Starter Shingles!

So when you hear the term "starter shingle", you may think of it as just buying the least expensive shingle option. That would make sense! That's not exactly what it is though! Starter shingles are basically a product to enhance and extend the life of your roof. A starter shingle is a row of shingle material that is applied on top of the underlayment and drip edge but underneath the primary shingle layer. Did I lose you yet? We've talked about all of those things in the blog, so you should be somewhat familiar with the terms "underlayment", "drip edge", and obviously "shingles'.
We've talked a ton about roofing products, shingles, etc and now I'm throwing a new thing at you! Why would you need this starter shingle with everything else we've talked about? As with so many things, it's an added layer of protection. One of the main purposes of the starter shingle is to protect the shingles from wind at the bottom of the roof by adhering it to the edge of the eaves. The other main purpose is it fills in the spaces left by the tabs of most shingles so that there is always one or more layers covering the sheathing. Picture a really bad storm with horrible, gusty winds. Without a starter shingle, those winds could blow the shingles off at the edge of the roof, taking other rows of shingles with it. The starter shingle helps to prevent this.
The starter shingle strip is applied before the first course of roofing. This will enable it to fill any spaces between the cutout and joints of that first course of roofing. I bet you didn't know roofing was as involved as it is! It seems you can just slap some shingles up there and you're good to go. Ironically, some roofing contractors think the same way, which is why your roof fails prematurely. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it's so important to make sure you've hired a roofer who knows what he's doing so that he knows about all of these roofing components and will install it as it should be installed.
Happy roofing!!

 

www.sawyerroofing.com