If you’re looking for information on how to install roofing shingles, you’ve come to the right place. But first, a short story…

22 years ago I made a career change, going from a cushy desk job working in air-conditioned comfort to roofing in the sweltering heat of Southwest Florida in August.

My first job was installing a second layer of shingles on a small house in Cape Coral, Florida. Once the boss was satisfied that I knew how to install roofing shingles properly, he let me do the job by myself.

I’m sure he had no idea that it would take me as long as it did. I had three things going against me…

First off, I was out-of-shape and not used to working outside in the heat. Second, I was too fussy, shooting for perfection instead of excellence.

But my biggest problem was installing thousands of roofing nails with a hammer because I didn’t have a nail gun. Fast hand nailing is an art and I was no artist!

So each day the boss stopped by to see how I was doing. The quality was fine, but my progress was painfully slow. However, I was on piecework, so it didn’t really matter much to him how long it took.

But as day after day went by, it became a big joke. Not only did the boss stop by, but other roofers and friends of the boss stopped by. None of them could believe how long it was taking me to install roofing shingles and each of them just had to see it for themselves. I remember them trying to conceal their smirks.

Finally, after nine days the job was complete. As the boss paid me the $200 I had coming, he asked if I was sure I wanted to install roofing for a living. When I told him I did, he said he better get me a nail gun… because I was going to starve at that rate!

Since I had a wife, three kids and a big mortgage, I couldn’t have agreed more.

The next job went much faster and easier, thanks to the pneumatic roofing nailer. I found I could install roofing nails six times faster with the nail gun than with my hammer.

If you’re going to roof your own home, you stand to save thousands of dollars… but it’s a tough job. You should be able to justify getting the tools that will make the job go faster and easier. And no tools will help you install roofing shingles faster and easier than a nail gun and compressor.

There are many good models available, but my preference is a Hitachi NV45AB2 for the nailer and a Porter Cable 150 PSI pancake compressor.

You could rent them, but the prices have come down so much, you will probably be better off buying. That will also allow you to work at your own pace and you could sell the tools after the job, recouping much of their cost.

Some old timers still prefer hand nailing because they say a nail gun promotes putting the nails in the wrong place. But I say you can put the nails in the right place or the wrong place with either tool.

Of course there’s a lot more involved in learning how to install roofing shingles. To make the job easier and help you avoid big mistakes, go to: http://www.roofingsecrets.com

John C Bishop is the author of “Roofing Secrets: How to Avoid Leaks and Save Thousands of Dollars!”

High class workmanship and meticulous care about the details are the things that make a good roof, fully as much as the choice of materials.

Roofing shingles should be thick at the butt. The most popular thickness is expressed as 5/2, meaning that the butts of five shingles will measure 2″ in thick­ness, so that each shingle is 2/5″ thick, at the butt, tapered, of course, to less than an eighth of an inch at the tip.

These shingles should be put on with galvanized nails, as the blued or bright nails will soon rust and let the shingles blow off.

Expose wood shingles about 41/2″ to the weather on the flatter roofs, and 5″ to the weather on the steeper roofs. Note that the roof must not be too flat for shingle roofs, minimum rise 5″ per foot of run.

Shingles are laid with a small space, about 1/4” wide, between the shingles. If they are laid too tight­ly together, they will buckle when they get wet, look unsightly, and give opportunity for the rain to blow under them.

Always put two nails in every shingle, no matter how wide or narrow. Split all shingles over 8″ in width, as they will split of themselves if you don’t do it.

To start shingles, stretch a line along the lower edge of the roof about two inches out from the cor­nice. To do this put a shingle on at each end of the roof, and let it project the required two inches beyond the cornice. Then with shingle nails in the ends of these shingles, tie the string and stretch it tightly.

This will give you the line for the first course of shingles. Always double the first course of shingles; that is, lay a second course directly on top of the first course, with the lower ends even so that you have two thicknesses of shingles at the start.

Then measure up 41/2” or whatever your exposure is to be and strike a chalk line, or lay a straight piece of 1″ x 6″ on the correct line to mark the bottom of the next course. Put the next course of shingles to this line, or against the straight edge, and nail them in place. Put the nails about 3/4” from the edges of the shingle, and far enough up so the next course will cover them. Give the shingles a side lap of at least 11/2″.

Sheathing does not need to be tight together for shingles. Do not use roofing paper under wood shin­gles.

For asphalt or composition roofing shingles the sheath­ing must be tight together. If you want a projection at the eaves, it will be necessary to support the as­phalt shingles, as they are too limber to project by themselves. An easy way to accomplish this is to use a double course of wood shingles at the eaves, giving a projection of about 11/2″; the asphalt shingles can then be made even with the wood shingles and will be adequately supported. This will get the drip far enough away from the cornice.

To get a smooth effect, some shinglers place the first course of asphalt shingles with what is normally the top edge toward the bottom, then place the next shingle immediately on top of this one in the regular way to start the pattern of the shingling.

Care should be taken to keep the pattern of the roof running in straight lines, as the regular size of the composition shingles make any deviation very noticeable. If you get started right, no difficulty should be encountered.

Nail the composition shingles with 7/8” galvan­ized roofing nails, or with other size if recommend­ed by the manufacturer. Directions for placing com­position shingles usually come in the bundle with the shingles.

It is a good precaution to put a layer of 30 1b. felt on the sheathing before placing asphalt shingles.

The principal disadvantage of wood roofing shingles or asphalt and paper shingles is that they are not fire­proof.

The fireproof roofing materials include such ma­terials as slate, tile, rigid asbestos shingles, copper, and galvanized iron.

With some careful self-application you should be able to construct a sound roof.