What Goes Into a Roof Installation? Main Steps and Best Practices

The installation of your new roof is a job that we take very seriously at Revived Exteriors, and we always ensure it goes over smoothly, efficiently, and quickly.

Our team of roof installation professionals gets it done within one day and, from tear-off to clean-up, we get it done right. You can count on your roof to provide you with reliable protection and to stand out in the neighborhood for a long time to come.

But in order to do that, it needs to be installed right. 

So, what should you expect during a roof installation and what are some of the best roofing practices? 

Follow along as we lay out the entire process in this article, along with some biggest dos and don’ts.

First Things First – The Tear-Off

Every new roof installation has to start with the tear-off of the old one. Laying shingles on top of shingles can be done sometimes, but it is not a recommended roofing practice, especially if there are already two or more layers of shingles on your roof. 

Revived’s roofing team will carefully tear off your dated or damaged shingles, laying your roof bare and getting it nice and ready for a brand-new set of asphalt shingles.

Detaching the Gutter Hangers 

After the tear-off, one of the first things roofers direct their attention to is the gutter apron, which is the part hanging from the edge of your roof through which the gutters are attached to the roof. 

In order for the new roof to be installed adequately, the gutter apron needs to be taken out first. So, we typically detach all the gutters to take the apron out, which is the optimal way to do it. But there are some roofers who choose a sub-optimal, cost-cutting method instead. 

They will actually leave the gutters in and cut around their hangers to detach the apron, and then cut into your new apron and install it around the gutter hangers. 

It takes just a little bit of extra work to do it right – without the unnecessary cutting and damaging of the apron – and at Revived, we always do it right.

Ice and Water Shield or Felt? Both!

Next, your roofer should install the ice and water shield. Typically, you’ll run into at least one and a half to two rows of ice and water shield on a roof. However, at Revived, we always like to be on the safe side, so we install two rows.

This prevents any water from seeping up behind the shingles. Wondering how? Well, if any water or ice damage ends up lifting up the shingles, the water is going to try to find an entry point through the shingles. This is where the ice and water shield kicks in and prevents the water from going further.

The shield is typically installed on the roof edges, measured at 24 inches past the wall of your home, as well as in the roof valleys. So, anytime you have two adjoining roof parts, you should have the ice and water shield in those valleys to prevent any water from getting in there since there’s a high susceptibility to leaks.

In addition to this, one of the components that’s really necessary on a roof is the felt, and it should be installed on all other parts of the roof where you don’t have the ice and water shield.

At Revived, we use state-of-the-art synthetic felt from GAF that fends off water very successfully, helping it travel down and off of the roof. 

On to the Shingles – Starting with the Starter 

Starter shingles are probably one of the most important components that you have to use on your roof. They should be installed on the roof’s eaves and on the rake ends (anywhere where there’s a gable end).

Starter shingles go underneath the “real” shingles or the main layer of shingles that you see on the surface. Their main job is protecting those vulnerable shingles at the roof’s eaves from getting blown off since those are the areas most prone to wind blow-off.

Installing the Main Shingles  

Now we’ve come to the part that matters to you most, as this is the part of the roof that you see and that you want looking great.

What’s most important here is making sure you’ve got the right quality and the right manufacturer. At Revived Exteriors, we strongly believe that GAF is one of the best asphalt shingle manufacturers in the U.S., if not the world. And they have a pretty stellar product that we prefer to use – the new Timberline HDZ Shingle.

These are very reliable and extremely resistant shingles that have even been tested at hurricane wind forces and came out on top. They have a kind of mechanical fastener on the back, which is a new patented technology that only GAF has, along with the most aggressive sealant in the industry that prevents your shingles from being blown off.

One of the key things that differentiates us from all the other roofing companies is the higher standard for installing shingles. Typically, the industry standard most roofers go by is four nails. But At Revived, we always use six nails minimum per shingle.

This is to make sure that we secure the shingle so aggressively that it never comes off of the roof. After all, we don’t want to be coming back to you to fix leaks but to do other projects, such as your siding or your windows.

Protecting Your Ridge with Seal-a-Ridge 

Seal-a-ridge is a specific type of shingle that is designed for – you’ve guessed it – the ridges, as well as the hips. In other words, wherever you see two parts of a roof coming together on top – that’s where seal-a-ridge should be.

What some roofers use instead of this are the classic three-tab shingles. This is, of course, yet another cost and corner-cutting practice. These roofers cut up the three tabs, fold them, and dog-ear them, creating a makeshift solution to put over the ridges that ultimately won’t hold up and that might void your warranty.  

On the other hand, seal-a-ridge shingles are actually designed to be bent over the ridge or the hip of the roof, so you want to use them to protect and cover your roof.

With this, your roof installation is pretty much done. All that’s left is the clean-up, which our team also does impeccably. Don’t worry about debris, old shingles, or loose nails lying around your property, as that will be taken care of promptly.

Revived Exteriors at Your Service

Now that you know everything that goes into a roof installation, you can be that much more aware of what your roofer does and clearly say what you want and don’t want to be done.

And if you want everything done perfectly and at the highest industry standards, make sure to call your best team of Bolingbrook roofers!