Prospectors during the california gold rush covered the roofs of their temporary shacks with roofing felt also known as felt paper or tar paper.
Roofing felt paper vs synthetic.
What is roofing felt.
For these reasons nj roofing contractors increasingly use these synthetic materials instead of traditional felt.
Felt is commonly sold in either 15 or 30 rolls measuring 36 inches wide.
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.
Roofing felt offers an additional layer.
For decades roofers have fitted a layer of felt over a roof s sheathing or roof deck before installing shingles.
Synthetic roof underlayment vs.
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.
While felt is weighed by pounds per roofing square 100 square feet synthetics are rated by grams per square meter gsm.
Weighs 16 to 27 pounds per roofing square.
Fast forward 170 years and roofing felt is still the most popular roofing material now used as an underlayment being installed today.
Synthetic or felt roofing underlayment which is better.
When most people think of roofs they typically think of shingles or metal roofing.
Asphalt felt and synthetic underlayments are products installed under all the roofing materials and directly on a roof deck.
For example interwrap s rhinoroof can be exposed to uv rays for up to 60 days without any potential damage.
Weighs 7 5 to 12 5 pounds per roofing square 30 felt.
It will keep your roof dry even when water flows backward and in driving rain.
Felt paper also referred to as tar paper was the standard underlayment material in roofing for decades.
In our industry there are two main varieties of underlayment.
Felt paper and synthetic.
Felt underlayment 15 felt.
The shingles are the primary weather barrier.
It was easy to use durable and even had alignment lines to help with the shingle installation.
Anywhere from 40 100 grams per square meter.
The underlayment provides a secondary weather barrier against wind driven rain and snow.
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.