How To Repair Roof Shingle Tab

Download Article

Download Commodity

Damaged shingles tin seriously cutting into the life of a roof. To proceed your business firm secure, information technology's important to regularly evaluate and supersede damaged shingles to make sure your home is prophylactic and dry.^[ane] Yous can learn to properly evaluate, remove, and replace damaged shingles efficiently.

1
Use the proper safety precautions. Any time you're getting up on the roof you lot need to practise roof safe. Wear protective eyewear, heavy-duty gloves, and gripping boots advisable for walking on the roof. Preferably, you'll also install roof jacks to have something to stand on, and harnesses to protect yourself. Never do roof work alone.^[2]
- How you access the roof volition depend upon the roof itself and the location of the damage. Always use a secure, sturdy ladder when you're climbing upwards on the roof, and have a helper to secure it at the base. When walking on the roof, always walk slowly and secure your basis before taking some other step.
- If you're just trying to assess the damage and supervene upon a few damaged shingles, it might seem similar overkill to install roof jacks and harnesses, but depending on the complexity and the acme of your roof, information technology might be the safest option. Roof work isn't something to rush.^[3]
ii
Assess the impairment. Find the damaged area of shingles and make up one's mind how many new shingles you'll need and the extent of the harm underneath. Look at the corners on the shingles surrounding the damage. Are they curled and pulled up from the roof?
- Check the damaged area for damage to the wet barrier or flashing, and check the damaged area for signs of seepage. If the surrounding shingles aren't doing the work of keeping moisture out, you'll need to supplant everything in the square around the damaged area.^[4]
- In some cases, it might be better to remove all the shingles from a roof in urgent need of repairs and re-roof the business firm instead. If the shingles in the area surrounding the damage are erstwhile, brittle, and dry, it's probably not worth taking the care to re-secure them to the roof.
- Cracked or split shingles may be repaired without removing them, provided they're still in good condition. You can larn more about securing the shingles in the following section.
Advertising
3
Remove shingles in cool weather. Asphalt and asphalt sealant will rut upwards in hot weather, making it moldable and much more difficult to remove. It's a lot easier to remove shingles that are cooled down and slightly more than brittle than the moldable, and so do the work of removing them get-go thing in the morning, before the sunday has beaten down upon them considerably.
- Wet shingles to cool them down before removal, if yous must piece of work in the heat. Wetting them downward with a pocket-sized amount of h2o will help them to tighten and firm up, making them much easier to remove, if necessary.
4
Loosen the agglutinative under the tabs two rows in a higher place the harm. Removing all the shingles on the roof is normally washed with a large hayfork , or rake-sized scraper used for removing shingles. Since yous're merely removing a portion of shingles, though, it'due south usually better to use a smaller tool. A pry bar, crow-bar, or the claw of a hammer works perfectly at getting under and carefully prying up shingles, separating the adhesive and revealing the nails of the shingles underneath.
- A skillful rule of thumb is to remove at least five tabs in the 2nd row above the damaged "3-tab" shingle. Pull upwardly enough shingles to reveal the nails of all the damaged shingles that demand removed beneath.
- The stop seams should be lined-up about a foot off to one side of the damaged one. In other words, you'll want to make certain that you pull off shingles in a radius around the damaged portion, to make sure yous become everything.
5

Loosen the exposed nails. Slide your flat pry-bar under the shingles around the damaged portion. Work around the nail, pulling information technology up. Carefully lift each surrounding tab almost 45 to 60 degrees. Become very slowly, but pry firmly, and try not to cleft or break them. If the surrounding shingles are in good shape, you can reattach them when you're finished replacing the damaged shingles, saving you money and effort.^[five]
half-dozen

Continue loosening the adhesive and nails closer to the damaged shingles. Piece of work your way progressively closer to the damage. Elevator the tabs in the commencement row higher up the damaged shingle and withdraw the loosened nails from that shingle with the pry-bar by using the same process.
vii
Loosen and remove the damaged shingles. Loosen the adhesive underneath the tabs of the damaged shingle, then pull them free and discard. If the shingles are severely damaged, don't try to salve them. Just remove them and replace them with new shingles of a similar style to the balance of the shingles on the roof.
- Keep removing the damaged shingles until you've cleared out the shingles that will demand replacing. It'll be easier to remove everything before you become started replacing them.
Advertisement

1
Get the necessary replacement materials. To supercede shingles, you'll obviously need shingles to replace the ones you remove and the materials necessary to secure. Well-nigh shingles that are in need of replacement are 3-tab asphalt shingles. If your roof involves some other multifariousness of shingles, you'll need to friction match your new shingles to the onetime. To complete the chore properly, you lot'll need:
- Replacement shingles. Buy more than yous'll need at the home repair shop. You should exist able to count up how many damaged shingles volition need replacement and purchase accordingly. It's good to have replacements on hand.
- Shingle cement or adhesive. Some shingles come with adhesive strips pre-installed,^[6] making this unnecessary. If you buy unbacked shingles, though, you might need to buy additional adhesive to secure them to the roof before nailing them. It'southward a good idea to purchase it to secure other loose shingles anyway.
- Roofing nails. Most 3-tab shingles will be pre-cut with guide holes that volition make the installation process very simple. To secure them, you'll demand roofing nails, which are heavy-duty, and almost two or 3 inches long.
2

Install the new shingle. Identify a new shingle in the aforementioned position as the shingle you lot removed. If the shingles are backed with an adhesive strip, remove the roofing and push them into place, then nail them to secure them. Most shingles accept pre-cut holes for nails, unremarkably three per shingle. Follow the directions of the shingles that yous buy, or use the other shingles on the roof every bit a guide.
3
Reseal nether edges of all three shingles. Elevator each tab slightly on the shingles equally you install them, and use a i" (two.five cm) bore spot of shingle cement under each tab. Printing tabs down into the cement firmly and secures the shingle into place. Continue installing shingles and securing them with adhesive appropriately, until you've installed all the damaged shingles along the row.
- After you've finished the damage portion, yous can start working your manner back up the roof, retailing the loose shingles into place, every bit long as they're in good shape, and using the adhesive to secure them back onto the roof.
four
Secure other loose shingles while you're at it. While you're up at that place working, it'due south a good idea to keep an middle out for other areas that look like they may become problematic in the futurity. Keep an heart out for curled or weathered-looking shingles that might allow water to seep in underneath. Using your agglutinative, lift the tabs gently and re-secure them.
- Shingles get damaged when h2o gets in underneath and starts rotting from below. If you lot rescuer loose or weathered shingles on a regular basis, you'll get a considerable amount more life out of them. Regular impact-ups can extend the life of a roof immensely.
5
Fix cracked or split up shingles instead of replacing them. If shingles get croaky or otherwise split, considering of falling branches or other types of damage, consider using adhesive to repair them every bit best you lot can, instead of removing them completely. Line the crack with a liberal amount of adhesive and stick it dorsum together to repair it. Concord it in place for several seconds and let it seal.</ref>
- Shingles will always need to remove when they're breakable, curled, and difficult to pivot back down. If the shingle is crumbling as you work on information technology, that's a sign that the shingle, most of the shingles in that surface area, and possibly the remainder of the roof may need to be redone.^[7]
Advertisement

Add together New Question

Question

How tin can I forestall shingles from becoming damaged?

David Bitan
Covering Contractor & Maintenance Professional person

David Bitan is a roofing professional, licensed contractor, and the owner and founder of Bumble Covering based in Southern California. With over 12 years of construction manufacture experience, David specializes in restoring, repairing, and maintaining residential, commercial, and industrial roofs. With over 60 years of combined experience, Bumble Roofing provides piece of cake, friendly services to structures including residential, commercial, industrial, multi-family unit, and authorities buildings forth with hospitals, hotels, and churches.

Roofing Contractor & Maintenance Professional person

Proficient Answer

Make sure your gutters are cleaned out every couple of months. Having gutters that are clogged causes water and droppings to pool in certain areas of your roof, which can lead to damage.
Question

Tin can I reuse shingles that take been carefully removed?

It is difficult to re-install old used shingles once they are removed. They are usually damaged and the nails take pulled through them. If nothing else, you have to use NP1 or equivalent sealant to re-seal the tabs since the sealant will no longer be any good on used shingles. Yous have to re-seal the tabs so the current of air does not blow them up and cause farther damage.
Question

Can I re-shingle a roof without taking off the one-time ones? And if all shingles are to be replaced, what else should exist done when redoing a roof?

You can leave on the sometime shingles, but really shouldn't. Every layer of shingles adds weight, which your rafters must now hold upward. Information technology's code in nearly places to non have more two layers of roofing materials. If you have to redo your roof, y'all should also inspect the soffit and gable flashing, eve troughs, and flashing around any chimney, plumbing vent, cranium vent, etc and consider replacing those equally well. Especially if they are the plastic type, as they may look okay simply be decayed by the sun to the point of beingness brittle.
Question

How exercise I replace the shingles at the superlative where the roof peaks?

The ridge cap shingles are just regular 3 tab shingles that are cut and turned sideways. They are nailed downward so that the nails are not exposed. Take a stack of regular 3 tab shingles and cutting little v notches at the top edge of the shingles between the tabs. This besides keeps the ridge shingles from existence completely square and the corners constrict in nicely.
Question

Tin can I reuse the shingles on my roof afterwards replacing some plywood?

It depends. Most shingles take a 15-25 year lifetime guarantee, and so it depends on the age and condition of the shingles if they tin can be used over again.

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advert

Video

In common cold weather, avoid excessive bending of the shingles every bit information technology could crusade peachy
If you are unsure about anything, don't gamble your well-being; delight consult a roofing professional.
In hot atmospheric condition, cool shingles with a water hose to allow like shooting fish in a barrel separation of the shingle tabs

Advertizing

About This Article

Article Summary X

In club to replace damaged roof shingles, yous need to remove the damaged shingle, install the new one, and seal the edges. Use the claw of a hammer to loosen the adhesive under the tabs 2 rows above the damaged shingles, and and so loosen any exposed nails with the claw. Work your mode down to the damaged shingles, loosening adhesive and nails so you can pull the damaged shingles free. Subsequently that, place the new shingle in the same position and use shingle cement to reseal the edges of all of the shingles. Hammer in any exposed nails that you loosened so the shingles are secure. To learn how to fix croaky or split shingles instead of replacing them, continue reading!

Did this summary help you?

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 336,174 times.