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Discussion Forum

Trimming New Roof Shingles

| Posted in General Discussion on November 14, 1999 01:16am

*
Well, you wouldn’t make any money on a production basis with this tip, but I had a situation where we had to have really neat rake lines, so I set up a little jig that had a kerf cut into a table with a fixed, perpendicular “fence” that I marked off with the 3 or 4 different lengths that were common to this roof. Then, I just put a framing square on top for a solid cutting guide and cut off the shingles with a utility knife. The hook blades work too, but I had better success for this job with regular, heavy duty utility blades. Make the fence just a little taller than the height of your shingles so that the knife clears the square and the fence without any contact. If you have irregular cut lengths, you can still use this jig, just lay your shingle in place, make a little cut with your knife right where you want it, slap the shingle onto the jig and rip it off.

A pro roofer may laugh, but this wasn’t all that slow with two men, and the lines were perfect.

MD

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Replies

  1. arlen | Nov 14, 1999 07:34am | #10

    *
    I use a 4 inch grinder with a diamond blade works great,makes more dirt usaully have to wipe the dripedge off
    you'll really appreicate this method when the shingles are cold.A grinder with a diamond blade will cut ANYTHING but
    wood,I am a general contractor and I use mine almost every
    day.

  2. Guest_ | Nov 15, 1999 03:34am | #11

    *
    I've always though about something like the roller/cutter for aluminum coil that you can buy for those newer type brakes. A wheel on top and a wheel on the bottom. you run this down and it cuts through the shingles. you could have the guide run along the drip edge for the perfect cut every time. Now we need to think up a way to tear off the old shingles other than pitchforks, shingleeaters and ass busting work.

    Pete Draganic

    1. Guest_ | Nov 15, 1999 03:45am | #12

      *I prefer to cut the shingles with a utility knife from below.I use a strip of 1x as a straight edge placed along the drip edge.I have cut cold shingles with a regular framing blade in an old, junky circular saw a couple of times. It works pretty good, good enough to do all the time if I wasn't scared of operating a power saw while leaning over the edge of a 6/12 roof 20 feet off the ground.

      1. Guest_ | Nov 15, 1999 03:50am | #13

        *Alan,there is another blade you can use called a "butterfly" blade.You might want to try it. I looks a lot like a butterfly or a small bow tie.They can be hard to find cause not every place carries them.I think pete has a good idea about having a guide register on the DE.Our little gadget needs something like the router you mentioned....a roller bearing to run along the DE.Most of all this thing has to be small,light ,cheap($35 or so) and able to survive a few drops.Or how about a new direction? Lets just snap a line like we already do,cut with hook blade.....but pre-heat the shingles with a heat gun. I bet those babies will cut like butter then.

        1. Guest_ | Nov 15, 1999 06:32am | #14

          *Hi Y'all.I would like to know the stock number of that "butterfly" blade, Stephen Hazlett. Sure sounds like that might be the blade.Putting all other thoughts together, do we have a battery operated skill saw with a 4" diamond blade? The guide nailed into the roof from above?As for cutting from below, Ryan Cruzan, I dont see how I could do that on the Colonial Craftsman homes around here. The ridge is 30' from ground to about 20' from ground.But, I agree, cutting shingles from underside is the best cut.Still, I think the portable skill saw with diamond blade might be a good runner-up.Any other thoughts?Hope this helps.

  3. Guest_ | Jan 04, 2000 11:33pm | #15

    *
    I have been snapping a chalk line and using hook blades with utility knife...

    Seems like there should be a better way...

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks.

    Hope this helps.

    1. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 09:48am | #1

      *Thats pretty much how I trim the edges. I don't enjoy roofing anyway, but I have to do it once in a while anyway and I know what you mean about the edges. Yrs ago I tried different methods like measuring and cutting each finish piece but usually wound up striking a line and pulling the ol' hook blade through them because the edge was so uneven. I usually have to put on 40yr dim. shingles which are even harder to trim. I have found that cutting the laminated portion with snips and finishing whith the hook work well and makes roofing a slight bit less taxing on the body.

      1. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 10:04am | #2

        *Hello Alan, Nice to see you again. I used to post with you (and many others) on Housenet on AOL way back when. Don't know if you remember or not... oh well... Standard practice here is to use "D" style metal drip edge (eave tin) and run first course of shingles out to the edge, and use the edge as a guide when cutting ends. This leaves a nice, crisp, clean cut with a hangover of shingles of about 3/8" to 1/2". Also protects the edges of the shingles should you want to lean an extension ladder against the roof. The metal lip of the drip edge takes the weight of the ladder, and protects the shingles. James DuHamel

        1. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 06:13pm | #3

          *I snap a chalk line and cut them all with a hook blade.Thats the fastest,neatest way I have tried.This lets you pick up your knife once and make all the cuts in the run.Cutting each shingle before installation means you have to pick up and put down the knife every shingle.Have heard of a trick for 40 yr laminates.Run a soldier course up the rake with a 1 inch overhang past the DE.Run all your shingles long,snap a line, and cut with a small circular saw.I have never tried this and I have no idea what blade is used.Sometimes I will cut the chalk line in valleys with an old pair of tin snips I save for this purpose.If there is a quicker,neater way I would sure give it a try,Stephen

          1. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 07:40pm | #4

            *Wow, you guys read my mind. I ended up using tin snips myself, hoping no one saw me. I'd think the asphalt would make a mess of the circ. saw blade? Use a smooth blade maybe?

          2. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 10:56pm | #5

            *Hello Everyone.Thanks for responding. I think it is time for a new invention in this area.(Hi James DuHamel. I do remember you. HouseNet got different after it left aol, didnt it? Well, I came here after that, and have been honored by the quality and craftsmanship I find on this board. Not to mention the way different pace this has to HouseNet these days.)If James is correct to say that the shingle is trimmed flush with the drip edge, then I could see where trimming is easier, having a guide that way.But, I understand that the shingle should be overhung past the drip edge by 3/8" to 1/2". That the shingle will then sag a little and allow water to drip from the edge of that shingle, rather than to create a path for the water onto the drip edge, as might tend to occur when the shingle is trimmed flush with the drip edge.A new invention is what seems needed, and a new invention is what I demand!Toward that end, here is what I have so far envisioned. Please add to it. Perhaps we shall all profit through no knuckles scraped, knees damaged, with less harmful falls. Who knows?I saw automotive foam being cut out of giant block of foam, with a piano wire that got hot.If a guide could be set up on a couple of roof jacks, about a foot away from the edge, then maybe that guide could hold some hot wire gadget...Or, a special blade for the skillsaw...I dont know! Help!

          3. Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 11:40pm | #6

            *I don't want to have to set up a jig,or clamp a guide...to much time wasted.I don't mind snapping a chalk line,that only takes a few seconds.The hook blades work great for me during the warm weather but can get a little slow in cold weather.how about a little gadget that would run off my air hose with about a 3 inch diameter cutting blade on it.Small enough to clip on a work belt or drop in a nail bag,and all the ooomph is supplied by that compressor already set up on the ground to run nail guns.I know there are already small grinders like this,but what would be the right cutting wheel?

          4. Mad_Dog | Nov 14, 1999 01:16am | #7

            *Well, you wouldn't make any money on a production basis with this tip, but I had a situation where we had to have really neat rake lines, so I set up a little jig that had a kerf cut into a table with a fixed, perpendicular "fence" that I marked off with the 3 or 4 different lengths that were common to this roof. Then, I just put a framing square on top for a solid cutting guide and cut off the shingles with a utility knife. The hook blades work too, but I had better success for this job with regular, heavy duty utility blades. Make the fence just a little taller than the height of your shingles so that the knife clears the square and the fence without any contact. If you have irregular cut lengths, you can still use this jig, just lay your shingle in place, make a little cut with your knife right where you want it, slap the shingle onto the jig and rip it off.A pro roofer may laugh, but this wasn't all that slow with two men, and the lines were perfect.MD

          5. Guest_ | Nov 14, 1999 06:30am | #8

            *Hi Stephen Hazlett.You are absolutely right about not setting up jigs and guides.Your little gadget ideas made me think of a router, like the drywallers use. Do you think that spiral bit would cut the asphalt shingles?I was working in cold weather, when this issue took me astray. Maybe its not a crucial problem, just one that is annoying enough to be a nuisance.I dont like having to settle for an edge because it is too difficult to make it as it could be made because I dont have the right tool.Maybe the hook blade is not the best blade to use. Do you think thats it? Would a carpet blade do better because it can cut through the overlapped shingles thickness. Or is that blade too thick?Hope this helps.

          6. Guest_ | Nov 14, 1999 07:25am | #9

            *It wasn't my idea but it has been suggested here that using a paper cutter - table with pivoted blade on one side - is very effective.

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