How to Install New Shingles Over Old Shingles
Whether it's because of damage or just the effects of time, replacing roof shingles will be necessary at some point. Installing new shingles over old shingles may take more time if you have to repair roof damage, but laying the new shingles shouldn't be any more difficult than it would be if there was no damage. With proper instructions you can install new shingles on your roof without professional help. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shingles
- Ridge shingles
- Asphalt roofing cement
- Hammer
- Flashing material
- Chalk line
- Tin snips
- Level
- Ladder
- Work gloves
- Roofing nails
- #15 Felt roofing
- Heavy duty staple gun
- Staples
- #90 Mineral surface roofing
- Pry bar
Instructions
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Instructions
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Gather materials. When shopping for shingles remember they are sold by the square which has enough shingles to cover 100 square feet of roof space. To figure out how many shingles you'll need just multiply the length and width of your roof and divide the answer by 100. Get 10 percent more for cutting and wasting. Also get 2½ pounds of roofing nails for each square of shingles.
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Check for damage to shingles and the roof's structure. Damaged shingles need to be removed and missing shingles need to be replaced. Use a pry bar to pull up damaged nails and shingles. If you already have more than 3 layers of shingles on the roof you will have to remove all of them before laying new shingles.
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If your roof has different sections which meet at an angle, cover them with mineral surface roofing and use nails and cement to attach an 18 inch wide strip of flashing. Cut out a 36 inch wide piece of roofing felt and staple it over the flashing and valley. Install shingles over the valley using cement on the edges and nails across the middle.
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Install new shingles. Find the center of your roof and mark it with a chalk line as a guide. On the bottom edge of the roof lay a starter strip and let it hang over the eaves by about 5/8 inch. Starter strips are regular shingles with the bottom tabs cut off. Some starter strips may be included in your shingle purchase but if not you can make your own by using a utility knife to cut the bottom tabs off of regular shingles. Once the starter strip is in place you should put down another chalk line guide on top of it. Now, lay a regular shingle on the starter line. Install a shingle using four nails spacing them evenly across the middle of the shingle. Continue installing shingles as you work your way out toward the edges of the roof. When you finish one row of shingles start a new one. Remember, when installing a row of shingles you need to stagger them. To do this, just find the split on the bottom of each shingle. Lay it over the middle of the shingle you installed on the row below it.
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Work on chimneys and pipes. Cut a square of flashing big enough to fit over pipes or chimneys and be 6 inches wide on each side. Put down some mineral surface roofing material, cement the back of the flashing and put it over the pipe or chimney. Nail it to the roof. Chimneys also need 7 by 10 inch strips of flashing, folded in half and set against the chimney. Attach with cement and nails. Next, use cement and nails to attach shingles on top of flashing.
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Tips & Warnings
Wearing rubber soled shoes and picking up loose nails and shingles will keep you from tripping or falling. Don't start your roofing work when it's wet and cold.
Stay away from power lines or antennas while working on your roof.
