Have you found a local roofing contractor to install a new asphalt shingle roof, but you are a bit puzzled about why they plan to hand nail the roof? While it may seem easier to use a nail gun to automate this job, hand nailing is actually the better option for the following reasons.
Improved Accuracy
Your new asphalt shingle roof is supposed to prevent water from getting into your home. While it does require putting many small holes in the roof with nails to secure the shingles in place, the nails are supposed to be placed with accuracy to prevent water from getting through. When you use an automated nail gun to get the job done, you lose much of the accuracy that comes with installing the shingles by hand.
For example, a nail gun may do the job so fast that the roofer does not place the nail in the shingle correctly. It is possible to put a nail in sideways where it is not fully going into the roof. Nails can also be too close together, requiring more nails to be put into the roof. This is not good when the goal is to prevent water from getting in.
Hand nailing goes slowly, but it ensures that each nail will be placed with accuracy. The full length of the nail will make its way into the roof, and it will be placed in the proper position. This helps ensure that shingles create a solid seal with your roof.
Better Control
Hand nailing shingles will cause the roofing contractor to go the extra step to verify that each shingle has been securely fixed to the roof. By being close to the shingles when nailing them in, it gives the opportunity to give the shingles a brief inspection to verify that it is secure. This is something that you may not get when you are using a nail gun, since the nature of using a nail gun makes it more work to check each shingle. Roofing contractors also do not have to worry about equipment failing since they are in full control of their hammer. If a nail gun loses pressure and is not driving nails deep enough, the roofer won't know for sure unless they think to check .
As you can see, the process of hand nailing shingles is not worse than trying to automate the job. Reach out to your residential roofing contractor if you have any questions about the roof installation process.
One day when we were all sitting in our living room, I thought I felt a drop of water fall onto my arm. At first, I figured it was my imagination, but when the second one fell, I knew we had an issue. Although it wasn't raining that day, it had rained the day before, so I started looking for the source of the problem. After looking in my attic, I could tell what the problem was, and I knew I had to fix it. I started looking for ways to stop the water immediately, but it just wasn't working for me. Fortunately, roofers came out, fixed the problem, and showed me what I needed to do to clean up the mess. Read more on this blog.