Roofing 101

We want you to know what we know...

Common Roofing Terms


A

Algae - Rooftop fungus that can leave dark stains on roofing.

Angled fasteners - Roofing nails and staples driven into decks at angles not parallel to the deck.

Apron flashing - Metal flashing used at chimney fronts.

ARMA - Asphalt Roofing Manufacturer’s Association. Organization of roofing manufacturers.

Asphalt- A bituminous waterproofing agent used in various types of roofing materials.

Asphalt concrete prime r- Asphalt based primer used to prepare concrete and metal for asphalt sealant.

Asphalt plastic cement - Asphalt based sealant material, meeting ASTM D4586 Type I or II. Used to seal and adhere roofing materials. Also called mastic, blackjack, roof tar, bull.

B

Back-surfacing - Granular material added to shingle’s back to assist in keeping separate during delivery and storage.

Blistering - Bubbles or pimples in roofing materials. Usually moisture related. In shingles blisters are either moisture under the material or moisture trapped inside the material.

Blow-offs - When shingles are subjected to high winds, and are forced off a roof deck.

Buckling - When a wrinkle or ripple affects shingles or their underlayments.  

C

or Closed-cut valley - A shingle valley installation method where one roof plane’s shingles completely cover the other’s. The top layer is cut to match the valley lines.

Corrosion - When rust, rot or age negatively affect roofing metals.

Counter-flashing - The metal or siding material that is installed over roof-top base flashing systems.

Crickets - A peaked water diverter installed behind chimneys and other large roof projections. Effectively diverts water around projections.

Cupping - When shingles are improperly installed over an existing roof or are over-exposed, they form a curl or cup.

D

Deck - The substrate over which roofing is applied. Usually plywood, wood boards, or planks.

Dormer - A raised roof extending out of a larger roof plane.

Drip-edge - An installed lip that keeps shingles up off of the deck at edges, and extends shingles out over eaves and gutters, and prevents water from backing up under shingles.

E

Eaves - The roof edge from the fascia to the structure’s outside wall. In
general terms, the first three feet across a roof is termed the eave.

End-laps - When installing rolled products in roofing, the area where a roll ends on a roof, and is overlapped by the next section of rolled material. (underlayments, rolled roofing)

Exposure - The area on any roofing material that is left exposed to the elements.

F

Fasteners - Nails or staples used in securing roofing to the deck. Felt-Organic or paper-based rolled material saturated with asphalt to serve as roofing underlayment.

Fiberglass mat - fibers condensed into strong, resilient mats for use in roofing materials.

Flange - Metal pan extending up or down a roof slope around flashing pieces. Usually at chimneys and plumbing vents

Flashing - Materials used to waterproof a roof around any projections through the roof deck.

Flashing cement - Sealant designed for use around flashing areas, typically thicker than plastic cement.

G

Gable roof - Traditional roof style; two peaked roof planes meeting at a ridge line of equal size.

Granules - Crushed rock that is coated with a ceramic coating and fired, used as top surface on shingles.

H

Hand-sealing - The method to assure sealing of shingles on very steep slopes, in high wind areas, and when installing in cold weather.

High nailing - When shingles are nailed or fastened above the manufacturer’s specified nail location.

Hip legs - The down-slope ridges on hip roofs.

Hip roof - A roof with four roof planes coming together at a peak and four separate hip legs.

I

Ice Dam - When a snow load melts on a roof and re-freezes at the
eave areas. Ice dams force water to "back-up" a roof and cause leakage.

L

"L" flashing - Continuous metal flashing consisting of several feet of metal. Used at horizontal walls, bent to resemble an "L".

Laps - The area where roll roofing or rolled underlayments overlap one
another during application (see also side laps and end laps).
LEED- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  An accreditation system administered by the Canadian Green Building Council to accelerate the transformation to high-performing, healthy green buildings, homes and communities throughout Canada.

Low slopes - Roof pitches less than 4/12 are considered low sloped roofs. Special installation practices must be used on roofs sloped 2/12-4/12.

M

Mansard - A roof design with a nearly vertical roof plane that ties into a roof plane of less slope at its peak.

Mats - The general term for the base material of shingles and certain rolled products.

Modified bitumen - Rolled roofing membrane with polymer modified asphalt and either polyester or fiberglass reinforcement.

Mortar - Mixture of sand, mortar, limestone and water used in bonding a chimney’s bricks together.

N

Nail-guide-line - Painted line on laminated shingles, to aid in the proper
placement of fasteners.

Nail-pop - When a nail is not fully driven, it sits up off the roof deck.

Nesting - Installing a second layer of shingles aligning courses with the
original roof to avoid shingle cupping.

NRCA - The National Roofing Contractors Association. Respected
organization of roofing contractors.

O

Open valley - Valley installation using metal down the valley center.

Organic mat - Material made from recycled wood pulp and paper.

Organic Shingles - Shingles made from organic (paper) mats.

OSB - Oriented Strand Board. A decking made from wood chips and
lamination glues.

Over-driven - The term used for fasteners driven through roofing material with too much force, breaking the material.

Over-exposed- Installing shingle courses higher than their intended
exposure.

P

Pitch - Ratio of the rise of the roof to the span of the roof.

Power vents - Electrically powered fans used to move air from attics and structures.

Plastic cement - Asphalt based sealant. Also called bull, mastic, tar, asphalt cement.

Plumbing vents - Term used to describe plumbing pipes that project through a roof plane. Also called vent stacks.

Prevailing wind - The most common direction of wind for a particular region.

Q

Quarter sized - Term for the size of hand sealant dabs, size of a 25¢ piece.

R

Racking - Method of installing shingles in a straight up the roof manner.

Rake edge-The vertical edge of gable style roof planes.

Release film - The plastic sheet installed on the back of Weather Watch® and StormGuard® underlayments. Used for packaging and handling. Remove before installation.

Rigid vent - Hard plastic ridge vent material.

Roof louvers - Rooftop rectangular shaped roof vents. Also called box vents, mushroom vents, airhawks, soldier vents.

Roof plane - A roofing area defined by having four separate edges. One side of a gable, hip or mansard roof.

S

Sawteeth - The exposed section of double thickness on Timberline® Series shingles. Shaped to imitate wood shake look on the roof.

Self-sealant - Sealant installed on shingles. After installation, heat and sun will activate sealant to seal the shingles to each other.

Selvage - The non exposed area on rolled roofing. Area without granules. Designed for nail placement and sealant.

Shed roof- Roof design of a single roof plane. Area does not tie into any other roofs.

Side-lap s- The area on rolled material where one roll overlaps the rolled material beneath it. Also called selvage edge on rolled roofing.

Side-wall s- Where a vertical roof plane meets a vertical wall. The sides of dormers etc.

Soffit ventilation - Intake ventilation installed under the eaves, or at the roof edge.

Starter strip - The first course of roofing installed. Usually trimmed from main roof material.

Steep slope roofing - Generally all slopes higher than 4/12 are considered steep slopes.

Step-flashing - Metal flashing pieces installed at side-walls and
chimneys for weather-proofing.

T

Tab - The bottom portion of traditional shingle separated by the shingle cut-outs.

Tear-off - Removal of existing roofing materials down to the roof deck.

Telegraphing - When shingles reflect the uneven surface beneath them. Shingles installed over buckled shingles may show some buckles.

Transitions- When a roof plane ties into another roof plane that has a
different pitch or slope.

U

Under-driven - Term used to describe a fastener not fully driven flush to the shingles surface.

Underlayments - Asphalt based rolled materials designed to be installed under main roofing material, to serve as added protection.

V

Valleys - Area where two adjoining sloped roof planes intersect on a roof creating a "V" shaped depression.

Vapo r- Term used to describe moisture laden air.

Ventilation - The term used in roofing for the passage of air from an enclosed space.

W

Warm wall - The finished wall inside of a structure, used in roofing to determine how to install waterproof underlayments at eaves.

Warranty - The written promise to the owner of roofing materials for material related problems.

Waterproof underlayments - Modified bitumen based roofing underlayments. Designed to seal to wood decks and waterproof critical leak areas.

Woven Valleys - The method of installing valleys by laying one shingle over the other up the valley center.


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