Private construction and the use of soft roofing is a fairly relevant topic. This material has a lot of advantages. Among them are light weight, absolute tightness, visual appeal, the ability to be used on a wide variety of roof shapes, long useful life and low cost of soft roofing. Moreover, the rain does not drum on such a roof, but rustles quietly. In addition to high performance and technical characteristics, the material allows you to install a soft roof yourself, without involving specialists.
The concept of a soft roof
Soft roofing is a modern material, the base of which is fiberglass sheets impregnated on both sides with rubber bitumen. Rubber bitumen is highly airtight and moisture resistant, which is why soft roofing has become so widespread in the construction of buildings. Also, soft roofing contains a special coating that increases wear resistance and prevents the roll covering from sticking together.
Soft roofing is considered an ideal covering for roofs with a slope angle of at least 11 degrees. Therefore, when choosing a material for such strict requirements, be careful. Soft roofing is often called bitumen shingles, which are used as the top layer of the roofing cake and differ from other materials in its structure, which resembles rolled materials.
Styling tools
Flexible roofing can be laid by 1 person. The only requirement for the roof surface, which we have already mentioned, is a slope of no more than 11º. But the maximum slope angle is not limited. Laying a soft roof with your own hands requires the following materials and tools: a hammer, a knife, mastic, sealant, a mastic trowel, roofing nails, eaves and end strips, a waterproofing carpet, a ridge-eaves strip and work gloves.
Ventilation device
The ventilation system is able to provide air circulation, which is necessary to prevent condensation from occurring on the lower part of the base. Neglecting this stage when laying soft roofing on the roof will cause the rafter system to begin to rot, and ice and icicles will form in winter.
The constituent elements of the roof ventilation system are ventilation ducts and outlets, gaps between the waterproofing and the base (minimum 5 millimeters). Natural ventilation can be provided by ventilation holes that are distributed evenly under the eaves.
Lining layer
Cornice strips are made of metal and attached to the overhangs of the cornices on a lining. They are required to protect the edges of the sheathing. Gable strips are also made of metal; they are attached to the ends of the roof to protect the edges of the sheathing. The valley carpet provides additional protection of the roof from precipitation. Choose it according to the color of the flexible tiles.
In places where leaks are most likely, you need to create a lining layer: on valleys, roof ends and eaves. A special feature of the installation is compliance with the direction (bottom to top) and overlap: in the longitudinal direction - 150 millimeters, in the transverse direction - 100 millimeters. It is customary to coat the overlap areas with bitumen mastic.
It is customary to reinforce the valleys and ridges by 500 and 250 millimeters, respectively. In this case, the valleys must be equipped with a lining layer on both sides, and along the ends and eaves overhangs it should be laid to a width of at least 400 millimeters.
The lining is nailed to the base with galvanized roofing nails every 200 millimeters. The underlay not only protects the roof from moisture, but also from destruction if the installation of the soft roof is suspended.
Preparatory work
The base to which you will attach the soft roof must be solid. This is precisely why the process of installing a roof made of soft tiles differs from roofs for which other materials are used. For example, metal tiles must be laid on a sheathing in which a gap is allowed between the beams, which is explained by the high rigidity of the metal tiles. A soft roof does not possess these qualities and therefore requires preliminary installation of a solid foundation.
For arranging the base, you can use oriented strand board, moisture-resistant plywood with a thickness of 9 millimeters or more, as well as tongue and groove or edged boards. If you have chosen a board as the base, it is recommended to first keep it in a stack until an equilibrium moisture level is reached.
Buy material in winter and use in summer. The width of the boards is no more than 100 millimeters. It is desirable that the material has the same thickness and is sawed on a band saw. The maximum moisture content of wood is 20%.
The video about the technology of laying soft roofs shows that such materials need to be laid with the seams shifted - staggered, leaving a gap of 1 centimeter between them. The surface must be dry, clean and smooth. The quality of installation and service life of the soft roof will depend on these conditions.
The roofing pie must necessarily have the following layers: a waterproofing layer laid on the rafters; mineral wool insulation if you are planning to install an attic; waterproofing roofing carpet laid overlapping on the base from the outside.
Subtleties of installing a soft roof
To cover a roof with a soft roof with your own hands, in addition to having free time, you also need good weather. It is customary to carry out work in warm, dry weather, and the air temperature should not fall below plus 5 Celsius. If, due to necessity, it is necessary to lay a soft roof in winter at an inopportune time, the tiles must be kept in a building at room temperature before starting work. You can also use a hot air burner.
The choice of this temperature regime is explained by the characteristics of the shingle - a sheet consisting of 3-4 “tiles”. It can be attached to the surface with nails or using a self-adhesive layer located on the inside. The tightness of the tiles is ensured by the heat of the sun; under its influence, the sheets are soldered to the base and to each other. This does not happen at sub-zero temperatures, and high-quality insulation does not work.
Soft tiles should be used simultaneously from 5-6 packages and selected one element at a time to avoid sharp differences in shades in case it is necessary to repair the soft roof with elements from another package. It is this property that constitutes another advantage of this material: a slight difference in shades facilitates the process of replacing tiles and decorates its matte surface.
Choice of mastic
To lay the top layer of a soft roof, you should use a bitumen-polymer material, which allows you to create a continuous elastic coating that can withstand temperature and mechanical deformations of the base. According to the technology of laying soft roofing, it is recommended to use cold and hot mastics to attach rolled material to the roof.
Cold mastics are traditionally used for the internal layers of the roof, and the hot substance is used as an external coating. Cold mastics include roofing felt and bitumen, and hot mastics include tar and roofing felt. The mastic used must contain bitumen and a pulverized mixture or fiber filler. Among the dusty materials are lime, gypsum and ash.
Production of bitumen mastic
You can buy bitumen mastic, but you can also make it yourself. To do this, take bitumen, which is close to 80% of mastic, and filler. By taking 2 portions of bitumen and diesel fuel per 1 portion of filler, you will get a cold mixture. The bitumen needs to be heated to 180 degrees while diesel fuel and filler are being prepared elsewhere. Both boilers can be mixed only after the water has evaporated in the bitumen.
To make hot mastic you need to use a boiler. The bitumen in it should be heated to 200 degrees, and filler should be added slowly. It is important that during the procedure the temperature does not drop below 160 degrees.
To check the quality of the mastic, you need to lay it at an angle of 45 degrees, after preheating the mastic to 60 degrees. The video about laying a soft roof shows: if the coating drains, then its quality is poor. If it does not drain, then you should let it dry. When drying, cracks will not appear in high-quality material.
Laying a soft roof
Before directly laying the roof, run a solution of bitumen and diesel fuel over the wood surface. Then slowly coat with mastic, then lay down glassine and roofing felt. It is customary to start installation from the middle part of the cornice and move towards the ends to the right and left. On the underside of soft tiles, before applying, you need to remove the film that protects the glue.
If you use cold mastic, then you need to wait 12 hours after applying a layer, only then can you apply a new layer. When covering with hot mastic, you can apply layers one after another. Each roofing element must be nailed in the amount of 4-6 pieces.
When laying rolls according to the instructions for laying soft roofing, make a 7-10 cm overlap. In all cases, it is recommended to follow the overlap rule: place each top row so that the fastening joints of the previous one are covered. The next new layer is shifted depending on their number (with 2 layers - by half, and with 3 - by a third).
Along the edges of the roof, trim off the excess and glue with mastic. Thanks to the properties of modern soft roofing materials, the useful life of the roof covering is about 30 years. But this does not mean that you can forget about preventive measures.
Installation near ventilation pipes
Proper insulation of joints and careful fastening of material require space around antennas and pipes. Installation of a soft roof here is easy provided that passage elements are used. Without such components, the tightness of the coating is compromised. Even before laying the bitumen shingles, you need to outline the places where you will install ventilation and pipes.
Then you need to cut holes around which the edges of the lining carpet will be glued with mastic. Spread the top surface of the carpet along the contours of the elements that need to be glued and nailed. Place the tiles on top of the mastic.
It is recommended to treat the joints between the upper part of the passage element and the bitumen shingles with sealant. Having completed the work to the ridge line, you need to use special ridge elements of flexible tiles, which are bent over it, glued to mastic and nailed.
Soft roof repair
The frequency of repair work that needs to be carried out on the roof of a house depends directly on the base on which you installed the tiles and on the cost of laying a soft roof. Wooden lumber, cement and concrete screed - they all react differently to soft roofing, which causes some damage.
Cleaning the damaged area
Immediately before starting repairs, determine whether such work is needed at all and to what extent. To do this, assess the extent of the damage present. If holes have formed in the rolled covering, it is recommended to fill them with mastic, observing the sequence of materials used for this.
Roll roofing repairs should be carried out exclusively in a clean area. And this is very problematic, because the roofing material contains a special coating. For this reason, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the area where repair work will be carried out.
Crumbs can be removed by using process oil. Anthracene oil is best suited for cleaning roofing felt, while solar oil is used for roofing felt. Clean with a regular rag or brush. With this treatment, you can remove the coating and soften the surface for further repairs.
Repair work
After preparing the damaged area, you can proceed to the main work. For small defects, you can use regular mastic with a patch. But this solution is not suitable if all roofing layers are broken.
If several layers of the roof are damaged at the same time, it is recommended to clean the area from the old layer of mastic and dirt, and then dry it. After this, you need to prepare a mastic mixture with the addition of sawdust or sand. This mixture should be used to fill all existing damage so as to even out the edges. The mastic should extend at least 10 centimeters on all sides of the patch.
Using hard brushes and brushes, mastic can be applied to the most difficult to reach places. If you are working on a small area, then it is advisable to use a simple spatula, which allows you to apply thick mastic and sawdust mixture. If a “water bubble” occurs in the roof, repairs must be carried out in the same way as in a situation with a regular hole. The main thing is to determine in time the source where the water comes from.
If cracks appear in the roofing material, it should be cut to the bottom layer. Then clean off excess mastic and debris, after which the area is dried and filled with new mastic. You can do without a cut if the cracks are small. They should be covered with a patch and mastic. If small cracks appear throughout the entire area of the soft roof, it must be prepared and covered with heated mastic.
Restoration of sprinkles
After repairing the soft roof, it is necessary to replace the removed layer of topping in place to avoid unnecessary heating of the material and melting of the mastic. To do this, smooth the surface and cover the roof with sand. Excess coating that does not stick to the roof will be removed over time. However, if you want, you can remove it yourself.
Now you have learned what advantages a soft roof has - tightness, long service life and a reasonable price for laying a soft roof. Follow our instructions carefully to install flexible tiles correctly. Use the recommendations regarding the choice of mastic and its preparation. And if minor problems arise during the operation of the roof, re-read the information about repairing soft roofs.
Recently, roofing made from bitumen shingles has gained great popularity among developers. This roofing covering has an attractive appearance, not inferior in beauty to traditional tiles, a long service life and high moisture resistance. Thanks to the self-adhesive layer on the back of the shingles, laying a soft roof with your own hands can be done even without professional experience. In this article we will tell you how to properly prepare the base, assemble the sheathing and lay flexible tiles.
Flexible tiles are tiles with a curved edge, made of fiberglass impregnated with modified petroleum bitumen. Laid overlapping, such a roof imitates a rarely used but aesthetically pleasing shingle covering made from wooden blocks. The fiberglass that is part of the bitumen shingles can be simple or reinforced polyester. The production technology of this material includes sprinkling the front side with an armoring coating of stone or basalt chips, which gives color and a rough texture to the roof. The advantages of flexible tiles are:
- Durability. The service life of a soft roof based on fiberglass reinforced with polyester is more than 70 years, which fully pays for the cost of installing the roof.
- Weather resistant. Soft tiles withstand exposure to atmospheric moisture, ultraviolet rays and other adverse environmental factors, maintaining performance.
- Aesthetics. The variety of shapes and colors of the material opens up enormous opportunities for creating a harmonious, integral image of the house.
- Flexibility. Flexible, elastic tiles of bitumen shingles are suitable for arranging roofs of complex shapes with a large number of slopes, valleys and other decorative elements.
Important! The technology for laying bitumen shingles is distinguished by its simplicity, so it can be easily done even by a non-professional. Do-it-yourself soft roofing is an excellent solution for the roof of a private house, country cottage, gazebo or townhouse.
Features of working with the material
Before covering the roof with a soft roof, you need to make sure that a reliable foundation is prepared for the work. Also, the technology for installing a soft roof involves performing the work under certain weather conditions. If you do not follow the manufacturer's recommendations, you may encounter the following problems:
- If you lay bitumen shingles at an ambient temperature of less than 5-10 degrees, then the self-adhesive layer on the back of the tiles will not melt on its own. To melt the bitumen you have to use a gas burner or a hair dryer. However, this makes laying the tiles difficult and slow.
- If you lay flexible tiles at temperatures above 25 degrees, the self-adhesive bitumen layer will melt too much and flow down the slope. In addition, high temperatures lead to deformation of the roof.
- If you install the roof in damp weather or during rain, the rafter frame and sheathing acquire excess moisture, which negatively affects the service life of the tiles, leading to rotting.
Important! The material installation technology recommended by the manufacturers requires installation at a temperature of 5-15 degrees in dry weather. Most often, such conditions develop only in the summer. However, in winter, you can assemble the rafter frame for the roof and prepare the base for laying the roof covering.
Installation of sheathing
Before making a soft roof, you need to assemble a high-quality, durable sheathing. The technology for laying bitumen shingles involves the use of a continuous base, which imparts rigidity and mechanical strength to the soft roofing covering. The sheathing must ensure uniform distribution of the weight of the roof between the rafters, so it is created from 3 layers:
- Counter-lattice. The counter-lattice for soft tiles is made of wooden blocks 3-4 cm thick. It is attached along the rafters of the frame on top of the waterproofing material. The purpose of the counter-lattice is to create a ventilation gap between the rafters and the roof covering.
- Sparse lathing. This base element for soft tiles is made from edged boards measuring 20x150 mm. The boards are nailed perpendicular to the counter-lattice at a distance of 30-50 cm.
- Continuous sheathing. It is made of moisture-resistant plywood, OSB sheets or edged boards, laid solid with a gap of 1-3 mm, compensating for the thermal expansion of the material. To prevent damage to soft tiles, it is necessary to sand or sharpen the sheathing elements so that they are smooth.
Please note that to make sheathing for a soft roof, it is correct to use coniferous wood that has dried up to 20 percent. To prevent premature decay of wooden elements, they are treated with antiseptic drugs. If the structure has a high risk of fire, then the sheathing is impregnated with fire-retarding compounds.
Underlay carpet
Do-it-yourself soft roofing is laid on a continuous sheathing made of particle board or moisture-resistant plywood. An underlay carpet is laid on top of the base - a lining made of moisture-resistant bitumen material that is resistant to mechanical damage. The underlayment protects the roof from leaks, as well as from damage to the bitumen shingles due to irregularities in the sheathing. The coating installation technology recommends:
- If the roof slope is less than 15-18 degrees, lay a lining carpet on the entire surface of the slopes with an overlap of 15-20 cm, since water can be retained on it during the melting of large snow masses.
- If the angle of inclination of the slopes is more than 20 degrees, the lining carpet can be laid only in places that are particularly vulnerable to leaks, where water can accumulate or stagnate. Additional waterproofing is used to protect valleys, the joints of slopes with vertical surfaces, and the ridge.
- Do not use ordinary roofing felt as a lining. The low price does not compensate for the poor quality, fragility and short service life of this material.
Experienced craftsmen advise using the material recommended by the manufacturer as an underlayment, since it is guaranteed to be compatible with the selected bituminous shingles.
Laying
Installation of a soft roof with your own hands is carried out in dry, windless weather at a temperature of 5-15 degrees. If the material is laid on an old rafter frame, then it is necessary to check the condition of the wood and then replace rotten or deformed elements. Installation is carried out in the following order:
- First, the slope is marked with horizontal stripes, marking the location of the rows of soft roofing using white chalk.
- It is correct to start laying the material from the bottom of the slope, using the starting strip. Fix the roofing with nails or a self-adhesive layer. If the tiles are self-adhesive, then to glue them it is enough to remove the protective film and then press it tightly to the base of the roof.
- If nails are used to fix the coating, they must be placed no closer than 2.5 cm from the edge, and must be driven flush with the surface of the material.
- The second row begins to be laid on the left side of the slope using tiles, from which 143 mm are cut off from the left edge, thus shifting the pattern of the bitumen shingles diagonally.
- To start, cut off a fragment 286 mm long from the left edge of the third row of tiles in order to also shift the coating pattern in the diagonal direction.
- After completion, the ridge is decorated using a ridge element, junction points with vertical surfaces and valleys.
Note! In order for a roof made of soft tiles to function correctly, it is necessary to equip a ventilation system to avoid the “greenhouse effect” and rotting of the rafter frame of the structure.
Video instruction
The article was written with the participation of TECHNONICOL company
The roof of a country house is often called its “fifth facade” - the entire appearance of the house depends on it. It is not surprising that among many developers, interest in a material that is attractive both in appearance and in terms of characteristics is growing every year. But for such a roof to look beautiful and last a long time, it must be installed correctly. A specialist from the manufacturing company talks about all the nuances of the technology for installing flexible tiles.
Features of installation of flexible tiles
Step 1. Construction of a solid base. Although the technology for installing flexible tiles has been worked out to the smallest detail, there are a number of key points that you should pay attention to even before laying a soft roof.
Gekz User FORUMHOUSE
At first I wanted to cover the roof with metal tiles, but after thinking about it, I decided that a soft roof looks much more beautiful. I will install the flexible tiles myself. The roof is hip. The attic is cold. Slope angle - 25 °. The rafters are installed in increments of 500-600 mm. Questions arose regarding the construction of the base for the soft roof and the layers of the roofing “pie”.
User Questions:
- What is the sheathing pitch to maintain?
- What should I use as a solid base, OSB?
- Do I need to use special membranes under the sheathing?
- Do I need to put something on top of the solid base to protect it from moisture before installing the roofing?
These questions are relevant for any developer who decides to use flexible tiles.
The installation of a soft roof begins with preparing the base. The technology for its installation requires that flexible tiles must be laid on a solid, level, rigid base to which the shingles can be secured with nails.
The following can be used as such flooring:
- OSB-3 boards (moisture-resistant oriented strand board).
- Moisture resistant plywood.
- Tongue or edged boards, graded by thickness with a relative humidity of no more than 20%.
Practice shows that the best option for constructing a continuous flooring, both in terms of price-quality and ease of installation, is OSB-3 slabs. Moreover, the height difference between the sheets should not exceed 1-2 mm. The use of boards as flooring can lead to the fact that over time, as the wood dries, the base may warp. This will cause a change in its geometry and, accordingly, the formation of waves on the already laid finishing coating.
It is recommended to install OSB-3 or plywood sheets staggered. You can fasten the sheets with rough nails or self-tapping screws. The pitch of the sheathing is calculated in such a way that the horizontal joints of the slabs fall on the sheathing boards, and the ends of the sheets do not hang in the air!
Artem Azarov
When installing a solid base, a distance (gap) of 3-5 mm wide is maintained between the seams of the slabs. This must be done to compensate for linear temperature expansion as the seasons change.
Depending on the pitch of the additional sheathing, different thicknesses of OSB-3, plywood or wood flooring are used. For clarity, the recommended values are summarized in the following table:
If the side of the passage element installed across the roof slope (for example, a chimney) is more than 50 cm, then, to facilitate water drainage and prevent snow accumulation, a so-called. groove
Important: to ensure optimal temperature and humidity conditions of the roof and timely removal of excess moisture from the under-roof space, do ventilated roof space.
If the roof is insulated, or a residential attic floor is being installed, then from the inside (up to the insulation layer) a continuous vapor barrier, and a superdiffusion membrane is mounted on top of the insulation layer.
Then a counter beam is placed along the rafter leg, due to which a ventilation under-roof channel is formed. A sheathing is laid across the counter beam, onto which a solid base is then mounted.
The superdiffusion membrane ensures the diffusion of water vapor (releases it outside), but prevents the passage of water that has entered the insulation from the outside.
Step 2. Strengthening the eaves overhang. After installing a solid base, the eaves overhangs must be reinforced with metal strips - the so-called. droppers. Despite the apparent simplicity of installing these elements, users of our portal often ask what mistakes can be made.
AlexHomutov User FORUMHOUSE
I made a solid base for flexible shingles from OSB and now I’m puzzled by the question: how to properly mount and connect cornice and pediment strips.
The cornice strips are laid edgewise on the edge of the solid base. The planks are nailed to the solid flooring with special roofing nails with a wide head, in a checkerboard pattern, maintaining a step of 12-15 cm. When nailing the nails, make sure that they are not nailed too low from the edge of the overhang (maintain a distance from the bend point of the eaves strip > 4 cm). Otherwise, it will be difficult to cover the nails with the underlayment.
At intersections, the planks are fastened with an overlap of at least 3-5 cm. Moreover, when constructing a valley, the planks are cut in a special way, and a special tongue is left on one of the planks, into which the second plank then fits. In this case, the connection is neat and tight.
Artem Azarov
When installing eaves strips, inexperienced developers make the following mistake - they immediately hammer in two nails on two opposite edges of the drip edge. Then the remaining nails are driven in. As a result, waves may appear on the surface of the plank.
To avoid this, drive the nails driven in at the edges so that they can be easily pulled out (for example, drive the nail only halfway). This way we will fix the bar. Then we hammer in the rest of the nails to the end, moving along one side of the drip (from left to right or from right to left, as is more convenient). Having hammered several nails, we pull out the outermost nail-fixer and hammer in the rest. Thanks to this method, waves will not appear on the bar.
Step 3. Installation of underlay carpet. One of the key points when installing flexible tiles is the installation of a lining carpet over the entire roof area. Particular attention should be paid to places of possible leaks - valleys and eaves overhangs. As a rule, the nuances of laying underlay carpet raise the most questions among developers.
Bege74 User FORUMHOUSE
I wondered if there was an angle of inclination of the roof slope at which it would be possible to get by with only an ordinary underlayment, and is this correct?
Kostya User FORUMHOUSE
Often, when installing flexible tiles, builders roll out only one thing - a simple lining carpet, which is fixed with nails. Is it possible to do this? And is it necessary to use (as the methodology prescribes) both plain and self-adhesive underlayment?
Artem Azarov
When installing a roof made of flexible tiles, a combination of two types of underlay carpets is a prerequisite. Self-adhesive waterproofing carpet is used in especially critical places - eaves overhangs and valleys. Underlay carpets with mechanical fixation are rolled out over the rest of the roof surface.
Compliance with this principle is a guarantee of trouble-free operation of the roof, which is stipulated in the installation instructions for bitumen shingles.
Because Underlay carpets are produced in rolls, then they are rolled out parallel to the eaves overhang. Horizontal overlaps - 100 mm. Vertical overlaps – 150 mm. The underlayment is secured with wide-headed roofing nails. Fixation step - every 200-250 mm. Overlapping areas of underlay carpets (8-10 cm wide) are coated with bitumen mastic.
After laying the underlayment, the gable overhang of the roof is reinforced with metal end strips. The planks are nailed with roofing nails in a checkerboard pattern, in increments of 12-15 cm. At the joints, the planks are laid with an overlap of 15 cm and secured with 2 nails.
Step 4. Construction of the valley. Laying flexible tiles in the valley can be done in several ways:
- Open method.
- Using the "undercut" method.
Preparation of the valley depends on the chosen method of its construction. Let's consider the first method. The work begins with laying out a pre-cut self-adhesive backing carpet. A strip 1 meter wide is laid out in the valley, with an overlap of 50 cm on each side. When laying out the carpet, make sure that the carpet fabric lies flat on the base, without folds or bubbles.
Important: the carpet is laid out on the eaves strip with an indentation of 2-3 cm from the edge of the drip edge. For clarity, you can use the following table of the dependence of the indentation on the angle and length of the valley slope.
After laying out the self-adhesive lining carpet, remove the anti-adhesive film from its back side. The film is not removed from the entire surface of the carpet, but only from one of its sides. After this, the film-free part of the self-adhesive lining carpet is glued to the base. Having fixed the carpet, we glue its other side in the same way.
Artem Azarov
We pay special attention to the valley axis. The carpet in this part should stick tightly, without the formation of voids or bubbles. When installing the underlay carpet, when cutting it, a slight rounding is made in the lower part to ensure better water drainage and its removal from the junction of the eaves strips.
When installing the underlayment, make sure that no waves form on it, otherwise after installing the tiles they will be visible on the roof surface. All overlaps between carpets are coated with bitumen mastic. The mastic is applied with a hard spatula. The thickness of the mastic layer should not exceed 1 mm.
Next, a special valley carpet is installed on top of the lining carpet. When cutting the valley carpet, to beat off the water, exactly the same rounding is done at the junction of the planks as when installing the lining carpet. Also, do not forget to ensure that the valley carpet lies tightly and no bubbles or folds form under it.
We glue the valley carpet to the lining carpet with mastic. Apply a layer of mastic along the entire perimeter of the valley carpet. Layer width – 10 cm.
Artem Azarov
After gluing the valley carpet, we additionally fix it mechanically - we nail the carpet around the perimeter with roofing nails with a wide head in increments of 20-25 cm and a distance of 2-3 cm from the edge. After we have installed the valley carpet, we mark the gutter line and the zone, which cannot be pierced with nails when installing tiles. We mark off the lines with a marking cord.
Depending on the location of the house, the width of the gutter ranges from 5 to 15 cm. For example, if there are trees on the site, the width of the gutter must be increased to remove leaves without hindrance. The nail-proof zone is about 30 cm from the central axis of the valley.
If the water flow from the slopes is significantly different, then the valley gutter must be shifted towards a smaller water flow to compensate for the erosion of water at the junction of the row tiles and the valley carpet.
Conclusion
At the end of the material, we invite you to familiarize yourself with the most common questions that our users have when working with flexible tiles.
Nikolay11111 User FORUMHOUSE
In order for the roofing covering to last as long as possible, the installation of soft tiles must be carried out in accordance with the installation rules developed for this material. Each manufacturer has their own installation instructions, but in general, the basic rules for installation are the same.
Installation conditions
The installation instructions for bitumen tiles regulate the temperature conditions for working with the material. It is recommended to install at air temperatures above +5 °C. Shingles - the elements that make up a flexible tiled roof, are connected to the base surface not only with the help of metal fasteners, but also thanks to a special self-adhesive layer on the underside. High adhesion and tightness of the installed coating is ensured by heating from the sun's rays - the shingles are reliably soldered to the base and to each other.
If the installation of flexible tiles is carried out in cool weather, the adhesion of the sheets may not be strong enough. To heat the adhesive layer of shingles, you can use a hot-air burner (hair dryer). It is also practiced to lay the material on bitumen mastic. But difficulties may arise with the installation of the ridge covering, since the material needs to be bent. In cold weather, asphalt shingles become stiffer and more brittle, and as the shingles are molded into the desired shape, microcracks can appear in the material.
If roofing work has to be carried out in cool weather, packages of tiles should be kept in a warm, closed room for about a day.
If it is necessary to lay roofing sheets made of bitumen piece material in frosty conditions, a small enclosed space is set up on the roof of the structure - a slatted frame covered with polyethylene film is installed. To create the required temperature inside a limited volume, heat guns are used.
Base for roofing
The base for installing a bitumen piece roofing means a rafter system with a continuous sheathing. To ensure proper functioning of the roofing pie, a vapor barrier membrane is installed on the inside of the rafter legs. Insulation is laid on the outside and a diffusion membrane is attached, which removes moisture from the heat-insulating layer and does not let it inside. Counter battens are placed along the rafters on top of the membrane.
Laying soft tiles requires a flat, continuous base made of edged or tongue-and-groove boards or sheet materials - OSB boards, moisture-resistant plywood. The moisture content of the lathing material should not exceed 20%.
The sheet material is laid with the long side parallel to the cornice. The boards must overlap at least two purlins and be attached to each rafter leg. The joining of sheathing elements is carried out on a support, while the joints of adjacent rows of sheathing should be located on different supports.
It is important to leave an expansion joint between the sheathing elements - wood materials change their linear dimensions under the influence of temperature and moisture.
The roofing pie, which includes bitumen shingles, must be well ventilated. This will significantly reduce the formation of ice on the surface in winter, since the transfer of heat from the premises of the house to the roofing will be reduced. In summer, the ventilation gap, the height of which should be at least 5 cm, reduces the temperature inside the roofing pie, resulting in less overheating of the attic space. To ensure sufficient air circulation to remove moisture from inside the roof, special holes are left in the lower part of the roof (in the eaves lining), and an exhaust duct is installed in the ridge.
Lining layer
Installation of flexible tiles requires the use of special lining material. Piece bitumen coating is used on pitched roofs with a slope angle of at least 12°. If the slope of the slopes is 12-30°, a waterproofing lining is attached over the entire surface of the continuous sheathing. A slope angle of more than 30° requires the installation of waterproofing material in the valleys, along the eaves, above the chimney pipes and ventilation slopes, in the places where the roof meets the walls, and around the attic windows. This allows you to reliably protect places where there is a high probability of snow and ice accumulation.
The principle of installation of the lining layer depends on its characteristics. The composite material made of polymer film and bitumen filler is self-adhesive: it is carefully laid on the sheathing and rolled with a roller to ensure tight adhesion and remove possible bubbles. Polyester waterproofing material is laid using bitumen mastic and additionally secured in the top and side parts at 20 cm intervals with nails with wide flat heads, which are then treated with mastic. The lining layer is formed from strips of rolled material laid parallel to the cornice. The longitudinal overlap should be 100 mm, the transverse overlap should be 200 mm.
The technology for laying soft tiles provides for certain principles for installing the lining in areas of probable leaks. The width of the waterproofing layer is:
- for valleys - 500 mm from its axis in each direction;
- for the ridge - 250 mm;
- for end and cornice overhangs – 400 mm.
To ensure the tightness of the overlaps, they are coated with bitumen mastic.
Installation of planks
To protect the sheathing from rain moisture, gable and cornice strips are installed. Installation of cornice strips (drippers) is carried out on top of the lining layer. The instructions require installation of elements with an overlap of at least 200 mm. Fastening elements should be arranged in a zigzag (in a checkerboard pattern) in 10 cm increments. Pediment strips are designed for the ends of roof slopes. Fastening is also carried out using roofing nails installed in 10 cm increments.
The valley waterproofing carpet is laid after installing the planks on the slopes. The color of the carpet is selected taking into account the color of the bitumen shingles. The material is fixed with nails in 10 cm increments. If there are vertical structures on the roof slopes, a waterproofing coating is also laid around them.
If the arrangement of the chimney passage through the roof is planned to be carried out after installation of the finishing coating, when planning the roof, you should note the place where it will be located.
You can learn how to properly prepare a roofing system for the installation of soft tiles from the thematic video.
Installation of roofing material
First of all, the installation of cornice tiles is carried out - a special element of a soft piece roof. Not all manufacturers offer special shingles for eaves. In this case, you need to use a strip of material that is cut out from ordinary shingles - the petals are cut off from it. Stepping back 2 cm from the eaves overhang, the resulting elements are glued.
Before installation, markings must be applied to the roof. Chalk lines indicating the location of rows of material make it possible to lay shingles exactly parallel to the eaves. The vertical line marks the middle of the slope. To make the roof look aesthetically pleasing, the covering is installed from bitumen tiles taken randomly from several packs. This allows you to level out differences in shades of the material.
Laying of flexible tiles begins from the middle of the eaves overhang - the shingles are installed to the right and left of the first. The protective film from the roofing elements is removed immediately before installation. The shingles are pressed tightly to the base, and then additionally secured with roofing nails driven in above the groove: 4 pieces for each shingle.
If the roof slope angle exceeds 45°, it is recommended to use 6 nails for fastening shaped bitumen tiles.
The first row of shingles is positioned so that their lower edge is 10-15 mm higher than the lower edge of the eaves tiles. Laying is carried out with the expectation that the petals of the bitumen elements cover the joints of the eaves shingles. The ends of the petals of subsequent rows should be above the cutouts of the previous layer or at their level. In the places where the shingles join the gable strips, the material is cut off along the edge of the roof, the edges are glued using bitumen mastic, and they need to be coated by 10 cm.
To avoid damaging the bottom layer of tiles, when cutting off excess material, you should place a small board or piece of plywood under its edge.
Arrangement of the valley
Installation of tiles requires a special approach to creating a reliable and durable valley structure. Before laying ordinary tiles, a waterproofing lining is installed under the valley, to which the flexible tiles are fused using a hot air gun or fixed using bitumen-polymer mastic.
Work on arranging the valley should begin with a slope with a flatter angle of inclination or a slope with a shorter length.
On the slope opposite to the selected one, parallel to the valley axis, at a distance of 30 cm from it, a line should be drawn. The shingles reaching this line from the first slope (with an overlap of the valley axis) are cut along the line and secured with mastic or fused with a hot air gun. This method is used to install all shingles that come from a gentle (or short) slope. Then a line is drawn on this slope, parallel to the axis of the valley and spaced 10 cm from it. The shingles reaching the line from the opposite slope are cut exactly along the line, and their upper corners should be trimmed by approximately 60°.
Roofing nails can be used at a distance of at least 30 cm from the valley axis. Therefore, when arranging it, the material should be glued or fused.
Ridge covering
The ridge covering is laid after the installation of ordinary tiles is completed. Cornice elements can be used for these purposes. In other cases, the material is cut from ordinary shingles:
- if the shingle petals are rectangular in shape, they are cut off, and the remaining wide strip is mounted on the ridge;
- The shingles, which form a pattern of hexagons when laid, are cut into hexagonal fragments, from which the ridge covering is made.
To simplify and secure work on the roof ridge, scaffolding should be installed.
Straight strips are heated with a hot air gun, bent along the axis and laid on the ridge with an overlap of 50 mm. Each strip is fixed with 4 nails.
The service life of a house largely depends on the strength and reliability of the roof, and this is achieved by using high-quality roofing materials. One of these materials is bituminous shingles, and today I will tell you how to install flexible tiles with your own hands, in accordance with the technology, and introduce some of the nuances of this process.
Preparatory stage: calculation of materials
- Calculation of flexible tiles is made based on the roof surface area, plus a margin of 10%, since during operation, material waste ranges from 3 to 7%.
- Mastic is purchased based on use:
- valleys – 200 g/m;
- ends – 100 g/m;
- junction nodes – 750g/m.
- Roofing nails with galvanic coating - 80 grams per 1 sq. m. (9 mm cap, length 3 cm, 3 mm diameter of the rod).
To install a roof made of bitumen shingles you will also need:
- Steam and waterproofing membranes;
- thermal insulation material (mineral wool, extruded polystyrene foam or other type of insulation);
- Double-sided tape;
- material for constructing a base for bitumen shingles (chipboard, OSB-3, FSF, board);
- wooden beams for counter-lattice.
- lining carpet.
Material consumption is calculated based on the roof area, plus a 10% margin.
Important! The rafter system must be strong, since the weight of the soft roof pie is quite large.
Having prepared everything you need, you can proceed to the stage of installing the base and actually installing the roof from bitumen tiles.
Preparing the base
The technology for installing flexible bitumen shingles involves several stages, which are performed in a certain sequence.
Important! Before starting work, all wooden structural elements must be treated with an antiseptic to prevent damage, fungus or mold, and insects.
After the base for the flexible tiles is ready, you can proceed to laying the lining carpet under the bituminous shingles.
The nuances of working with underlay carpet
At this step, it is important to take into account the angle of inclination of the roof - the installation technique and the required amount of underlayment will depend on this:
- When the slope of the roof slopes is 12–18 degrees, the lining carpet is installed as a continuous sheet.
- If the roof slope is over 18 degrees, only the overhangs of the eaves, valleys, and slopes can be covered with lining material, but it is still recommended to make a continuous carpet over the entire roof.
First, the valleys are covered, then the strips of material are laid in two ways:
- horizontally, starting from the bottom and rising to the ridge of the roof - by blocking the bottom strip, the top one prevents moisture from flowing in;
- vertically - the carpet is rolled out from top to bottom. Fastening is done with nails on the ridge, then the material is stretched and fastened in the overhang area.
The overlap of the hydrobarrier strips should be 15 cm to the sides and 10 cm in length. The joints are additionally coated with bitumen mastic (if there is no special adhesive layer on the roll), and also fixed with nails in increments of 25 cm.
Important! The mastic should be applied in a thin layer, no more than 1 mm. If it is necessary to dilute the bitumen mastic, you must not overdo it with the solvent - neglecting this requirement risks causing the bitumen coating to swell.
Installation of cornice strips
The installation of cornice and end strips is carried out to prevent deformation of the material under the influence of temperature changes and to protect wooden structures from adverse environmental factors.
Metal cornice strips are installed with an overlap of 5 cm, and fastened with nails or screws in a checkerboard pattern in increments of 10–15 cm. The joints are fixed with two screws or nails.
At the ends, the planks are fastened in the same way.
Because shingles are small, the rows of shingles may be laid unevenly during installation. To eliminate this possibility, preliminary markings are made on the roof surface.
- Along the edges of the roof from top to bottom, using a level, two vertical straight lines are drawn with chalk or a marker;
- then, perpendicular to them, longitudinal straight lines are drawn in increments of 25 cm.
Arrangement of the valley
When the lining carpet is ready and the end strips are installed, the valleys are covered with a special valley carpet, which is selected in accordance with the color of the tiles. The carpet is fixed using bitumen mastic, which is distributed along the perimeter of the carpet. The width of the mastic layer is 10-15 cm. Additionally, the valley carpet is fixed with roofing nails in increments of 15 cm. This process is covered in detail in the video below:
Finishing the valley should begin with the slope that has the shallowest angle, or with a slope with a shorter length. On the carpet, parallel to the valley axis, it is necessary to draw or mark two lines:
- the first at a distance of 5-7cm - this will be the so-called gutter line along which the shingles will be cut;
- The second is at a distance of 30 cm from the axis - the last nail will be driven along this line, that is, you cannot mechanically fasten the tiles closer than 30 cm to the axis of the valley.
The shingles that extend to the first line are trimmed, and their top edges are trimmed at a 45-degree angle. Mastic is applied to the tiles and valley, after which they are pressed against each other. The second line is used for fastening with nails.
For roofs with a pitch of less than 45 degrees, one shingle is nailed with five nails. When the slope angle is more than 45 degrees, fastening should be done with at least 8 nails.
Technology for laying eaves and row tiles
According to the technology of laying flexible tiles, it is necessary to start the installation process from the bottom of the slope (with a distance of 2-3 cm from it). The first row can be laid in two ways:
- using special eaves tiles;
- in the absence of one, the petals are cut off from ordinary shingles, and the resulting strips are used as cornice elements.
The strip is fastened with nails (the distance from the edge must be at least 25 mm, as in the photo above), or, if installation is carried out in cold weather, the shingles are heated with a hair dryer and glued to the eaves strip.
Arrangement of junctions to pipes
There are several ways to connect a soft roof to a brick pipe. The first is to install a metal apron that matches the material and color of the shingles. Special kits are available for sale that include everything needed for installation. 
The second is to use pieces of valley carpet, from which the lower, side and upper elements connecting to the pipe are cut out.
First, a plinth or triangular block is placed at the base of the pipe, on top of which a lining carpet is laid. The pipe itself is plastered and treated with a bitumen primer.
The connection device occurs parallel to the installation of ordinary flexible tiles:
- The shingle adjacent to the bottom of the pipe is cut along a triangular strip and attached to the base;
- Next, first the lower abutment element, cut from the valley carpet, is installed, then the side and upper elements. They are coated with mastic and glued to the pipe (to a height of at least 30 cm) and the lining carpet (with an overlap of at least 20 cm);
- a groove is cut out of the brick into which a metal junction strip (apron) is inserted. Its fastening to the pipe is carried out mechanically, using nails, dowels or screws, and the joint is sealed with polyurethane sealant;
- the remaining ordinary shingles of flexible tiles are laid on top of the abutment element, glued to it with mastic, and additionally secured with nails.
This whole process is illustrated in detail in the video:
If it is necessary to install ventilation or aerators, the round holes are sealed in accordance with the illustration below:
Laying ridge elements
The roof ridge made of flexible tiles is made using ridge elements. The sequence of actions is as follows:
If additional ventilation is needed, a plastic ridge aerator can be installed on the ridge. It is attached to the roof with long nails, and covered with tiles on top.
In conclusion, I suggest you watch a video where absolutely all the steps in the installation technology of flexible tiles are discussed in detail: