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Ridge Cap Shingle Technique Proper?

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Ridge Cap Shingle Technique Proper? jhujsak 03-11-2007
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Posted by on March 11, 2007, 8:19 pm


Hi,

I have a 12 year old asphalt shingle roof in an area in California
with periodic high winds. Recently I noticed pieces of ridge cap
shingles appearing in my driveway after a windy period of a few days.
I went up on the roof and found the roof to be in excellent shape but
the ridge cap shingles falling apart.

Replacing the ridge cap shingles is usually no big deal and there are
plenty of good guides out there written by authors such as Mike
Guertin.

On this roof, however, the original roofer made the roof cap from
layers of stacked shingles four thick. I.e. where you would normally
place a single shingle a stack of four is in place. This gives an
interesting visual effect that's sort of oriental in appearance.

Here's the question, however. To keep these thick shingle "stacks" in
place the roofer used exposed nails all along the ridge. I.e every 4
inches or so is a roofing nail (no doubt necessary to keep them from
blowing off). We get very high heat here in the summer (110+) so the
adhesive on the tiles should bond nicely. Normally the nails are
hidden below the overlaying shingle and you don't have any exposed
nails until the very end of the ridge. To which you normally apply
roofing sealer. Not so here, all the nails are exposed. No sign of
sealer.

Now, that said, the ridge has never leaked. Is there a trick in the
fact that you are nailing through 5 shingles (4 in the new layer and
one below)? Is this proper roofing technique? I do like the effect and
could replace it just as it was originally installed. I wouldn't want
to perpetuate a bad practice, however.

I could really use an opinion from someone more experienced than I. My
total experience is one 2000' sq ft. house which was originally wood
shingle. We converted it to asphalt with the guidance of an
experienced contractor friend.

--jhujsak


Posted by Lawrence on March 12, 2007, 11:39 am


On Mar 11, 7:19 pm, jhuj...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a 12 year old asphalt shingle roof in an area in California
> with periodic high winds. Recently I noticed pieces of ridge cap
> shingles appearing in my driveway after a windy period of a few days.
> I went up on the roof and found the roof to be in excellent shape but
> the ridge cap shingles falling apart.
>
> Replacing the ridge cap shingles is usually no big deal and there are
> plenty of good guides out there written by authors such as Mike
> Guertin.
>
> On this roof, however, the original roofer made the roof cap from
> layers of stacked shingles four thick. I.e. where you would normally
> place a single shingle a stack of four is in place. This gives an
> interesting visual effect that's sort of oriental in appearance.
>
> Here's the question, however. To keep these thick shingle "stacks" in
> place the roofer used exposed nails all along the ridge. I.e every 4
> inches or so is a roofing nail (no doubt necessary to keep them from
> blowing off). We get very high heat here in the summer (110+) so the
> adhesive on the tiles should bond nicely. Normally the nails are
> hidden below the overlaying shingle and you don't have any exposed
> nails until the very end of the ridge. To which you normally apply
> roofing sealer. Not so here, all the nails are exposed. No sign of
> sealer.
>
> Now, that said, the ridge has never leaked. Is there a trick in the
> fact that you are nailing through 5 shingles (4 in the new layer and
> one below)? Is this proper roofing technique? I do like the effect and
> could replace it just as it was originally installed. I wouldn't want
> to perpetuate a bad practice, however.
>
The exposed nails are short roofing nails which probably do not go all
the way through the stack of 4 shingles you describe. That is why no
cement was required. The first layer of shingles which actually
protect your roof was not punctured. The other layers were just nailed
to each other since they are only decorative. The shingles overlap so
that also holds them down. That's just a guess on my part.


Posted by Lawrence on March 12, 2007, 12:15 pm


On Mar 11, 7:19 pm, jhuj...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a 12 year old asphalt shingle roof in an area in California
> with periodic high winds. Recently I noticed pieces of ridge cap
> shingles appearing in my driveway after a windy period of a few days.
> I went up on the roof and found the roof to be in excellent shape but
> the ridge cap shingles falling apart.
>
> Replacing the ridge cap shingles is usually no big deal and there are
> plenty of good guides out there written by authors such as Mike
> Guertin.
>
> On this roof, however, the original roofer made the roof cap from
> layers of stacked shingles four thick. I.e. where you would normally
> place a single shingle a stack of four is in place. This gives an
> interesting visual effect that's sort of oriental in appearance.
>
> Here's the question, however. To keep these thick shingle "stacks" in
> place the roofer used exposed nails all along the ridge. I.e every 4
> inches or so is a roofing nail (no doubt necessary to keep them from
> blowing off). We get very high heat here in the summer (110+) so the
> adhesive on the tiles should bond nicely. Normally the nails are
> hidden below the overlaying shingle and you don't have any exposed
> nails until the very end of the ridge. To which you normally apply
> roofing sealer. Not so here, all the nails are exposed. No sign of
> sealer.
>
> Now, that said, the ridge has never leaked. Is there a trick in the
> fact that you are nailing through 5 shingles (4 in the new layer and
> one below)? Is this proper roofing technique? I do like the effect and
> could replace it just as it was originally installed. I wouldn't want
> to perpetuate a bad practice, however.
>
The exposed nails are short roofing nails which probably do not go all
the way through the stack of 4 shingles you describe. That is why no
cement was required. The first layer of shingles which actually
protect your roof was not punctured. The other layers were just nailed
to each other since they are only decorative. The shingles overlap so
that also holds them down. That's just a guess on my part.


Posted by RicodJour on March 12, 2007, 3:19 pm


jhujsak@gmail.com wrote:
>
> I have a 12 year old asphalt shingle roof in an area in California
> with periodic high winds. Recently I noticed pieces of ridge cap
> shingles appearing in my driveway after a windy period of a few days.
> I went up on the roof and found the roof to be in excellent shape but
> the ridge cap shingles falling apart.
>
> Replacing the ridge cap shingles is usually no big deal and there are
> plenty of good guides out there written by authors such as Mike
> Guertin.
>
> On this roof, however, the original roofer made the roof cap from
> layers of stacked shingles four thick. I.e. where you would normally
> place a single shingle a stack of four is in place. This gives an
> interesting visual effect that's sort of oriental in appearance.
>
> Here's the question, however. To keep these thick shingle "stacks" in
> place the roofer used exposed nails all along the ridge. I.e every 4
> inches or so is a roofing nail (no doubt necessary to keep them from
> blowing off). We get very high heat here in the summer (110+) so the
> adhesive on the tiles should bond nicely. Normally the nails are
> hidden below the overlaying shingle and you don't have any exposed
> nails until the very end of the ridge. To which you normally apply
> roofing sealer. Not so here, all the nails are exposed. No sign of
> sealer.
>
> Now, that said, the ridge has never leaked. Is there a trick in the
> fact that you are nailing through 5 shingles (4 in the new layer and
> one below)? Is this proper roofing technique? I do like the effect and
> could replace it just as it was originally installed. I wouldn't want
> to perpetuate a bad practice, however.
>
> I could really use an opinion from someone more experienced than I. My
> total experience is one 2000' sq ft. house which was originally wood
> shingle. We converted it to asphalt with the guidance of an
> experienced contractor friend.

The additional shingles may act as an additional water barrier, or
there may be a concealed layer of Ice & Water Shield (or approved
equal) that is the real water barrier. There is so little water
hitting six inches down form the peak that it's unlikely it would leak
even if there was only one cap shingle. That's what I would do -
insert a self-sealing membrane under the cap shingles to keep the
water from hitting the wood. With the membrane I wouldn't worry at
all.

My question for you: how is the roof ventilated? Is there a ridge
vent?

R


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