Cutting Cold Shingles

Spencer

Anyone have a good way of cutting cold shingles?

Also, how cold is to cold for installing shingles?

locofoco

I'm not a roofer. but have done a lot of shingling for friends and family. Since about everyone in my family were tinners, we always used an old pair of 18s. (Wiss 18" straight snips) They work great on cold, hot or warm shingles. Don't use them on sheet metal afterwards though they will be dull.

specwood

I use tin snips all the time, especially around vent pipes.

Scoring the back on straight cuts works best for me.

doubleaction

I use a pair of snips also but not metal snips. There made by wiss but i forgot the model. Anyways a lot of guys i work with will use straght blades and score the shingle, then bend to break them. It seems to work ok but i still use a hook blade or the snips in the cold. As far as the cold goes i've roofed when it was about 5-10 degrees without windchill and the guns wouldnt work right. Now if it drops below 20-25 its a "snow day"

slowsol

like the guys before me said, i always use snips. I use long nosed aviation snips though. they're just easier to carry in my pouch.

as far as temp goes, i have shoveled snow off of felt and then roofed. you can't use the guns, just a hammer and nails at that point. it's no fun. have you ever hit your finger with a hammer in sub 20 degree weather? your finger splits like an overcooked hotdog.

mdshunk

I've seen the same roof crew on a few jobs lately using a battery trim saw to cut off the shingles at the rake ends when it's been cold out. They roofed the whole house, struck a line, and cut off all the overhanging shingles in one foul swoop with the trim saw much like you'd do for deckboards on a deck. That method might give some guys the willies, but I'm just passing along what I observed.

specwood

That sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that on our next one (assuming the temp is just right - shouldn't be a problem till April!)

A cheapo cordless saw might be in our future.

bob the builder

I actually run a heater all day in my trailor and that is where I cut my cap and step shingles on the ground, snips around cut outs and I also like doing what mdshunk said with the trim saw if the roof is walkable, but when I do that I break the shingle close to where the cut will be, otherwise if alot of the shingle is overhanging the edge you can't really snap a chalk line accurately.

Bob

AaronB.

They make an air powered shingle saw, which I think would be good for some things in the cold, like rake ends, but we normally just use hook blades.

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Ken@K&R

I use a battery powered trim saw the same way I cut some siding. Turn a plywood blade around and go to town. I like roofing better in the winter just because of it.

Spencer

Thanks for the tips

jmorgan

I use 18" angled snips. My guns work fine in the cold. Roof in the single digits all of the time?????
Jim

Grumpy

Hook blades when ever possible. When not possible or for weird cuts we use tin snips. Lastly a saw.

Shingles will not seal to one another, and while the manufacturers do not set temprature restrictions, a shingle roof's protectiveness is limited until the shingles seal. Therefore I have created a company policy to NOT install shingles below freezing tempratures except on new construction where builders can usually care less about anything other than their budget and schedule. Also note that the temprature of the shingle should be around 60-70 before the shingles will really start to seal well.

dougger222

I'm with Thomas on this one!

Every winter I get builders who build in the dead of winter and the roofs have to be shingled in order to meet inspection dates. The roofs get done and it takes more time and the shingles finally seal in the summer. Not a huge fan of laying shingles when it's under say 15 degrees but it has to be done.

This has been my busiest winter ever but here in MN we're having a very mild winter. Weeks of 30's is perfect!!!

dougger222

The one thing I've noticed when roofing in the dead of winter (below zero) is come Spring time some nails pop up for reasons unknown. It's always on new construcion so I end up setting the ladder up and pound the nails down free of charge of course! Of the hundreds of winter roofs installed over the years it's only happened a couple times and I noticed it not the homeowner or builder.

IHI

What type of gun, oil, compressor?? We got stuck doing a huge roof last year the builder walked off the job, temps were in the teens, but our guns kept freezing up so hand nailing became the norm after fighting guns and using the junk shingles they had since nails kept wanting to break through even with guns depth set to minimum.

FWIW, I've got a big dual tip propane torch I use to go over the roofs after it's been laid to warm it up and promote sealing. The place above was in the middle of a corn feild in the country (10-20 winds at all time...any rural guys know what i mean and I fully expected and informed homie to call back in the spring as we may have some shingles that did not stick get wind caught and blown off....guess the torch did the trick and only took about 15 minutes total to do the entire roof...got nervious with this 500,000 BTU thing that it'd burn through the roof deck and torch the entire building..which woulda sucked!!!

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dougger222

Your guns are not freezing it's your hoses that are freezing. I've laid shingles with a nail gun below zero many many days. A couple years ago I was laying shingles with a 35 below windchill!!!

The trick I found best in the winter is to keep all guns and hoses in the cab area of the truck and drain the tanks at the end of each day. Have a couple extra hoses on hand if your regular hose freezes during the day.

Also expect to blast several more nails than usual on the really cold days. Laminate shingle are good shingles but can really be a pain when cold.

tooldude58

Hey There you crazy roof ( hoofers) ers,

One job, in the cold, bad wind, sun with snow melt, black ice, 8/12 pitch. Sound like fun; NO<NO<NO<!!! Not ever again.

Singles too cold, break and shatter; guys complain like there's no tomorrow; short work times; no seal; slippery when ice over takes place.

On cutters, there is a product I saw about a tear ago that cuts them like a paper cuuter. Yes, any scroll saw with a long metal blade in it, will do a great job of trimming any edge. Dan-o

Grumpy

Sounds like a slate cutter.

jmic

Well Grump, knowing some of the meatballs out there it could have been a paper cutter.

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