For Pros by Pros Roofing W/ASP [Paperback]

Mike Guertin (Author)

Book Description

Series: For Pros By Pros | Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Asphalt is the most common roofing material in North America. This book is an in-depth guide to working with it -- whether the reader is a professional installing a brand-new roof or a do-it-yourselfer simply making necessary repairs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561585319
• ISBN-13: 978-1561585311
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation
  • #83 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Design > Design & Construction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helps but not comprehensive: Combine with other books., October 15, 2007

By 

Rusty (Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: For Pros by Pros Roofing W/ASP (Paperback)

If you have a hip roof, get some other text: This one will cause you real problems with a hip roof. If you have a simple gable roof, this book can be helpful. For all roofing tasks, this book seems geared mostly towards helping pros speed up production. It lacks the theory and specific "tricks of the trade" that a "do it yourselfer" needs.

This text offers very little that pertains to hip roofs--basically, there's only a few paragraphs mentioning hip roofs and there are no diagrams nor photographs that tell you how to manage the juncture of the "hip ridges" and the "main roof ridge." Those few portions that do mention hip roofs are riddled with errors.

In addition, the information pertaining to the juncture at a hip ridge of two flat roof planes will cause you severe problems--especially if you are applying "laminated" (sometimes called "architectural" or "dimensional") shingles.

The author states that you should overlap shingles where two flat roof planes meet at a hip ridge in order to avoid leaks should the hip ridge caps fly off in a storm. He mentions that this can cause a severe "lump" so he then says you could overlap only one side on the other as a tradeoff which would reduce the size of the "lump" but still provide protection.

Well, maybe if you use the lowest priced thinnest shingles available then an overlap of some sort might be a viable solution. However, as the quality of your chosen single improves, so does its thickness. The 3-dimensional laminated shingles are the thickest.

I tried the single overlap of 4 inches as he recommended. Even that created a huge lump that the ridge caps would never accomodate properly without sagging into the recesses of the created lump. Also, the higher that lump is, the less coverage the caps can provide for the hip ridge junctures.

The shingles I chose were Owens Corning. Seeing the huge lump that even a single overlap caused at a hip ridge, I phoned Owens Corning. They absolutely recommend that the shingles of a flat plane be cut off even and flush with the hip ridge. They provide the warranty and they still recommend cutting flush with the ridge because of the high lump that would otherwise be created. I phoned a friend who owns a roofing company and he recommended the same treatment.

You will notice when scanning through this text, nearly all photographs depict thin 3-tabbed shingles on a gabled roof. So, if you're installing the cheapest, thinnest, 3-tab shingles on a gable style roof with maybe a valley and maybe a dormer, this book can help you discover some short cuts to speed up the job.

If you have a hip roof, get some other text. If you are installing laminated "dimensional" shingles, get some other text.

In any case, if you are an intelligent DIY'er, you'll do as I did and get, at least, 3 or 4 texts to combine theories.

The only text I found that actually shows photographs and describes some sort of detailed information regarding the hip ridge/roof ridge juncture is: "Roof Construction and Estimating" by Daniel Benn Atcheson (yes, there are 2-n's in Benn). However, even that text only depicts plain 3-tabbed shingles.

If you plan to install dimensional laminated shingles, you will be off in a world apart. I haven't found a text that gives a detailed approach to the differences between 3-tab shingle application and dimensional shingle applications.

The text I'm reviewing doesn't tell you much at all about laminated dimensional shingles. You will do well by reading the package wrapper of your purchased shingles thoroughly for instructions pertaining to nailing patterns, offset requirements, and allowable distances between gaps and fasteners of adjacent courses. Owens Corning has downloadable PDF's for their products and I'd surely recommend that you read those as well if you choose OC products.

So, the title of this text says it's for pros by pros. Believe it! No matter how smart you are, if you are an inexperienced do it yourselfer, don't head into a roofing project with only this text in hand. If you're a pro roofer looking to speed up the work performed by your crew on the roof--this book can help you some.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, covers almost everything, October 24, 2005

By 

Scott C. Rush (Davison, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Pros by Pros Roofing W/ASP (Paperback)

I hadn't done a roof in over a year so I purchased this book as a refresher to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
I thought the book was a very good book that took me step by step.
I'd highly recommend this book for people looking to get a good understanding of roofing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for the do-it-yourselfer, September 13, 2009

By 

David Hood "Dabunker" (Springfield, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: For Pros by Pros Roofing W/ASP (Paperback)

If you are a capable home repair person, and thinking about doing your own roof, but lack the experience to know how to complete the job successfully, this book has it all, and then some. It would also be beneficial, I would imagine, for a pro roofer, but practical target audience would be toward the amateur.

I ended up reading a lot of it, and then skimming the areas that I didn't feel applied (my shop roof has no valleys), and found the concepts and advise to be excellent which saved a lot of time and energy when I began my first tear off and re-roof project.

Best idea from the book: use old foam couch cushions on the roof! They are anti-slip, protect the new shingles, and saves your knees. This simple information alone was worth the price of the book for me.

I also got a refurbished Bostitch roofing nailer from Amazon for $100+ less than new one for the job. Had a few scratches, but worked flawlessly. Factory-Reconditioned Bostitch U/RN46-1 3/4-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Coil Roofing Nailer

One other thing for the amateur: Get a Laddermax (Google it) ladder support. It will keep the ladder away from the guttering or drip edge and adds much stabilization, as it is the only roof-touching ladder support I could find.