One of the most dreaded projects in the home remodeling world is that of roof replacement. On a whole, putting in a roof is not a complex process in most homes, but the fact that it happens high in the air with heavy supplies puts a bit of a damper on any work enthusiasm. What’s more, roofing becomes more complicated if the weather isn’t friendly, so before you put your finger on the calendar and pick a day, keep track of your local forecast.

First Steps

The first step in a roof remodel is deciding what you want to use as your primary finish material. Just because you have asphalt shingles on your roof now doesn’t mean you have to stick with those. Many people are opting for metal roofs, particularly in climates with heavy snow loads. In most situations, you’re probably staying with tried and true shingles, and that makes sense for most homeowners.

Assess Your Decking

In an ideal world, you could tear up your old shingles and slap down new ones, but the reality is often more than just the shingles need to be replaced. Beneath your roofing exterior is a foundational layer, called decking, typically constructed of plywood or another heavy-duty sheet good. Decking is protected by a water barrier between the shingles and the boards, however, over time, cracks and tears emerge, exposing the decking to the weather. If you’ve ever worked with plywood, you know it doesn’t take too kindly to prolonged water exposure. Over time, decking can rot away, and this means you must start your roof project from the bare roof trusses.

Purchase All Your Supplies

As soon as you start tearing off the old roof, the race against the clock begins for installing the weather proofing layers of your new roof. Due to this need to pay attention to weather and time, you will want to have everything you need on site before you start demolition. This means you need all of your decking, nails, screws, underlayment, flashing, and finish shingles. For small projects, a hammer and screw gun will be fine for most of this task; however, if you are working on a large roofing surface, consider purchasing a nail gun to help speed things along.

Remove The Old Material

Now that the weather is optimal and all of your supplies are at hand, you can start the tear down process for your old roofing. This doesn’t have to be a delicate project, but be mindful that nails will be popping out all over the place. If you take your time, you will be less likely to have to hunt for them in your lawn afterward. Remove as much material as you need to replace. For the purpose of this article, we will assume you need to replace your decking as well, and this means you will want to remove everything, exposing the bare truss beams and framing. Remove all screws and nails, ensuring there is a smooth attachment surface for the new boards.

Installing New Decking

While there are plenty of homes built with plywood sheets laid down in identical rows, most modern contractors recommend staggering your plywood board arrangement. This prevents continuous seams and creates a stronger surface area for the rest of the installation. This type of arrangement also improves the structure’s ability to resist wind forces. Be prepared to have to cut boards to fit your space, and don’t assume every roof is square. There is a good chance you are going to have to custom cut a few of the end pieces once you get going.

Installing Underlayment

Self-adhesive waterproof underlayment is what truly keeps your home nice and dry, so do not skip any steps when installing this part of your roofing remodel. Underlayment protects your walls from the consequences of water build up at the edges of your roof, and most zoning codes require it to be installed at least 3-6 feet from the wave's edge. Install this layer, starting at the eave edge and moving upward toward the peak of the roof, always overlapping layer edges by at least two inches. When you have achieved the 3-6 foot requirement, the remainder of the roof can be covered in standard asphalt-saturated felt underlayment. This is installed in the same manner, one layer overlapping the previous until you reach the peak of the roof. When the underlayment is down, you will install your drip edge, the metal strip of flashing that covers the exposed edges of the roof.

Installing The Shingles

Shingle installation may vary depending on manufacturer recommendations, but there are typically two ways to start. Many experts use a chalk line to identify the center of the roof from the peak and the eave. Similarly to tiling a floor, the installers then use this line as a starting point and work outwards toward the edges, equally. Some shingle manufacturers, however, recommend simply starting at the rake corner (the corner at the eave edge). Regardless of starting point, the first shingle sheet installed is cut in half. This is for the same reason you installed your decking in a staggered pattern; to help eliminate any continuous seams and to help against wind uplift. If installing at the rake edge, make sure to leave a slight overhang beyond the drip edge, typically of less than half an inch. Generally, four nails per shingle sheet are used to secure it in place, but if you are in a high wind area, many experts recommend using as many as six roofing nails.

Installing The Headwall Flashing

If your roofing remodel is on a roof that abuts a wall, now is the time to install the headwall flashing. This is a creased sheet of flashing metal that sits on top of the roof shingles, but under the siding of the wall. It is positioned like this to encourage water to drain down the surface of the shingles rather than beneath them. Once the flashing is in place, you can consider your roofing project complete!