Roof Preparation

• Preparing the roof is an important part of the procedure. The roof needs to be stripped clean of any prior roofing materials and debris. Inspect the roof for any nails sticking out or sharp pieces of debris that might have slipped through the cleaning process--anything sharp left behind can work its way through your roofing material and cause a leak later. Roll out the tar paper--starting with the bottom edge of the roof--and attach it with simplex nails. Overlap each new run by four to six inches as you work your way to the top. If you are working in a valley section, extend the tar paper out away from the center of the valley to be overlapped by the tar paper sections laid on the flat part of the roof.
  
  

Valleys and Edges

• Form a drip edge, which is a piece of tin or plastic that has been formed into an "L" channel, that sits on the top edge of the roof and rolls over the side. This protects the edge and makes it look uniform. Attach it to all perimeter edges by sliding it into place and running nails through the side that sits on the roof. Next, work any valleys that you might have with metal flashing. Roll the flashing down the valley, making sure the sides of the valley are overlapped. Attach it with nails along the edge between six and eight inches apart, then cover the edges and ends with roofing cement.
  
  

Installation of the Roll Roofing

• Starting with the bottom edge of the roof, run your roll roofing out all the way across the section that you are working on, keeping it flush with the bottom. When you are satisfied that it is straight and flush with the bottom edge of the roof, nail off the top edge of your roll roofing. Position your nail about two inches down from the top and between four and six inches apart. Measure up the roof the width of your roll roofing--allowing for a 4-inch overlap--and chalk a line; this will help keep each run of the roofing straight. After the second run has been made, go back down to where it overlaps the first one and fold the roll roofing back. Apply roofing cement to the top three inches of the edge of the lower run, leaving an inch of the overlap clean so cement does not bleed out when you lay the top layer back down. Continue this throughout the entire roof, using bigger overlaps and extra cement in problem places such as valleys and around pipes. When all sides are done, cap any peaks with roll roofing by overlapping the peak and cementing the cap down. Do not attach the cap with nails, as this can cause leaks.