Roofing?

[Elwar]

Ok, so my coop has a slanted roof and I have some leftover shingles from my roof so last night I nailed them onto a piece of plywood and got it ready to go. My wife says that I screwed up because I didn't put plastic down first...

Is my roof going to warp and be screwed up because I didn't put plastic under my shingles?

 

[coderpitt]

Typically you put tar paper underneath it then metal drip edge around the perimeter to help as a moisture barrier. However, if you've adequately laid your shingles (first row reversed and then overlain with the first row right) then there shouldn't be any leaks to contribute to moisture. The steeper the roof, the quicker the water runs off and less opporunity for leakage, but I'd think it should be fine as long as the wind doesn't blow water up underneath it.

Sincerely,
Robert

 

[only one lay]

I 'm in michigan and have never put plastic down under shingles.I used 1/4 pressed board with alot of framing support
( I had free 2x4's and had to purchase sheet stock ) to keep the snow from caving .
For me the reg overlap of shingles has been good for 2 yrs with no leaks

knock on wood

 

[patandchickens]

Enh. It's a chicken coop

Worst case scenario, someplace gets wet and the roof deck starts to rot a little, you tear the shingles off and use some bad language and repair it and reshingle. Not a big deal.

If you put the shingles on correctly, like I mean really totally correctly in all aspects as opposed to mostly and it looks ok, then lack of roofing felt or other underlayment will not hurt you IMO.

If you *didn't* put the shingles on correctly, roofing felt or etc was probably not going to save your butt anyhow.

So, I'd say let it be, and probably it'll be fine. Even if it isn't fine in the long term, unless you did something really weird it will still be fine for a good while.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[jjpiper]

I have ashpalt shingled several dozen roofs. Never have I seen someone put plastic under the shingles. The roofing felt is more so the shingles don't stick to the wood making them easier to remove in 15-20 years. I have done several roofs without felt including my shed. You shouldnt have any trouble. Remember that whatever you put under the shingles will be full of holes once the shingles are nailed down so leak proofing or vapour barrier with plastic would not be possible. Besides the point of asphalt shingles is to repell water from the outside and to breath from the inside.

Did you say you applied the shingles to the wood and then attached it to your coop? Never done that before. Do you have picks?

 

[nightshade]

Quote:
My thoughts exactly

 

[tinyscrafts]

I'm about to do this too. I'm not sure i have enough shingles and i don't have drip edge... My dad told me I can use this paint on asphalt black stuff to stick them down onto my plywood. I have really thin plywood. That's the plan so far...

Is drip edge really necessary? I may just goop up the edge with the black stuff real good...

 

[mikecnorthwest]

When I shingled my roof I decided not to put down paper due the cost of having to buy a full roll for such a small area. The roofing supply person told me not to worry about it. He said that with such a small area, the pitch of the roof, and if correctly laid down, it wouldn't be an issue. And again, it's just a chicken coop not your house. Here's mine:

 

[The LaMarr's]

My coop is not finished yet, however the roof is on. I used tar paper and drip edge for mine. The shingles are a mixture of left overs that I had laying around and a couple bundles of clearance stock from my local Lowes. They are even different colors. I believe that you should not have a moisture issue IF the shingles are laid properly, meaning over lapped properly and the first course is upside down and then the next course laying right side up fully covering the upside down course. This done to seal the seam between the tabs. If you use dimensional shingles, they aren't tabbed like the common 3-tab shingle. However you will need to use a standard 3-tab shingle upside down under the first course or you can get rolls of shingle starter. Basically its a roll of shingle material that you unroll under the first course of shingles. Now, to address the idea of using plastic as a vapor barrier, I believe that would cause more problems in the long run. The plastic would actually trap moisture against the sheeting. As was stated in a previous post, shingles are designed to function as a barrier from the top and a breathable media from underneath. Installing plastic under the shingle would defeat the that purpose.
Hopefully this has helped.

Good luck with the Coop!!!

 

[patandchickens]

I wonder whether the 'plastic' the o.p.'s wife mentioned could have been her recollection of the, whatchacallit, stuff you can lay on the bottom 3' (or more) of the roof to prevent (well ok minimize) damage from ice dams. It looks a bit more like plastic than regular roofing paper does.

Not that it actually matters since I truly do not believe any of that sort of complication is needed for a typical coop

Pat