The Shingle Release Film
When you open up a package of shingles you will notice a plastic strip stuck to the bottom of each shingle. What is this and does it have to be removed? I actually stumbled into giving the wrong answer on the radio recently so I decided to make this entry into the database to be very clear. The plastic does NOT have to be removed which saves a lot of trouble and plastic flying around the yard.
So what is this plastic strip and why does it need to be there in the package and does not need to be removed before nailing the shingle to the roof?
To prevent the wind from catching the loose ends of the shingle tabs there is a line of adhesive on the top of the shingle which just lines up with the loose end of the tab of the shingle above — as you can see in the graphic. The sun will heat this up and make them stick together once on the roof. But we dont want them to stick together in the package so a protective strip is stuck to the bottom of the shingle, just lined up with this adhesive strip when they are stacked in a package. When you spread them out on the roof, the strip does not line up with the adhesive so it does nothing and the adhesive can do its job. Originally these strips had to be removed, but many years ago they changed to a special polyethylene film that will dissolve itself with the heat of the sun over a period of less than one year.
The Importance Of Starter Shingles
Starter shingles act as a barrier for your roof to protect your eaves and rake edges from water leaks.
Mainly, starter strips provide the overlap function so that water can flow seamlessly on your roof without penetrating into your home.
Without this starter course of shingles, your roof will lack the foundation needed to prevent water leaks and uplifts from strong winds.
The most vulnerable parts of your roof that lack starter strips would be your eaves and rake edges.
Installing a starter strip on your roof edges will also have a tar adhesive strip to prevent your shingles from blowing off in harsh weather conditions.
For homeowners who live in high-wind zone areas, a starter strip is even more crucial to the effectiveness and performance of your roof.
How Can Shingles Be Prevented
The best way to prevent shingles is to get the vaccine. It is recommended for people over the age of 50 and for those who have had chickenpox. The vaccine is not 100% effective, but it can reduce the risk of developing shingles by about 50%. There are also some antiviral medications that can be used to treat shingles. These can help to shorten the duration of the illness and reduce the severity of the symptoms.
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Asphalt Shingle Starter Stripsimprove Roof Shingle Wind Resistance
- about about the cellophane strip protecting the glue strip on asphalt roof shingles: should it be removed or not?
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Cellophane strip found on / between asphalt roof shingles:
This article describes the cellophane strips found between individual asphalt roof shingles – atop the glue strip. We explain the purpose of this cellophane strip.
We answer the question: ” Should we remove the cellophane strip over the shingle adhesive when nailing shingles or should it be left in place?” We cite authoritative research from industry experts as well as from shingle manufacturers themselves to give a definitive answer to the asphalt shingle release strip removal question: leave it in place.
We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.
What Are Starter Shingles
A Starter shingle is not to be confused with 3-Tab or architectural shingles. 3-Tab, Laminated, and Architectural shingles are your roof shingles and are placed above your starter strips/shingles.
Some manufacturers refer to starter shingles as starter strips because this also avoids confusion between a starter shingle and roof shingle.
Starter strips also dont have a specific color system, unlike roof shingles. Since your starter strip will be placed below your roof shingles, aesthetics dont matter as much.
Starter strips follow a rectangular design and appear generic however, theyre made of the same material as asphalt shingles: fiberglass.
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Length And Coverage Considerations
When you buy a bundle of shingles for your roof, typically you look at the coverage as a function of area . Starter shingles are not sold by area covered. Rather, the useful dimension here is a linear measurement, i.e., how many linear feet can you get from one bundle. When you measure your roof, youll need to know the total length of all the eave and rake edges. Compare that number to the linear coverage of the starter strip you plan to use, and you can determine how many bundles of starters youll need to get. IKOs Leading Edge Plus is efficiently designed and packaged in such a way that each shingle separates lengthwise into two starter strips. So, a bundle of 18 shingles yields a generous 123 linear feet of coverage per bundle .
Regarding length considerations, it is important that the joints of the starter strip shingle are not coincidental with the joints in the overlying finished roof shingles. If the starter shingles and the finished shingles are the same length, and you correctly begin laying the starters at the eave with about 20 inches removed from the first strip, then joints in both courses will never align. However, if the length dimension of the finished shingle is different from the starter, they may eventually align, depending on how long the eave is. In this case, just monitor the situation, and, if necessary, at a certain point along the eave edge, trim a portion off a starter and continue.
Where Should Starter Strip Shingles Be Installed
There is much debate in the roofing community about where to install starter strip. Most roofers agree that it should be installed along the eaves , while consensus isn’t quite as clear when it comes to the rakes . The argument against installing it along the rakes boils down to it being unnecessary because the rakes aren’t as vulnerable to wind damage as the eaves. However, the problem with this type of argument is it neglects to mention some of the other benefits starter strip shingles can have for your roof when installed in this area. For example, starter strip shingles can make your roof look nicer because they make it easier for your contractor to give the shingles along the rakes an aesthetically pleasing straight edge. They can also prevent rain from flowing over the sides of the rakes by slightly raising the edges of the shingles directing water to flow down to the gutters where it belongs. Besides all this, many contractors will point to evidence that the rakes are just as vulnerable to the elements as the eaves are anyway. All in all, we at My-Pros recommend putting it along both the rakes and the eaves because both areas will benefit greatly from its presence.
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How To Cut And Install Starter Shingles
- Written by Tim Bossie on Jul 08, 2010To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience.Reviewed by
Before you can begin setting asphalt shingles on your roof, you must install a row of starter shingles. These shingles are instrumental in making sure the asphalt shingles are correctly laid out on your roof. If these first shingles are not installed correctly, there will be problems with the entire set of shingles. In addition, this starter course protects the roof by filling in any gaps. Heres a short guide to cutting and installing these starter shingles on your roof.
How Should Starter Strip Shingles Be Installed
A lot of roofers claim you don’t need to use officially designated starter strip shingles and instead opt for using repurposed 3-tab shingles as the starter strip. The obvious problem with this line of thinking is that 3-tab shingles weren’t designed to be starter strip shingles. They aren’t as sufficient at preventing blow offs and rain infiltration because they don’t have the expertly located adhesive strip that regular starter strip shingles have. Repurposing 3-tab shingles is also a messy, time-consuming process. Roofers have to take the time to cut the tabs off the shingles, resulting in a lot of wasted shingle material and makeshift starter shingles whose edges aren’t very straight. In reality, the only reason contractors use three-tabs instead of actual starter strip shingles is not for their customers’ benefit but to save themselves some money. Don’t let a cheapskate contractor put your home at risk by not using legitimate starter strip shingles!
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Lay The Starter Strip
A starter strip is an extra layer of shingles at the edge of the roof. Purchase this in the same color as what you’re choosing for your main field shingles. You can also buy 3-tab shingles and use several of them to create the strip.
Take the starter strip and turn it upside down so that the shingles are facing up or what you would see as the wrong direction. Place this over the underlayment. When you start installing the rest of the shingles, this strip will provide a perfect double layer of protection on the edge.
Once the starter strip is installed, it should hang roughly 1/4 inch past the drip edge. Using your chalk line, mark the location in a straight line across the underlayment where you want the top of the starter strip to sit to achieve the correct overhang. Lay the strip and nail it down. Your nails should go into the tar strip. Add the second layer of shingles on top.
Asphalt Shingle Starter Strip Installation Instructions Codes Standards
- FEMA ASPHALT SHINGLE ROOFING FOR HIGH WIND REGIONS, HOME BUILDERS’ GUIDE TO COASTAL CONSTRUCTION FEMA 499, August 2005, Technical Fact Sheet No. 20,
- FEMA, Asphalt Shingle Roofing for High Wind Regions, Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction, Technical Guide No. 73, retrieved 3/5/13
- GAF’s asphalt starter strip installation tutorial video, GAF HQ, World Headquarters, 1 Campus Drive, Parsippany, NJ 07054 USA, Website: https://www.gaf.com Tel: 1-973-628-3000 retrieved 2019/03/30, original source: www.gaf.com/en-us/roofing-products/residential-roofing-products/starter-strip-shingles/premium/weatherblockerAlso at YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dC0mtN8LVc
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Installing Roof Shingles In 11 Steps:
Related
Technical Information About Gaf Pro
As a GAF Master Elite contractor we prefer to use their factory starter strips, like GAF Pro-Start. They save us time on the install and provide a cleaner appearance than cutting up 3 tab shingles. Factory starter is also a part of the GAF complete roofing system and required to qualify the roof for an upgraded warranty. Here are a few technical points for Pro-Start starter strips :
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Install Ice Dam Protection
If you live in an area with cold, wet winters, this layer will help your roof last longer. Its also required by some regional building codes. Ice dam protection is a thin, adhesive layer installed on the roof deck over the drip edge. The protective layer should have an ¼- to ¾-inch overhang past the eaves.
Roofing Is Intended To Be Installed As A Complete System
Roofing systems achieve the best waterproofing results when installed correctly as a complete system. When having a new roof installed on your home you will need to verify that your roofing contractor has included all of the critical components, other than shingles, of the roofing system in your contract price. Some contractors will offer you a very appealing price but in the end they have removed some of the most critical components of the system in order to provide you with a low price.
Always remember that when it comes to selecting a roofing system that if you cut corners to save a few dollars now you will end up paying for it later as the system begins to fail or needs repair. For more information on what components make up a complete roofing system check out this article I provided for Marcus Anthony Construction, a roofing company in CT.
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Use Either A Trimmed Three
After attaching drip-edge to the eaves of a roof and rolling out underlayment over the drip-edge, its time to install the starter course along the eaves. Youll cover the starter course with the first course of shingles. Running starter courses along the rakes isnt imperative, but its smart because starters stiffen the overhanging shingle edges and create a cleaner sightline from below.
First, determine how much the starter course will overhang the drip-edge: 14 in. to 34 in. overhang is typical, but some roofers allow as much as 1 in. if eave or rake boards are bowed.
Along the eave, extend your tape measure past the drip-edge the amount of the overhang. If that overhang is 1 in., make crayon marks on the underlayment at 7 in. and at 12 in. Do this at both ends of the roof, and snap chalklines through both sets of marks. The 7-in. line indicates the top of the starter course the 12-in. line indicates the top of the first course of shingles.
Starter courses can be three-tab shingles with the bottom 5 in. cut off or a starter strip that comes on rolls in various widths. Starter strips have the advantage of stiffening shingles above and, viewed from below, providing a clean, unbroken line. Still, trimming three-tab shingles is cheaper, so heres a quick look at that method.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Shingles
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. The rash is often accompanied by flu-like symptoms, such as fever, body aches, and headache. In some cases, the rash can also lead to complications, such as pneumonia or meningitis. Treatment for shingles typically includes antiviral medications and pain relief.
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How To Replace Roof Sheeting
If you have water damage like I did, and need to replace some of the roof sheeting, be sure to remove all the damaged material. Water can wick, or soak into the wood well away from the location of a water leak. By removing all suspect material around the leak area, you can have a better feeling about taking care of the issue.
To begin mark the area around the damaged sheeting to be removed using a carpenters pencil or a chalk line can be used for larger areas. Try and keep all the corners and edges straight, square and plumb. This makes it much easier for cutting and fitting the replacement sheeting. You need to have the ends of your sheeting patch centered on the rafters for support.
I recommend cutting the underlayment or tar paper along this line as well. Try to keep as much of the underlayment intact up to the edge of the sheeting being cut out. Its also good to remove the shingles at least 1 foot above the cut-out. This will help properly install the new underlayment in the repaired area. Well cover this more a little later.
To cut the bad sheeting out adjust the depth of your circular saw blade so that it just cuts through the sheet. It should only leave a little make on the rafter underneath. Cutting too deep into the raft could weaken it so be careful.
Note: be sure to check for nails holding the sheeting before cutting. Hitting a nail with your saw can damage the blade and cause flying metal debris.
Materials Needed For Shingle Roof Water Leak Repairs
Below is a list of the materials I put together to complete the job. Most items are pretty self-explanatory, but Ill add a few comments to clarify things as we go. Ive also included a link to the Lake Orion Roofing companies website. They have a good roof anatomy diagram for reference. It will help with identifying all the different parts of the roof and the materials used.
Also, make sure you buy plenty, of the required materials. Its always good to have a little extra on hand for surprises. You can always take it back if you dont need it. The time you save by not having to run back to the store is very important. If youre renting tools like scaffolding or nail guns this could incur extra costs. Or maybe youve hired someone or asked a friend to help. That extra time will cost you extra and could cause some frustration with everyone involved. Research and being prepared will make the job go much smoother.
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