Roofing Underlayments

Roof feltsWhat is  roof underlayment and why do I need it?

Simply put, roofing underlayment is the first material put on your roof deck, it is installed between the bare wood of your deck and the roofing material on top.

There are a wide variety of reasons to install underlayment before applying your roofing products of choice.

– Building CODE often requires underlayment
– It is used to “dry in” the roof in the time between tearing off old
shingles(or new construction) and installing new.
– It is a barrier against vapor and moisture.
– Underlayment prevents to oils and residue seen in asphalt roofing shingles from penetrating into the roof   deck.
– Most shingle manufactures as well as most alternative roofing product manufacturers require underlayment to   properly warranty there products.
– In the event of a product failure(leak), a good underlayment can give you an extra barrier of protection against   outside elements.

I am hearing a lot about synthetic roofing underlayments are they worth the extra cost?Best Synthetic Roofing Underlayment

Depending on your application you may want to consider paying a higher price for synthetic underlayments. They last a lot longer than tradition roofing felt and provide some extra benefits such as improved water tightness and traction control(for when your roof is being installed). It is highly recommended to use a synthetic underlayment for metal roofs or any shingles expecting to exceed 40 years in life.

There are a wide variety of underlayment available in the marketplace today below we’ll explore some of the most common.

Product Description
15 lb Roofing Felt Cheapest, Lightest and most common felt found on residential applications
30 lb Roofing Felt A Mid-grade felt, the most common choice for professional contractors who know the importance of underlayment
45 lb Roofing Felt Mostly out of style now, once used for industrial applications, better and cheaper synthetic underlayment are now available.
Roofers Select (Certainteed) Proprietary roofing underlayment from Certainteed. Fiberglass reinforced at 44lbs per roll.
FiberGlas (Owens Corning) Proprietary roofing underlayment from Owens Corning. Fiberglass reinforced at 42lbs per roll.
Titanium UDL Synthetic Underlayment warranted for up to 50 Years! Slip and tear resistant outperforms traditional roofing felts in every measurable category.
Palisade Synthetic Underlayment with proprietary Strong Hold Skid resistant technology.
Summit(Atlas Roofing) Proprietary synthetic underlayment from Atlas roofing.