling. Finishing the roof. Without all of the photos and videos, this roof took 2 days to complete. The owner finished the roof with a small fascia board, giving it a slightly bulkier feel. It was also painted on the underside of the plywood, and electrical wiring and lighting were installed so it could be used on warm summer nights.
The underside of the DIY Gazebo is painted with lighting installed.
Light-coloured paint finishes underneath, with lighting installed.
Here is the finished product. What do you think? Not a bad result. The asphalt shingles on the roof really give the structure some class and strength.
TIP “The owner built the structure with decent-sized pieces of wood, which helped to create a solid structure, and the careful selection of Woodland Grey for the posts and a Marino colour for the rafters finished the project.”
Thank you for reading my DIY Asphalt Roofing guide – please leave a comment or feel free to contact us to ask any questions
