Hola amigos
I've been roofing for 15 years in the Pacific Northwest, so I am no stranger to working under rain.
And I don't know what the deal is.... but for the first half of my career, always working for someone else, using whatever they ordered for the job, I never had any trouble with leaking - always felt, usually 30#, but sometimes even 15#.
And I'm sure it's partially just a consequence of the fact that I'm a contractor now, have guys working for me that may or may not do perfect work 100% of the time, and I'm the guy that gets the call when problems happen... but it sure seems like underlayments leak when you leave them under rain these days.
I don't use felt anymore. I'm not entirely sure when I switched to Safeguard30... I think about 4 years ago. I switched because felt is such a PITA to work with in the rain - bubbling up, needing to be slashed, and the compromise in waterproofing you get for the duration of a project with slashed felt under shingles that may or may not go all the way to the top... etc. But I'll tell you - I'm seriously considering going back to felt, and just dealing with it. My roofs NEVER leaked when I used felt.
I go to these fancy new synthetic or semi-synthetic underlayments, and now I have to abstain from drinking at night when we've got a roof under rain - because sometimes I get 10PM calls - "Our ****ing roof is leaking, you stupid ****ing roofer!" No, I never get attitudes like that.. but that's the attitude I'd have if MY roof ever leaked because of someone else.
Jeez.
Anyway... I'm going to try other products before I go back to felt. Everyone LIKES that I use Safeguard30 - the armchair roofer client reads good things about it, and it justifies my slighter-higher pricing, to them, I guess. "Will never rot!" "Lies flat and doesn't need to be slashed during install!" All that stuff they like to read. My main guy really like's OC's gray tarp-like underlayment... can't remember what it's called. But he likes that it beads water, and there's apparently some kind of plastic shrink-wrap like material on the bottom that seem to gasket around the nails/staples, so it doesn't leak. Any thoughts on that stuff?
Other recommendations of stuff to try?
Money is no object here - just desperately need something that won't leak straight through the lapped staple holes.
Thanks
-B
PS - for clarity, I'm talking exclusively about during-construction. My roofs never leak once shingled. Never.
And yes - we do only staple on the seams. And we do inwardly-angle the seams, and use a fat overlap. It's not a question of install methods - the **** just straight up leaks sometimes.
I've been roofing for 15 years in the Pacific Northwest, so I am no stranger to working under rain.
And I don't know what the deal is.... but for the first half of my career, always working for someone else, using whatever they ordered for the job, I never had any trouble with leaking - always felt, usually 30#, but sometimes even 15#.
And I'm sure it's partially just a consequence of the fact that I'm a contractor now, have guys working for me that may or may not do perfect work 100% of the time, and I'm the guy that gets the call when problems happen... but it sure seems like underlayments leak when you leave them under rain these days.
I don't use felt anymore. I'm not entirely sure when I switched to Safeguard30... I think about 4 years ago. I switched because felt is such a PITA to work with in the rain - bubbling up, needing to be slashed, and the compromise in waterproofing you get for the duration of a project with slashed felt under shingles that may or may not go all the way to the top... etc. But I'll tell you - I'm seriously considering going back to felt, and just dealing with it. My roofs NEVER leaked when I used felt.
I go to these fancy new synthetic or semi-synthetic underlayments, and now I have to abstain from drinking at night when we've got a roof under rain - because sometimes I get 10PM calls - "Our ****ing roof is leaking, you stupid ****ing roofer!" No, I never get attitudes like that.. but that's the attitude I'd have if MY roof ever leaked because of someone else.
Jeez.
Anyway... I'm going to try other products before I go back to felt. Everyone LIKES that I use Safeguard30 - the armchair roofer client reads good things about it, and it justifies my slighter-higher pricing, to them, I guess. "Will never rot!" "Lies flat and doesn't need to be slashed during install!" All that stuff they like to read. My main guy really like's OC's gray tarp-like underlayment... can't remember what it's called. But he likes that it beads water, and there's apparently some kind of plastic shrink-wrap like material on the bottom that seem to gasket around the nails/staples, so it doesn't leak. Any thoughts on that stuff?
Other recommendations of stuff to try?
Money is no object here - just desperately need something that won't leak straight through the lapped staple holes.
Thanks
-B
PS - for clarity, I'm talking exclusively about during-construction. My roofs never leak once shingled. Never.
And yes - we do only staple on the seams. And we do inwardly-angle the seams, and use a fat overlap. It's not a question of install methods - the **** just straight up leaks sometimes.
