There are basic factors which you should consider, whether you are replacing shingles or installing them for the first time on your storage shed roof. The pitch or slant of the roof can affect your movement and the rate at which you work.
While there would be nothing wrong with hiring someone to shingle your roof for you, if you are well read on how to do the work yourself it is something that you can easily accomplish. If you are going to put shingles on your storage shed roof yourself you are going to need to be sure that you are keeping your personal safety in mind. Making sure that the work is done correctly is very important however you do not want to risk your health to do the job. So if you have the proper tools to accomplish the job and have planned ahead with a safety plan you can do a great job shingling your roof.
The materials you will need are a staple gun hammer, hammer staples, roofing felt, barbed roofing nails, utility or trimming knife, straightedge ruler, ridge cap shingles, and asphalt shingles.
You want to make sure that you are sticking within your budget before you begin a large project like this. To accomplish this you are going to need to go out and take measurements of your storage shed roof so you are going to get an excellent idea of how many shingles that you are going to need to get to completely cover the entire roof of the shed. Then you will be able to figure out exactly how much of all the other equipment and supplies that you are going to need to purchase. It would be a real shame and a waste of money if you over bought things and on the other hand it would turn out to be pretty inconvenient if you did not purchase enough supplies to complete your job.
Now when you are ready to get stared you are going to want to unroll all of the roofing felt all across the wooden top of your roof. Make sure to staple the felt down very securely so that it will not move and so that it will also go around the edges and cover the entire roof.
If your project involves removing and replacing old shingles you are going to want to strip off any damaged materials so that you can check and see if there has been any damage to the wooden roof below. If all of the plywood is still properly nailed down you are in very good shape. If you are doing this you will want to use heavy felt paper.
You need to make sure that the very first layer of shingles that you are laying down is upside down so that all of the tabs are pointing up. You will then need to cut the first shingle about six inches using a straightedge and a utility knife. You should make sure that the bottom of the shingle should overhang the drip edge of the storage shed by at least 3/8 of an inch. You should use full sized shingles for the rest of the row and nail them down with roofing nails.
You start the next row with a full shingle and correctly position each shingle that you are using with the tar area near the top and the colored tabs on the bottom. Be sure to attach the shingles beginning from the base of the roof. You should use three or four roofing nails with each shingle.
When you start with the next row of shingles going up, make sure that each shingle tab on the row above would be nailed down such that it is offset halfway with the seam of the shingle below it. Repeating this pattern gives the effect of an overhang.
Be sure to trim off all of the excess shingles that are overhanging from the sides of your storage shed roof. If you would like to further reinforce your shingles to the shed roof you can use construction adhesive on the shingles. Once you have both sides of your roof shingled you are going to need to attach the roof cap shingles at the peak of the roof from side to side and then finish doing any trimming and cleaning up that needs to be completed.
Shingling a roof is not so difficult once you understand the basics. A good job will provide your roof with a waterproof barrier that will last some 15 to 20 years.