I was amazed to discover only wood under the shingles of my house, which was redone about fifteen years ago.
A neighbor said several roofers have told him that's the best way to do it, and he intends to nail his shingles directly to his planks in the future. Roofers have told him roofing felt shortens the life of shingles by causing them to get hotter in the day.
I don't believe the felt makes shingles hotter, but I wonder about moisture. Is it possible that in some circumstances, the layer of felt can make shingles more hospital to fungi?
Has anyone else heard the theory that it's better to skip the felt?
Bottom line is to go with what the manufacturers say. I have never seen a bundle of shingles that didn't say right on it to use felt along with specific instructions on how the felt is to be applied.
===> ALL mfgs that I've looked at, plus ice rubber around here. He's either gettng BS or is testing out a BS idea. I can't beleive many people have said that! Asphalt et al shingles WILL NOT be guanranteed to keep water out without felt.
I've also heard the theory that the world is flat.
The NY State Residential Code, based on the IRC with some minor revisions, requires underlayment. The manufacturers of every roofing shingle I've ever run across require underlayment.
Who exactly are these roofers that know more than the manufacturers and feel they can ignore code?
The roofer was formerly an ex-con and a used car salesman. Some people will say anything to save a buck They save the cost of a few rolls of felt, a few nails, and an hour of labor. Of course the homeowner still pays full price for the job. Felt has been used since men moved out of caves. I'd tell that lying son of a bitch roofer where to go, and also call City Hall, ask for the building inspections dept., and report these crooks for fraud. Then tell your neighbor he's been a victim of a scam.
The original roof on my house (Central Ohio, 1973) had no felt; after
32 years, four plywood panels had to be replaced with the new roof. I don't know if that's a lot or a little. The roof itself held up pretty well. The new roof has 15# felt.
On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 18:08:07 -0400, Choreboy wrote (with possible editing):
FWIW, I put an addition on my home about 16 years ago. At the time, I used some fiberglass shingles - I'm not going to mention the brand because I am not certain I remember it correctly. The manufacturer said to NOT use felt. It was a big mistake. They began to leak at 10 years (they were 25 year shingles) and I ended up stripping the thing. I re-roofed with IKO 30 year architectural asphalt shingles and put Grace Ice and Water Shield under the entire thing.
On the main part of the building, I had Bird asphalt shingles which were supposed to be 20 year shingles. They had been applied over felt. It's interesting to note that at 25 years, they still didn't leak at all.
As far as I'm concerned, any roofer who tells you not to use felt is simply wrong (a more polite way of saying what others have already told you). It doesn't raise the surface temperature - how could it, as it's buried under two layers of shingle? It offers limited protection, though. If you're in the North and have the money, you can use Grace or Bithuthene under all of it. If not, you ought to use it at least on the edges, as it provides a water seal even without a covering.
I inherited the house my parents had inherited from my grandparents. Fifteen years ago they hired the roofer my grandfather had once hired. I think the roofer once had a good reputation, and his family still does.
The first time it snowed, my parents had leaking and found that he had violated the building code. He would not make repairs until they hired a lawyer.
Ever since, there have been occasional leaks in several rooms. They're hard to trace because they happen only under certain conditions (presumably wind direction and speed).
A week ago I discovered a hole in my roof. That's when I discovered the roofer had not used felt. Near the peak, between the chimney and the eave, the roofer had put in short planks without nailing them. They had fallen against the soffit, leaving enough of a dip for the shingles to leak. Down at the valley, the water from that leak had for fifteen years been rotting planks, rafters, and shingles.
I can't complain to the roofer. He ended up driving a taxi. He was murdered one night. The killer was assumed to be a robber. Maybe he was a homeowner.
When I mentioned the lack of felt to my never-wrong neighbor, he told me many roofers have told him that's the best way to do it. Should I ask his wife to tape a shingle over his mouth?
My roof has a 6-in-12 pitch. I plan to reroof myself. Does roofing felt provide decent footing? (Shingles with loose grit underfoot can make a guy a little uneasy.)
6/12 is a walker, no big deal. Don't get nervous and don't make the mistake beginning rock climbers make. If you lean into the roof, you're putting outward force on your feet. Stay upright, wear the right footing, tie yourself off if your feel better or use a chicken ladder (not really necessary). Or you can use roof jacks.
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If it's hot out the building paper rips more easily, so you want to make sure it's well stapled. Try to work in the shade or cooler parts of the day if possible.
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My BIL has exprience with shingles and will help me. He's busy, so I want to do as much as possible alone. If a staple hammer is a stapler swung like a hammer, he has one. He used nails to patch my roof with felt, so maybe he doesn't know about stapling felt as mentioned below.
Stapling sounds faster than nailing. What size staples should be used? How should they be positioned? If his staple hammer isn't available, would a stapler work?
My BIL's roof is probably 6/12. Years ago I helped him put metal on the north slope. Then I painted it with three coats. Then I installed and maintained an antenna mast, including lowering the mast to work on the amplifier. At that pitch, traction on the metal was unreliable, but I didn't mind because the roof broke to a lower pitch below. Traction on the shingled south slope began to worry me as the shingles deteriorated.
Don't you have to kneel, sit, or lie to work? A neighbor redid his
12/12 roof fifteen years ago. He used a piece of foam rubber for comfort and traction. It's rolled up on the joists of his garage. Is foam that old reliable for roof work?
In stepping off the eave onto a ladder a slip could be disastrous. Having the ladder long enough so I can stay upright and grab it near shoulder height seems to make the stepoff more foolproof. Where else is it important to stay upright?
I suppose soles shouldn't be stiff or slippery. Are there other requirements?
What's a chicken ladder? I have used a rope when working near eaves.
I like the idea. It would also provide a place for tools and bundles of shingles. Afterward, are the nail holes sealed with roofing cement?
In summer I try to stay out of the sun from 9 AM to 6 PM, or at least 10 to 5. That still leaves time for lots of shingles. Is nailing still the best way? Using asphalt to stick a nail to the face of the hammer sounds like a time saver. (My BIL told me that trick.)
The whole roof is about 20 squares. For now we're thinking of doing a section of five squares, separated by peaks from the rest of the roof. Does that sound good?
My shingles are asphalt. The section that's the most shaded is in the worst shape, which make me think staying damp damages asphalt shingles. Perhaps it damages cedar more.
Yeah, they really want the wood to be able to dry out. I'm replacing some old plastic siding someone put on my house's Mansard roof before we bought it. Using cedar shakes. It's slow going, just the two of us, but we're getting there. Here is a pic:
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