How to Install Roofing Felt
Roofing felt installation is a crucial step when it comes to fixing a roof. This is because the material forms a barrier between the shingles and the roof deck protecting the deck from water, especially condensation that may form under the shingles. If roofing felt is improperly installed, it can cause serious problems to your roof and the entire home. The roofing experts at Stella Construction Roofing Services, your Wilmington MA roofing services, are experts at roofing installation and have superior knowledge and experience in every step of the process, including how to install roofing felt. Here’s a quick overview of the process. Note that this guide is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a comprehensive instruction. Contact Stella Roofing for expert roofing material installation.
What You Require
When installing the roofing felt, you might require the following tools and materials:
- Metal drip—edge flashing
- Ladder
- Hammer and galvanized nails
- Utility knife
- Staple gun and staples
- A tape measure and chalk line
The Installation Process
Installing the roofing felt can be a success if you take a step by step approach. This is where you make some preparations, lay the felt, and affix it to your roof. You have to understand that the preparation stage is vital and can account for the entire installation process’s success. Therefore, spending some time to prepare the roof properly is highly recommended.
Preparation Work
As you prepare to install the roofing, you have to consider the weather forecast as the process should be done when the forecast says that there will not be a lot of rain for several days.
You have to ensure that the roof deck is completely dry and clean before laying down the roofing. This is because any pieces of old felt, any stray roof tracks, or general debris can short change your new felt installation success. You can run a flat bottom shovel along the roof deck to help you detect any stray nails that need to be pulled.
Be sure to replace any rotting roof deck before laying the felt. Any valley liners, drip edges on the eaves, and all flashing should also be fixed before laying the tar paper down.
Laying the Felt
When laying down the felt, it is important that they are placed in an overlapping way. This means that you have to apply the roofing felt in overlapping layers. You need to start the installation from the bottom of the roofline, working up to ensure that watersheds down the tar paper and will not get through.
As you work, it would be good to tuck down the paper by the center to prevent it from blowing away. The paper needs to be nailed or stapled across every 3-4 inches with all the nails or staples being placed on the lower half of the paper.
Overlapping should be done by four inches, and valleys, hips, and ridges have a 6-inch overlap.
You have to take time to walk through a row before securing the end to smooth any rough spot. Note that when the roofing felt is installed smoothly, it helps you to achieve smooth shingles installation.
Some Essential Tips and Techniques You Can Apply
- Always make the strips lay flat to prevent moisture, dust, or mold development.
- In case the sheathing gets wet before the installation is completed, please allow it to dry first before continuing. Please, never mount the roofing felt on the wet sheathing.
- Always check the requirement in line with the roofing material to go over the felt as some materials will demand heavier paper than others.
Installing roofing felts requires care, and if proper preparations are made and the weather is favorable, it can go quickly. If you face any challenges installing the felt at any stage, the trained roofing technicians at Stella Construction Roofing Team can help.
