Not all roof installation projects require you to call a local roofing company to do the job, some small, one story shingling projects are perfectly safe for homeowners to do themselves, like putting a roof on a tiny home or other similar sized structure.
If you know what you’re doing, you can quickly shingle tiny house, dog houses, and other outdoor structures. Although it might seem a little challenging at first, this is a DIY project that’s worthwhile trying.
Here is the process for shingling a roof for a small structure, like a garden shed or tiny house.
Evaluate the condition of the tiny house’s roof
If this is a new roof and not a roof replacement, you can ignore this step.
Before you start, be aware of what you’re getting into. Here are some things to consider.
The tiny house roof either has one sloping side or multiple planes that meet in a peak. Ridge cap shingles are required to cover roof peaks, so add them to your shopping list.
Do you plan to reshingle the tiny house? If so, it will be necessary to start by removing the old shingles. This necessitates an additional step and more tools.
The roof may be harmed. Before shingling the roof, the sheathing must be in good condition. Replace any areas that have holes, cracks, or other damage indicators.
Measure, measure, measure the roof
Before making any trips to buy roofing supplies, measure everything at least twice and calculate the surface area of the roof you’ll need using a roofing calculator like this one. You’ll need the slope as well as the perimeter measurements.
Now that you have an idea of how much roofing material the roof will require.
Sales of roofing materials, including shingles, are made in squares. A square of shingles, for instance, covers 100 square feet. Knowing your total square footage will help you decide how much material to buy.
Tools and materials needed for your roofing project
- Eye Protection
- Work Gloves
- Safety gear: work gloves, eye protection, proper footwear, sun protection
- Hammer and roofing nails or nail gun
- Staple gun
- Chalk for marking
- Sheet metal shears
- Ladder
- Utility knife
- Tape measure
- Tarp for lawn
- Magnet for clearing any dropped nails
- Dumpster or large garbage can for debris
Roofing supplies needed:
- Plywood
- Staples Nails Galvanized steel nails measuring 1 1/4″
- Roofing Shingles
- Drip edge (or materials to create one)
- roofing felt or underlayment
- Nail sealant or roofing cement
Optional materials for roofing project
- Roof rake, roof spade, or pitchfork (to remove outdated shingles)
- (To remove damaged roof sheathing, use a circular saw)
- Shingles for the tiny house’s apex’s ridge
- 1′′ to 1 14″ round plastic cap roofing nails are used as ridge cap nails.
Roofing project prep
Cut the grass close to the structure and clear away the grass trimmings.
Wrap the tiny house in a tarp and lay tarps over any plants/landscaping you need to protect, this is for easy clean up after the roof installation is complete.
Set a ladder next to the tiny house and please review our ladder safety guide for homeowners.
Lay out your supplies and equipment on the tarp. Set up the dumpster or garbage can within reach of your ladder.
Remove any outdated shingles and look for damage in step five. Use a pitchfork, roofing rake, or roofing spade to remove old shingles. Pry a row of shingles free from the sheathing by sliding the tool underneath them. Pull out any remaining nails or staples after you have taken off all the shingles.
Check the roof for defects and repair damaged sheathing on roof. Remove damaged areas, cut away enough damage to get to a rafter’s center. Replace the plywood sheathing over the holes. Nail the sheathing to the exposed rafters of the tiny house.
Install the Roof Drip Edge
Does your tiny house need a roof drip edge? A metal drip edge should be cut to the same length as the bottom edge of the roof. Cut off that portion with some tin snips. Put the drip edge up against the bottom edge of the roof. Nail it down, leaving about 12″ between each nail. Apply the same technique to the roof’s sides. Apply drip edge to the top edge of a mono-pitched roof before shingling it. Glue the plywood sheathing to the felt underlayment. Over the surface of the sheathing, roll the felt underlayment. Use a nail gun to staple the underlayment into position. Chalk lines across the underlayment and up it.
Mark the roof first with horizontal lines as follows:
Mark the areas where the shingles should go with chalk or a pencil and a tape measure. Mark the underlayment 12 inches from the bottom edge on one side, then mark the tiny house’s remaining height in 5-inch segments. On the opposite side of the underlayment, make the same marks, then draw lines connecting them. Draw vertical lines now across the roof: At the top and bottom edges of the roof, mark the center and then draw a line through the marks. Vertical lines should be measured and marked at 6-inch intervals on either side.
Start Installing the Roof Shingles
From the bottom to the top, shingle the roof using a cutting and nailing method. Place the shingles along the lines, cut them to size, and nail them to the roof to shingle it. Place the first shingle down on the underlayment, parallel to the lowest horizontal line, and about one-half inch overhanging an edge.
Trim the shingle with a utility knife, following the direction of the closest vertical chalk line. Fix it with a nail. Finish the surface of the roof by adding starter shingles along the bottom edge. You can either modify regular shingles to serve as a starter row or use a ready-made starter shingle. 3-inch nails are best for installing roofing shingles.
Three-tab roofing shingle mods:
By chopping off a shingle’s tabs, you can make starter shingles. Place the shingles so that the glue strip is over the drip edge, 14 inch above the bottom of the roof, and 12 inch from the side of the roof. The tab side should have an upward angle so that it faces the roof’s peak. The shingles should be pushed down, any adhesive removed, and then nailed into place.
Repeat along the entire edge after chopping the tabs off another shingle.
Use starter roofing shingles as follows:
Cut a 4″ starter shingle piece and place it flush along the edge, with a 14-inch overhang on the drip edge and a 12-inch overhang on the side. Remove any adhesive backing, apply pressure, and then hammer a nail through it. Nail it four times: in the middle, one inch from the edge, and one inch above the sealant strip.
This procedure should be repeated along the bottom edge or edges.
Shingle the roof of your tiny home
Apply shingles in a row over the starter row. A section of shingles should be placed on top of the starter row, overlapping both the starter row and the tabs above it. 5 inches should be exposed.
Next, take off any adhesive, lay the shingle down, and secure it with nails. Without going over the sides or overlapping the shingles, proceed along the row. Over it, place a further row of shingles. Where the seams are, place these shingles in an uneven pattern. Two rows of shingles shouldn’t have seams in the same spot.
In the same manner, shingle the roof up.
The entire roof is shingled. When shingling a tiny house roof, start at the very end. If not, make room for the ridge cap shingles. Stack shingles that are too high. Finish the Top Edge of a Mono-Pitchched or Single Slope Roof in Stage 11A Row tiny house Strip The last complete row of shingles that will fit on the roof without any adhesive seal hanging over the edge should be laid down.
If necessary, trim the shingles so that they are flush with the roof’s top edge.
Cut shingles into strips wide enough to cover the nails in the row below it, when positioned perpendicular to them, in order to prepare the final finishing row.
With the adhesive strip pointing up toward the top edge, place the first strip of shingles on the ground. It should cover any exposed nails on the row below it, be flush with one side, and overhang the edge by approximately 1 12″.
Lay the second shingle strip down so that it overlaps the first strip, then continue in this manner until the end.
With two nails in the adhesive and two in each corner, place the final strip on the floor.
Apply bitumen-based roofing cement to each nail head.
To be flush with the other shingles, trim the final strip’s top and sides.
Along the top edge, coat the exposed shingles with roofing cement.
Strip Cap Technique
For the final row, slice the shingles into strips. As a guide, consider the slots on a three-tab shingle. To install the shingles, bend the tabs over the ridge and secure them with nails to create a cap. On the final strip of shingles, tape the nails.
Finish an Apex Roof Tiny House
You can cut and bend regular shingles to finish a tiny house roof with an apex or peak, or you can use ridge cap shingles to complete the roof. Lay down the regular shingles up until the adhesive area begins to protrude beyond the edge. Cut the shingles that hang over the edge. Place the first ridge cap shingle so that the adhesive section faces the roof and the asphalt section points outward toward the edge. To fasten the first ridge cap shingle, drive a nail through the adhesive portion of the shingle. Start from one end and follow the same path until you reach the center. When you reach the center, fit the final shingle in place by, if necessary, trimming some of the adhesive portion off. The center of the two middle shingles’ exposed adhesive should be covered by the final ridge cap shingle.
At each corner, fasten the final shingle with four nails. Roofing cement is used to cover the nails.
Clean up after roof installation is complete
The materials should be taken out of the tarp and stored. To clear the roof of debris, use a leaf blower. Or very gently sweep the roof. Remove all the tarps and visually inspect the ground and remove any trash, staples, or nails. You can use a large magnet to catch any fallen nails
You can get a properly shingled tiny house, doghouse, garden shed, or other structure by following these instructions for installing a roof. The structure will be more resilient to the elements, stronger, and more appealing.
Take your time, prioritize safety, and don’t hesitate to contact us whenever you need help with your roofing.
