Roof Felt

Roofing Felt

Roofing felt is the material barrier that is placed on the wood frame of the roof as a secondary protection against moisture in the event of failure of the main roofing material.

Generally in the construction of a roof in the USA plywood sheeting is fixed to the roof rafters and a roofing felt is fixed to this sheeting before the roofing shingles are fixed in place.

The main purpose of the roofing felt is to offer a secondary barrier against the ingress of moisture in the form of wind driven rain or dammed ice.

In roofing construction where tile or slate is the preferred final roof material 1x3/4 battens are fixed to the rafters or sheeting. The roofing felt is placed between the sheeting and the battens.

Roofing Felt Materials

In the USA the primary roof covering is asphalt shingle. Asphalt shingle are cheap light and very easy to handle in comparison to slate or concrete roofing materials.

There are basically two types of asphalt roofing shingle, organic and glass fiber.

Organic roof shingle are paper based saturated in asphalt with a ceramic granule surface coating. They have an adhesive coating on the rear to enable them to be easily fixed to the layer of roofing felt which is installed prior to the fixing of the asphalt roofing shingle.

Glass fiber roofing shingle is similar to the organic shingle except a glass fiber material is used instead of paper.

Roof Construction

Roof Contractors

When employing a contractor to install a roof it is important to know what grade and quality of roofing materials they will use to complete the contract of installing your roof.

Because of this it is necessary that the individual educate them-self in the various materials and quality and price range of these materials.

Fortunately there is a plethora of free roofing information available on the internet to help the homeowner who is considering installing a new roof on their house to make good informed decisions on the types of roofing materials to use.

It is imperative that regardless of the type of finish product you choose to adorn you home that you use a top quality roofing felt as a secondary protection barrier against the ingress of wind driven rain and as a back up in the event of the failure of the roof covering.