My friend says I can use flat shingles to cover the apex of my roof. But I see there are special "Hip & Ridge" shingles for this purpose.
Why are they better?
Why are they folded like that?
TIA
- posted
16 years ago
Roof Shingles
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- posted
16 years ago
Yes, you can and I would estimate that a very high percentage of roof jobs do just that.
The special, pre-made ones, cost more and may look better but save you the labor of cutting regular shingles in thirds, not that it is much of a job.
Harry K
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- posted
16 years ago
Not part of your question, but have you considered the possibility of adding a ridge vent system while you are doing the re-roof?
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- posted
16 years ago
If you have plain single-thickness three-tab shingles, you can easily cut them into pieces suitable for the ridge line.
On the other hand, if you have the fancier "architectural" shingles, they are two layers thick in some places to give a look that is more like a real wood shingle roof. They'll be harder to cut in thirds, and may look weird when rotated 90 degrees (so the water flow is "sideways" relative to the original shingle).
The special ridge shingles are precut, and designed to look thicker than they really are.
Dave
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- posted
16 years ago
Okay. Thanks for all the answers.
I'll be cutting regular shingles into thirds.
So, may I take it that the special-made hip and ridge shingles are folded back on themselves in the middle simply because it makes them LOOK better when they lay on the ridgeline??
There's no practical water-proofing benefit?
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- posted
16 years ago
Sorry for the misunderstanding, Big_Jake. Yes, I was talking about he "laminated multiple layers" when I used the word "folded"
Unless I'm not understanding your question, the simply answer is that you can't cover the "apex" of your roof without "folding them". It is a ridge, and you have to cover it to prevent leaking.