How To Install Starter Strip On A Shingle Roof
What is a starter strip or starter shingle?
At this time, weve already installed our underlayment, drip edge, and ice and water shield, and were getting ready to start installing our shingles. Now before we get into shingles, were gonna install whats called the starter strip . Stater strips are very important as it allows the first layer of shingles to adhere to the edge of the roof. Being that this is a mock roof, we are not going to install starter strip along this edge, but generally you would install it around the entire perimeter of the roof, eves as well as rakes.
This is what a starter shingle generally looks like. This is Owens Corning starter shingles. Some people use shingles that are flipped upside down, we do not recommend that, as it voids manufacturer warranties. If youre using an Owens Corning product, we always recommend using the underlayment and starter shingle all from the same manufacturer, so you can have brand coherence.
So, this is actually two pieces. What you wanna do is just put it down on the roof, give it a fold this way, and a fold on the opposite side, and it tears by itself, no need to use a knife.
What kind of nails should you use to install starter shingles?
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There are two important reasons for using a starter shingle:
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Starter Shingle Roll Owens Corning 1625/
- Starter Shingle Roll Owens Corning 16,25/ , . . , . WeatherLock® . , .
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Where Do The Nails Go
With traditional three-tab shingles, nail location is pretty straightforward most often defined as above each cutout, just below the sealant. With conventional laminated shingles, there is also usually a clearly defined nail line/location. Starter strip shingles, however, do not typically have a well-defined nail location. Although the nails cannot merely be placed randomly, their location on the shingle is less critical than it is for the shingles in the field of the roof. For IKOs Leading Edge Plus starter shingles, the application instructions call for four nails, one at each end, about an inch from the end of the shingle, and two more spaced equally along the shingles length. To ensure the nails dont risk being exposed or interfere with the shingle sealant system, they should be located about 3 to 4 inches from the exterior edge of the shingle.
Isnt it just an upside-down shingle?
One of your friends, who perhaps helped shingle his uncles cottage once, may have told you that the starter shingle is simply a three-tab shingle installed upside down, with the tabs facing up the roof. Well, theres another thing your friend misinformed you about.
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The Importance Of Starter Strips
Starter strips are an important and integral part of an asphalt shingle roof system. They aid the roofs water-shedding function by covering shingle joints at the eaves. They greatly improve the roofs wind resistance by sealing the finished shingles to the roof at eaves and rakes. Whether you choose ready-to-use starters, like Leading Edge Plus, or cut starters manually from three-tab shingles, ensure that your roofers install them along all roof edges.
To learn more about starter strip shingles, or to have them installed on your roof, please visit our Contractor Locator to find a local roofer in your area.
Nailing The Starter Shingle Roll
If you’re installing the shingle roll a day or two before the roof shingles, it can be nailed every six inches, 1″ below the top of the shingle roll. If you’re installing the roof right away, the shingle roll shouldn’t need any nails, because it gets nailed along with the roof shingles. If you’re using three-tab shingles, make sure the nails won’t end up between the cutouts in the three-tab shingles.
It’s best to apply the starter shingle roll on the same day you’re going to start laying the roof shingles anyway because if left exposed, the self-seal strip might end up littered with leaves, airborne dust, and stupid bugs who always seem to think sticky, gooey, melted tar is a really good place to land.
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Starter Shingle Roll Disadvantages
The one drawback to the starter shingle roll when working alone is figuring out a way to get the roll to stay in place on the eaves if you need to move your scaffolding. My scaffold pic is 20 feet long, but because I almost always work alone, I only have one. The paper backing on the shingle roll is very slippery and will slide off the roof, which will cause the shingle roll to crease or tear. The two solutions are leaning it on a ladder rung if there’s one handy, or tacking a roofing nail to the deck and balancing the roll on the nail. The image below shows the roof nail solution.
Do Starter Shingles Need To Be Sealed
Starter strips have a sealant, but they will be less likely to lift in strong winds if you can also seal them to the other parts of the roofs edge. You will typically also have drip-edge and ice and water membrane as well as the first course of shingles on the edge of your roof. You can use IKOs EdgeSeal® starter roll to seal these components together and significantly increase wind resistance. EdgeSeal® is a double-sided membrane that rolls on quickly, like tape. It will help prevent wind uplift and blow-off.
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Why Do Some Shingles Need Unique Shingle Starters
Normally, the finished shingles cover the starters entirely, so, as mentioned above, the color of starters is completely irrelevant. However, certain shingle designs, such as IKOs Armourshake, have intermittent lower exposed tabs. When roofers install those shingles at the eave on the first course, the starter is visible, and, therefore, its color is relevant. In this case, an additional starter shingle course, in matching colors to the finished shingle, is required as a secondary starter layer.
There are also performance reasons to use Armourshake with certain architectural shingles. It adds a second layer to the lowest shingles so that the entire roof now has two shingle layers. This coverage ensures better performance.
Starter Shingle Roll Installation
The starter shingle roll gets installed the same way as regular individual starter shingles except that it gets rolled on. The self-sealing strip goes on the bottom, facing up so it will stick to the underside of the roof shingles. Pull some of the paper backing off the shingle roll to expose the adhesive and press the roll onto the roof’s deck. Keep pulling the paper backing off while pressing the roll onto the deck.
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Starter Strip Plus Shingle
Helps Protect Against Nature’s Elements
Add a tough, yet beautiful layer of defense with strong adhesion that resists blow-offs from the roof deck.
Helps Protect Against Nature’s Elements
Add a tough, yet beautiful layer of defense with strong adhesion that resists blow-offs from the roof deck.
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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.
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Where Do They Go
Historically, starter strip shingles have been used not only at the lower eave edge of the roof, but experienced professionals also use them at the gable, or rake edges of roofs. At the eave, the starters provide a simple way to cover the joints between the finish shingles in the first course, ensuring complete water-shedding roof coverage. As well, starter shingles have a sealant strip, and, when positioned correctly, the sealant strip will be on the top surface and at the lowest edge of the roof.
At the roofs rake edges, the starter doesnt necessarily perform that joint-covering function it performs at the eave, but it is integral in the roofs overall wind resistance. At the rake, the sealant strip will be positioned at the outer roof edge and once warmed by the sun, it will help seal the rake ends of all the finish roof shingles. A simpler and very useful purpose for using starter shingles along the rake edge is that it gives the installer a nice straight line to use as a guide when ending each course of the field shingles. So, when observers look up at the roof gable ends, theyll see an aesthetically pleasing uniform line rather than ragged and uneven shingle ends.
Whether installed at the eave or the rake, the starter shingles should overhang the edge of the roof by ¼ inch to ¾ inch. Typically, the finish shingles are then installed to align with the edge of the starters.
Do You Need A Starter Course With Architectural Shingles
You do need to use a starter course with architectural shingles. The starter edge will help seal the edges and cover your shingle joints. As it wont be visible on the finished roof, you dont need to worry about the look of your starter strip and whether it matches your architectural shingles. You can instead use the same starter strip that youd use for 3-tab shingles.
However, your specific shingle may call for a specific kind of starter shingle, both for performance and aesthetic reasons. For example, if youve chosen IKOs Armourshake shingles, you should use IKO Armour Starter along with either IKOs EdgeSeal® starter roll or our standard Leading Edge Plus starter.
Using the correct starter will ensure your shingles perform as you expect them to, so be sure to look at the application instructions on your shingles to find out which starter strip they need.
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Starter Shingle Roll Dimensions
There are several brands of shingle rolls and the sizes range from 7.2 – 9.0 inches tall by 33.3 – 33.5 feet long. The Owens-Corning roll measures 7.2″ x 33.3 feet. The image below shows the shingle roll height in relation to a standard three-tab shingle. It’s easy to see how the top of the shingle roll will get nailed along with the shingles.