Yeah, chalk lines are a lifesaver. Learned that the hard way when my crew eyeballed a ridge once—ended up looking like a drunk snake installed it. Hand-nailing's slower, sure, but beats patching blow-through holes later...trust me on that one.
Chalk lines definitely help keep things straight, but I've found that using a ridge vent complicates things a bit—lining up shingles evenly gets trickier. Have you run into alignment issues when installing ridge vents, or is it just me?
I've actually found ridge vents easier to align than standard ridge caps—maybe it's just me. Couple quick thoughts:
- Chalk lines help, sure, but I usually eyeball the first few shingles on each side of the vent to get a feel for spacing. Once those are set, the rest fall into place pretty naturally.
- If you're struggling with alignment, check your vent installation itself. Sometimes the vent isn't perfectly centered or straight, and that'll throw off your shingles no matter how careful you are.
- Also, consider using architectural shingles if you're not already. They tend to be more forgiving visually, even if your alignment isn't 100% perfect.
Had a job last summer where the homeowner insisted on a ridge vent after we'd already started laying standard caps. Took a bit of adjusting mid-job, but honestly, once we got going, it wasn't as tricky as expected. Maybe give yourself a little more leeway on the first few shingles and see if that helps.
Interesting points, but honestly, I found ridge vents trickier than standard caps—at least on my first go. Maybe it's just lack of experience talking, but eyeballing didn't work out great for me. Ended up with a noticeable wave halfway down the ridge and had to redo a whole section...not fun.
I do agree about architectural shingles though; switched to those after that mishap and it helped hide minor alignment issues. But personally, I'd still recommend taking the extra few minutes to snap a chalk line. Sure, it's an extra step, but for someone new like me, it made a big difference in confidence and the final look.
Also, good point about checking vent alignment first—I learned that the hard way too. Mine was slightly off-center at one end, which threw everything else out of whack. Live and learn, I guess.
I get why chalk lines help, but honestly, I found just using a straight 1x4 board as a quick guide worked better for me. Easier to handle solo and no chalk dust everywhere... Did you try something like that first?
