How To Apply Roofing Felt Paper

Some roofers prefer to attach felt underlayment with 1 inch roofing nails or special nails with plastic washers but most codes allow staples which are easier to drive.

How to apply roofing felt paper.

Start the roof felt at one bottom corner of the roof. Also called roof felt or builder s felt overlapped tar paper creates a water barrier that is your home s last line of defense against the elements if your shingles are damaged by wind hail or. As you work the paper can be tacked down in the center so it won t blow away. Begin at the bottom working in horizontal lines and gradually moving upward.

Felt or building paper must be applied to walls properly to be effective. It is commonly called 15lb paper. Tack it in place at the corner with the end flush with the end of the roof and the bottom edge of the roll right along the bottom of the roof. Laying the felt the roofing felt should be applied in layers that overlap.

Start at the bottom of the roofline and work up so any water that gets through the roofing material will shed down the tar paper and will not go under it. Use a 4 inch 10 cm paintbrush or a roller to apply the paint or primer. Many builders use standard 15 pound roofing felt. All drip edges along roof eaves valley liners and flashing need to be installed before the roof paper layer is laid down.

Before applying roofing you ll need to cover the sheathing with roofing felt also often called tar paper most local codes call for using 30 pound felt. Drag it gently from one end of the roof to the other east to west or west to east. The most common size width for rolls of roofing paper is 36 inches. Felt labeled astm 15 meets specific standards and is the norm in many areas.

Roofing felt is comprised of a base made from natural materials such as wood cellulose or synthetic ones such as fiberglass or polyester and then coated or saturated with a protective coating such as bitumen asphalt which repels water but still allows the product to breathe.