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An Overview of Roofing Felt

Rutuja Jathar
Roofing felt is used as a waterproof barrier between the roofing material and the sheathing. This story provides some information about the same.
Roofing felt, is a roofing material made up of glass fiber infused with bituminous materials like asphaltic bitumen. It is produced in forms of huge rolls and many times, a mineral like material (for instance sand) is applied on either side of the roll, so that the roll of the roofing paper does not stick with each other.
This also protects it from the atmospheric conditions. Today it is the most common sort of roofing material, that is used for the cause of waterproofing and roof protection.

Purpose

As said earlier, it is a heavy duty paper that is used to prevent the ingress of moisture in almost all atmospheric conditions. It is mainly used as an underlayment for many types of roofing like asphalt, wood, and several types of roofing shingles.
It is neither sun resistant nor wind resistant and hence, it can be used as a gravel for many home construction projects. Its purpose is mainly to protect the roofing from moist weather conditions.
The permeability can be considered as one of the main reasons for such a huge demand for it today. Further, it is available in all the home improvement stores in rolls of various sizes. These rolls differ by the width and length.
Its thickness and weight varies as per the dimensions and lengths of each of the rolls. It is mostly available in 3 foot wide rolls that are 50 or 100 feet long. The most common sort of these papers in the US weigh around "15 lb" and "30 lb". These rolls are usually available with chalked lines so that it can be easily laid as per the requirements.

Installation

Installing it is the most important component that doesn't get much of the attention that it needs. If proper attention is given, roofing felt coverage can be very durable and hence, useful for the homes. Basically, the installation is extremely easy and it can be installed using several basic techniques like mechanical fasteners and roofing nails.
Many times, this paper is also installed by using heat materials (like torch, hot air), hot and cold asphalt, and several non-asphaltic adhesives.
There are certain basic steps to follow, when it comes to the installation and its maintenance. Firstly, smoothen up the rolls. Installing them on a dry and clean surface would be the best. The key to the perfect installation lies in the overlapping.
Furthermore, if the rolls are installed in the correct manner then that roofing can be extremely durable.
Roofing felt is durable and long-lasting only if the proper precautions are taken at the time of its installation process and after that too. Checking for the slightest color differences in the roofing, can be very useful in its maintenance of the roofing felt (post installation).