How Do You Shingle A Flat Roof

A flat roof can remain leak free for around 7 years.

How do you shingle a flat roof.

On a pitched roof the water won t stay trapped. Of course you don t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. Continue laying your shingles horizontally up the roof. Make sure you seal every joint and seam as a bit of extra work now will save you a lot of work and money down the road.

The first thing you need to do when figuring out how to put shingles on a roof is to determine which type of roofing shingles you need. On buildings with flat roofs shingles should be replaced with a roofing material that provides protection from water intrusion. Before you put on the new roof you ll need to remove the plies or layers of fabric that make up the old roofing with a spade. Yet for historic modern style buildings like this old house s cambridge tv project flat roofs are at the core of the architecture meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape.

If you hit a stack vent or chimney interlace the shingles with the flashing to allow water to run down the roof. Shingles are not meant for roofs with less than a 2 12 pitch. Wood and composition shingles are intended for use on pitched roofs. However on a flat roof there is no place for the water to go.

Architectural shingles are another option and are installed the same way as 3 tab shingles but give your roof. Many pros shingle in a vertical line up the roof because it s much faster. Known in the trade as vertical racking or staggering this how to lay shingles method enables the roofer to install a single column of shingles all the way to the peak without the wasted back and forth motion necessary to fill several rows of stair steps. 3 tab shingles are the most common type of shingle.

If shingles are your hearts desire and no other method will do put down a rolled or rubber roofing material first for protection. Roof shingles are not sealed in any way and will leak. Adding shingles can actually lessen this time. If you have a low pitched or flat roof tar bitumen rolled or rubber roofing material is recommended.

They are typically 36 inches long in total. It is always better to do roofing in warm or hot weather. If you have a shallow pitch or a flat roof this is not for you. Flat roofs get worn out over time but luckily they re fairly simple to replace and you don t need a lot of experience to get the job done.

When shingles are installed even when done properly water can become trapped under the shingle.