Can You Install Asphalt Roofing Tiles?

If you want to renovate your home, you often need to think outside the box. Some of most popular home renovation projects are quite expensive, but smart homeowners can keep down their costs by doing the labor on their own. This is definitely true with roofing installation, where the materials often cost less then the labor to install them. Roofing is time consuming and (possibly) dangerous work compared to other projects, but it is also quite simple if you are dealing with asphalt tiles. This article should help you decide whether or not you can install your own asphalt tiles. It gives a basic rundown of the process and the physical requirements of the project.

The Work Is Physical

It's important to realize that roofing work is always a little bit physical and difficult, particularly if you have a pitched roof. That is, standing on an angled roof is very hard on your body. Usually, roofs with asphalt shingles will have solid decks, so at least the surface is stable to walk on. If you have trouble climbing up a ladder or spending a lot of time on your knees, roofing work is definitely not for you.

You Need Helpers

Another important thing to realize about roofing is that it requires a few people. You want to have at least three people on the job at any given time in order to streamline the workflow. Most roofs are made up of thousands of shingles. Every single one of these shingles need to be tacked to the roof with a hammer. So, you are essentially going to swing your hammer several thousand times in the course of the project, all while atop an angled roof. If several people are attaching the shingles at once, you are definitely going to cover more roof deck in a more reasonable amount of time.

Professional Inspections

Even if you are going to do the work yourself, you should have a professional inspect your roof deck. The deck should be inspected to make sure it is structurally sound and capable of maintaining a waterproof seal. Some people will do all the work on their own without having their deck or roof inspected,and then end up with problems simply because they didn't pay for a professional inspection.

Spending a couple hundred dollars to have a contractor inspect your roof is going to be much cheaper than the possible thousands it would cost to have it repaired in the future.

If installing your own roof seems like too large a task, you can always hire a company like Jps Remodeling and Home Repair to do it for you.