How to Reroof Your House (with Pictures) – wikiHow

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Four Parts:Getting StartedPreparing the RoofPutting on the New RoofMaintaining Your RoofCommunity Q&A

Any homeowner wants their house to be as safe and secure as possible. It all starts with the roof. Though roofing materials generally have a lifespan of 20-30 years, roofs will wear out sooner or later and can cost several thousand dollars to be done professionally. Fortunately, with the right materials, planning, precautions, and the proper application of elbow grease, any homeowner can re-roof their house safely and cheaply. See Step 1 for more information.

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Rent a trash container. It's useful to rent a large trash container to throw the old shingles into. usually, this costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $200. If you keep it as close as possible to the house and cover AC units, porches, and other things you don't want to dent or litter with roofing nails and other debris, you can cut down on clean-up time later.

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Remove the metal flashing around chimneys, vents, and valleys in the roof. Some roofers will reuse the metal flashing if it's good shape, in which case you'd want to carefully remove the nails and pry it up. Flashing in the valleys is almost always trashed, though, so be judicious. Consider replacing all of it while you're in the middle of the project. If it looks suspect, toss it and install new flashing.

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Clean the roof. Sweep the roof as clean as possible, taking the time to remove any stray nails that didn't come up in the removal of the shingles. Reattach loose boards in the sheathing. Examine the sheathing for damage and rotted boards, replacing the damaged sections accordingly.

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Mount drip molding around the perimeter of the roof. Use roofing nails, spaced 12-inches (30-cm) apart, extending 1/4 inch (6.5 mm) to 3/8 inch (1 cm) beyond the edge of the roof, over the felt paper.

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Pop a series of chalk lines with 6-inch (15-cm) spacing. Use the chalk marks to maintain straight course lines for the shingles.

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Do a thorough inspection of your roof at least once a year. If you've gone to all the effort to put a new roof on your house properly, pencil in a regular inspection to make sure it stays up to snuff. Wait for warm weather days to inspect and also do an inspection after a period of rain to check for leaks or other issues. Especially in areas with high winds and nasty weather, it's very important for any homeowner to haul out the ladder and carefully check their roof.

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Look for cracked caulk or rust on your flashing. Metal is especially susceptible to the elements. Examine any exposed flashing for signs that it might be wearing some and re-caulk any effected areas.

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Look for asphalt granules in the gutters. When your shingles start to wear out, you'll start seeing the little protective beads from the shingles come off in the rain and end up in the gutters. This is a sign that the shingles are nearing the end of their life span and will need replaced soon, because they're no longer able to stand up to the sun's UV rays. Start planning for another re-roofing.

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How to Reroof Your House (with Pictures) - wikiHow