How to Install Asphalt Roof Shingles
Learn how to lay underlayment, starter strips, and architectural asphalt shingles with proper staggering, nailing patterns, and ridge cap installation.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Roofing nail gun or roofing hammer
- ✓ Chalk line reel
- ✓ Utility knife with hook blades
- ✓ Tape measure
- ✓ Pneumatic air compressor and hose
- ✓ Tin snips
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Architectural asphalt shingles
- ✓ Starter strip shingles
- ✓ 1-1/4 inch galvanized roofing nails
- ✓ Drip edge flashing
- ✓ Self-adhering ice-and-water membrane
- ✓ Synthetic roofing felt underlayment
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Anchor a certified fall-arrest harness and safety rope before stepping onto any pitched surface.
- • Work only in dry weather; damp roof sheathing or morning dew creates severe slip hazards.
- • Secure ladders with stabilizer arms and extend them at least 3 feet above the roof eave.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Install Drip Edge and Underlayment
Nail metal drip edge flush along the eaves first. Roll ice-and-water barrier along the bottom edge, extending past eaves by 1/4 inch, then roll synthetic underlayment over the remaining roof decking with 4-inch horizontal overlaps. Nail rake-edge drip edge on top of the underlayment along the roof sides.
- • Metal drip edge visible along all outer edges with underlayment neatly layered over eave metal and under rake metal.
- • Underlayment lies completely flat without ripples or bubbles.
- • Installing rake drip edge under the underlayment instead of over it.
- • Leaving wrinkles in the underlayment that telegraph through shingles.
Snap Horizontal and Vertical Layout Lines
Measure up from the eave drip edge and snap a horizontal chalk line for the starter course, allowing a 1/2-inch shingle overhang. Snap horizontal reference lines every 4 or 5 courses (typically 5 inches per reveal) to keep rows straight across the entire roof plane. Snap vertical plumb lines every 3 feet to prevent drift.
- • Crisp blue or red chalk grid lines visible across the underlayment parallel to the eave and perpendicular to the rake.
- • Measuring only from one corner without verifying parallel alignment at both roof ends.
Fasten Starter Strip Shingles
Align manufactured starter shingles along the eave edge with the adhesive sealant strip facing upward and positioned closest to the eave. Overhang the starter strip 1/2 inch beyond the drip edge at both the eave and the rake edges. Fasten with four roofing nails placed 2 to 3 inches above the bottom edge.
- • A continuous black starter row extending along the entire bottom eave with a uniform 1/2-inch drip overhang.
- • Installing the starter strip with the adhesive strip pointing toward the top instead of the eave.
- • Placing starter strip end joints directly aligned with first-course shingle joints.
Lay First Course and Establish Stagger Pattern
Place a full shingle directly over the starter strip at the rake edge, flush with the starter's outer boundaries. Cut subsequent starter shingles for higher courses: cut 6 inches off the second course, 11 inches off the third, and 17 inches off the fourth (or follow manufacturer offset guidelines). Work diagonally upward in a stepped pattern to maintain standard 5 to 6-inch vertical joint offsets.
- • A stepped, diagonal pyramid of shingles ascending from the rake edge with staggered vertical seams.
- • No vertical butt joints aligned within 4 inches of the row below.
- • Laying shingles straight up in vertical columns rather than staggering diagonally, leading to water tracks.
Nail Shingles on the Manufacturer Fastener Line
Drive four nails per shingle (six in high-wind zones) directly into the designated nail line located between the asphalt laminate layers. Drive nails straight and flush with the surface without sinking the head through the shingle or leaving it proud. Position nails approximately 1 inch in from each edge and space the remaining nails evenly across the line.
- • Nail heads driven completely flat and flush with the shingle surface, exactly centered on the painted nail line.
- • No nails exposed below the overlapping exposure zone of the next course.
- • High-nailing above the manufacturer nail strip, which misses the double-layered reinforcing zone.
- • Over-driving nails so the nail head punches completely through the fiberglass mat.
Cap the Ridge and Hip
Cut individual ridge cap pieces from 3-tab shingles or use pre-manufactured ridge caps. Bend each cap centered over the roof peak and fasten with two nails, one on each side, placed 1 inch from the edge and 5 inches up from the exposed end. Overlap caps continuously along the ridge toward the prevailing wind, finishing the final cap with two nails sealed under roofing cement.
- • A uniform, centered capping strip running along the ridge peak with exact 5-inch exposure.
- • The final two nails on the terminal cap covered neatly with asphalt roof cement.
- • Installing ridge caps against the prevailing wind direction, allowing storm winds to catch underneath.
- • Using standard 1-1/4 inch nails instead of longer 1-3/4 inch nails through multi-layer ridge peaks.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by This Old House — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Roofing nail gun? Standard roofing hammer and hand-driven 1-1/4 inch galvanized roofing nails
- No Manufactured starter strip? 3-tab shingles with the lower tabs trimmed off, installed upside down along the eave
- No Hook blade? Standard utility knife blade scored repeatedly along the back smooth side of the shingle