Roofing felt offers an additional layer.
Roofing felt paper vs synthetic.
In contrast to regular roof felt synthetic underlayment is typically fabricated from man made polypropylene and polymer substances that are lightweight highly water resistant and very durable.
Generally speaking roofing felt is a felt paper that is soaked in asphalt and other water resistant compounds to produce a membrane.
The shingles are the primary weather barrier.
Weighs 16 to 27 pounds per roofing square.
In our industry there are two main varieties of underlayment.
Felt paper and synthetic.
The underlayment provides a secondary weather barrier against wind driven rain and snow.
Felt paper also referred to as tar paper was the standard underlayment material in roofing for decades.
While felt is weighed by pounds per roofing square 100 square feet synthetics are rated by grams per square meter gsm.
Synthetic felt is better at protecting your roof in the event of blow offs or wind driven rain as it is not as prone to the same problems as felt paper.
When most people think of roofs they typically think of shingles or metal roofing.
It will keep your roof dry even when water flows backward and in driving rain.
Of course it is a bit more technical than that but this is the basic idea behind how felt works.
For these reasons nj roofing contractors increasingly use these synthetic materials instead of traditional felt.
Additionally synthetic materials can withstand uv exposure much longer than felt paper so if progress needed to halt on a roof before the shingles were laid the material will not be damaged.
But what some may not know is there s another layer of protection directly on top of the roof deck and under the roof covering that performs a critical role in protecting your home from moisture damage.
Synthetic roof underlayment vs.
Felt is commonly sold in either 15 or 30 rolls measuring 36 inches wide.
Prospectors during the california gold rush covered the roofs of their temporary shacks with roofing felt also known as felt paper or tar paper.
It was easy to use durable and even had alignment lines to help with the shingle installation.
What is roofing felt.
Fast forward 170 years and roofing felt is still the most popular roofing material now used as an underlayment being installed today.
Anywhere from 40 100 grams per square meter.
For decades roofers have fitted a layer of felt over a roof s sheathing or roof deck before installing shingles.
Synthetic or felt roofing underlayment which is better.
For example interwrap s rhinoroof can be exposed to uv rays for up to 60 days without any potential damage.
