Posted by roofcoadmin January 3, 2018
First of all, this article assumes that you have a house and that you want to take care of it as much as you can. And taking care of it means not just beautifying the living room, or the foyer, or even the kitchen (that’s a nice goal by the way), but it also means making sure the outside of the house is well secured and maintained.
This means that no expense is spared to protect your home from unwanted elements like dust, hail, snow, in-laws (kidding). And one of the most important area to fortify and defend is your roof.
Roof Underlayment
Basically, a roofing underlayment is very important because it is an essential second line of defense for your roof. Imagine it as a second gate for your house to keep the bad guys from barging in.
For example, if your roof got hit by a fairly-sized object (improbable, but not impossible), this would create either a crack or even a small hole in your roof (very probable). Or if you have roof shingles, then it will probably damage or even remove at least one shingle.
So when you don’t have roof underlayment and it rains, it will perhaps start with smalls drops, then as the leak becomes bigger, more drops, and then, when care is still not given, it will be followed by utter disaster. This is where the waterproof underlayment comes to the rescue. Mind you, this is not a long-term solution. This is disaster-saving, but you need to really fix the damage out there.
Waterproof Versus Water Resistant
Most companies that offer roofing services also suggest that you install these waterproof underlayment, you know, just in case of emergencies. In fact, in a lot of areas, government building requirements include this as a must for approval. That’s how important it is.
So you probably know that there is a big difference between waterproof and water resistant. Most of the natural roof underlayment were water resistant. They could keep rain out, to a certain extent.
The problem with that kind of underlayment, like asphalt-felt for example, is that it naturally absorbs water (which is great in the short-term), but when too much water is absorbed, it then of course becomes heavier and then it can’t hold it anymore.
Choose Wisely
There are two main categories to choose from—the natural underlayment and the synthetic ones. As previously stated, the natural kind has its flaws. But the synthetic is not perfect as well. The advantage of using synthetic is that it is widely accepted to be stronger and therefore lasts longer, and it is also more durable even when people are walking on the roof. You have to research it yourself.
You also have to be careful of checking if what these roofing underlayment brands are promoting is true (i.e. 30-lb is really that and not a disguised 15-lb). Other things to consider include how the degradation of the roofing compounds might affect the underlayment, how tolerable it is with sunlight exposure, making sure the installment is careful and correct, and so much more.
Next Step
If you think this sounds too complicated, you know what, it can be. If it gets too much for you, or if you just don’t have the time to research and do all these, there are roofing companies in your area who do a great job in making sure you have waterproof underlayment installed and maintained.
You might need to call them and have them come over to take a look and assess what you really need. But whatever you need to do, don’t delay too much, you never know when the next rainy day is. Follow us now at Roofco and get exclusive benefits!