At this point in time, there should be no doubt that your roof is a critical part of your home and is truly what makes it your primary shelter from the weather. Yet did you know there is a secondary layer of roofing installation that is necessary to help prolong the life of your structure?
Underlayment is the layer beneath the shingles or whatever other roofing material you may have. An experienced roofing company knows that no roof can be installed without an underlayment.
What Material Should Be Your Roof's Underlayment?
Now that you understand a bit about underlayment, the question raised by roofing companies is what type of material should be used to build this layer? This can be a little difficult to answer since both synthetic or more traditional felt material can be used.
You must discuss this with a roofing contractor if getting a new roofing installation is on the horizon; however, if you are already leaning towards using a synthetic material and want to do more research on your own, following is everything you should need to know.
Organic vs Synthetic
In order for you to determine whether synthetic is the right choice for the underlayment, you need to look at all the options available. A roofing company will often give you two choices: organic or asphalt-saturated felt and synthetic felt.
Many roofing contractors automatically choose the asphalt-saturated/organic felt simply because it has been the industry standard so long due to its affordability and accessibility. Both of these things can be good when investing in a costly roofing installation.
Synthetic underlayment is something the average roofing company is still getting used to since it is somewhat new to the industry in comparison to the traditional felt most roofers know. Despite this fact, synthetic material offers many benefits over traditional felt.
Using Synthetic Material
Before the roofing installation begins, you should talk to your roofing contractor about any benefits synthetic materials may offer in your particular situation and location over traditional felt underlayment. Following are just a few of the benefits of synthetic underlayment:
- Certain types can be up to 6 times lighter and 3 times stronger than traditional felt.
- Synthetic is more resistant to water.
- There is a UV coating which helps synthetic be more resistant to the sun.
- Synthetic roofing underlayment does not rot, buckle, or crack.
Although a synthetic underlayment is more expensive than its traditional counterpart, many roofing contractors still recommend using this material because of the reasons stated above.
Regardless of its made-up, underlayment is a crucial part of a roofing structure and furnishes many benefits on its own. An expert roofing company knows that it provides a temporary barrier against the weather while shingles are being put down during a roofing installation.
It prevents the roof deck from drawing in moisture and even tar from the shingles. The underlayment also acts as a second barrier should any moisture get through the roof itself.
If after reading all of the above information, you are still unsure which type of material to use, talk to your roofing contractor and discuss what kind of underlayment would better suit both your individual situation and your budget!
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