The most common roofing material used on your average home today is certainly asphalt shingles and probably every shingle roof done in the US today starts with the installation of black paper called roofing felt underlayment.

What’s interesting – remarkable even, is that, in perhaps 90% or more of instances, the installation of this paper is a waste of time and resources.

Roofing Felt Underlayment

The felt we’re referring to is your basic asphalt saturated, thick black paper which is most often used in two thickness, 15lb or 30lb which refers to its weight per 100 SF. The use of felt, dating back over 100 years, probably originated with wood shake, slate and tile – the three “original” roofs. With tile roofing, and particularly two-piece Spanish tile, the system was imperfect. Spanish tiles were handmade, not uniform, and often (intentionally) not laid down in a uniform manner. During any heavy rain, even on a newly laid roof, water would get past the tile so the felt helped to prevent actual leaks. In the case of wood shakes, it helped stop leaks when, after time, the shakes would split open. And so felt served an important role here as well.

Back in the day, homeowners often did their own roofs, or they hired very small and inexpensive roofing crews which could take weeks to months and in these cases felt was adopted for use as a way to “dry-in” a roof that might be exposed to the elements for some time, or for very low sloped roofs which need extra protection from wind-blown rain which may, from time to time, defeat an asphalt shingle system.

At some point the manufacturers of shingles (and felt) and subsequently roofers began pushing the use of felt on all roofing projects to increase sales, even when most roofers knew that it was mostly unnecessary.

But don’t take my word for it.  The following is taken from the 2007 Master Shingle Applicator manual from CertainTeed (excerpted from pg 23): “CertainTeed does not require that shingle underlayment be used under their shingles for the standard shingle warranty coverage to be in effect, on slopes of 4/12 and more.”

There can be no more a definitive statement, than the manufacturer of the product itself, stating their warranty will be honored if you don’t use their own product!

Now it is considered that on low slopes of 2 to 3 in 12 pitch (9-14 degrees), that double roofing felts are necessary (by the manufacturer) and I agree since I have seen that this does seem to be the case. Shingle systems can be defeated at about a 10 degree roof pitch when the worst of circumstances are present, such as a heavy, wind-blown rain storm and the use of double felts can help prevent that.

It has been suggested that these roofing felts are a constituent part of a Class A fire resistant (level) roofing system.  But I find that fairly dubious. As far as I know, there is nothing (chemically) in these felts which prevent fire and the only reason they are a constituent part of a Class A fire resistant roofing system, is because the Uniform Building Code states felts must be used in a shingle system to begin with so it became part of the test but it’s the shingles that are fire resistant. I am pretty sure if you soak paper in asphalt, you have kindling or fire starter, not something that is resistant to fire.

Matt Glass wrote this article on roofing felt and he is part of the Glass Family who owns and operates J and J Roofing in Los Angeles.

If you’re about to get a new roof then no doubt your roofer will explain certain things to you so that you’re better prepared but not all roofers are very conscientious about explaining what to prepare for. Generally speaking the following does not apply to minor roof repairs.

The first thing to know about most roofing jobs is that they are usually very noisy, dusty, and dirty and as a necessity, they start early (7am). In fact most roofers would prefer to start earlier, to beat the hot sun even more, but the law in most places will not allow working before 7am.

If you’re getting a full reroof including your existing roof removed there’s going to be a lot of dust and debris flying. Of particular concern are old rusty nails that will get into your grass in your garden which can play havoc on your pets and children so you want to make sure that your roofer uses rolling magnets several times throughout your entire property. If the edge of your roof is very close to your property line it is quite likely some debris will fall into your neighbor’s yard. It’s a good idea to let all your neighbors know when you’re getting a reroof.

If you’re getting your garage done as well, there’s a very good chance that a lot of debris will fall inside if your garage does not have an attic or finished ceiling. If your car is in there you’re going to want to get it out of there. It’s a good idea to get some light painters plastic to cover things up in there. The roofing company may or may not clean that out for you and you should just ask them if it’s part of the job.

Prepare for a Reroof

The contractors are going to need your driveway for the duration of the job. They are not going to want to park their work trucks a block away and walk to them every time they need a nail or another bundle of shingles and keeping your contractor happy and saving him time is a good thing and will only help you.

If you have pets and they seem to be sensitive to loud noises this will not be a happy time for them and you should consider getting your pets to a pet sitter. In as much as possible keep your windows and doors closed and try to stay out of the workers way. Its not a good idea to simply march outside your backdoor without warning anybody that may well be working near the edge with hammers nails and heavy objects. You want to take care when getting a reroof.

While there is no exact science to hiring a good roofing contractor there are a few things that you can do to improve your chances of avoiding a bad one.

Hire a licensed roofer! That may seem obvious, but unlicensed, and uninsured roofers are much cheaper than licensed ones but you could be risking a lot more than you think if you hire them.

Perhaps the most telling sign for a roofing contractor is whether or not he has a visible presence on the Internet.  Not having a website is not a good sign. Check different rating services such as Angie’s List, Yelp, Google, etc., to see whether or not he has many good reviews. And bear in mind that a roofer with no reviews is almost as bad as a roofer who has lots of poor reviews.

Go to your state’s CSLB web page and check his license number to make sure he doesn’t have complaints. Having even a single complaint is not a good sign because they can be resolved and cleared, so that means he hasn’t bothered or it’s very recent.  The license check and verification page for California, it is www.cslb.ca.gov

Above all you want to hire a roofer who has a good reputation; after all, he’s got something to lose. That may not seem like much, but these days, having a bad rep online is having a bad rep, period. And just because a roofer did a good job for your friend or neighbor, does not mean he’ll do a good job for you so you should still check him out.

Also, don’t pass on a roofer just because he seems to be very busy. A busy roofer is often a good roofer.

One of the more common trends of roofing contractors is the unwillingness to get up on your roof. It’s pretty hard to do a proper roofing estimate, whether it’s a repair or a reroof without getting on a roof so that you can see the specific aspects of your roof.  All roofs are different.

While you can probably hire a good roofing contractor that doesn’t have general liability, it’s usually not a good idea. Besides the fact that he is not covered by a general liability policy and you are there for putting yourself at risk, it’s often indicative of a contractor who is not really well established, or who perhaps doesn’t have the finances to cut even cover it. The bottom line is a decent roofing contractor should have general liability.

Follow all these steps and you’ll be pretty sure to hire a good roofing contractor.

In the past, when buying and selling a home, not many home buyers necessarily had a professional roofing inspection along with their home inspection. But because general home inspectors suggest a proper tile roof inspection, it is happening more often. Why? Most home inspectors simply don’t have roofing experience and even if they did, a good roofing inspector needs ten or more years’ experience in order to properly judge a roof’s condition.

In the case of tile roofs, even experienced roofers can fail in judging their age but mostly it’s because they are too lazy to bother really digging in, and you have to. Because of course, the tile itself is probably either concrete or clay, and would probably last 100 – 200 years, maybe more (certainly we know clay can last centuries).

But a tile roof depends upon the waterproof membrane underneath. That membrane is covered with the tile, so unless you pull up some tile, you can hardly judge its age. Many roofers will examine the membrane at the edge of the roof but this will give you a false negative. The membrane at the very edge, where it is often exposed to harsher elements, is almost always going to be far more worn than the membrane further up, covered with tile.

Make Sure to Get a Proper Tile Roof Inspection

I will usually take a sample of the membrane and, besides identifying its quality, can bend it and see how much asphalt oils remain – the prime ingredient in waterproof felt. It might be a high quality rubberized membrane of a type that has only been made in the last 10 years in which case a) we know it can’t be that old and b) it is high quality and will, in any event, last for decades. Most roofers use the cheap old 30 pound ordinary felt paper. I personally use a rubberized felt that is much heavier and can last over 60 years.

The bottom line is that if you are buying a home and particularly if it has a complicated or expensive tile or slate roof on it, it pays to find out what shape it’s really in by a qualified roof inspector. In some cases, I have saved clients from making a $50k mistake with a proper tile roof inspection.

(Read our last blog for more information on inspecting other types of roofing.)

As an experienced roofer, I have evaluated thousands of roofs. Some only need minor repairs while some obviously need to be replaced.  Most are somewhere in between. It can be difficult to decide whether or not a repair or a replacement is the best option but there are some ways a homeowner can at least understand the process better.

First and foremost, a good, honest roofer who is in it for the long haul is not interested in making a quick buck, he is interested in making a lifelong customer who will refer all his neighbors and friends.  So he is more likely to push you in the direction that is the most honest or costs you the least. Get your opinions from roofers you believe you can trust.

First, date your roof.  All roofs have a life expectancy. Determining whether it’s cost effective to repair or just replace it will hinge on this most important fact. If you have a 20 year warranty shingle that is 17 years old, and repairs will run $1500 but a new roof is $5000, repairs make little sense.  Most tile roofs will last 30 years (the underlayment). But a good roofer can tell you what kind of underlayment you have (some last a lot longer than others). If you know how old it is, even roughly, he can tell you how long it will probably last before repairs are no longer cost effective.  With tile roofs, you can often redo the roof a section at a time.

The same principle applies no matter what type of roof you have. We can help you take the guesswork out of it by giving you a free estimate on your roof.  Call us at 877 7MY ROOF to arrange a free estimate.