Roofing: Under the Shingles – What’s Under the Asphalt, Metal, Wood, Rubber Or Clay Tiles on a Roof?

by Nate on June 24, 2011

opposed to an ‘open’ valley which has sheet metal running from top to bottom. Both the ‘open’ and the ‘closed’ style of installation are acceptable by the most Building Codes and by most manufacturers, however, the ‘open’ style installation has consistently out performed the ‘closed’ style…and costs exactly the same price to install.  Ask your Roofing Contractor to use the ‘open’ style of installation for your roofs valleys, this could save you from having to replace your roof system prematurely and also can avoid headaches in the long run.  Typically, an ‘open’ valley is installed with a 30 gauge sheet metal, 4′ wide, coming in 10′ sheets. This metal can be ordered in any color to match the shingles on your roof system.

Leak Barrier

Think of a leak barrier as a “second layer” of protection for your Roof Deck.  A backup plan, if you will, and also a protection against moisture build up.  Leak barriers are nearly always installed on top of the Drip Edge and Rake Edge metal along eaves trough areas, gable areas and valleys because of the risk these areas pose for leaks, ice build up, shingle deterioration and water back flow. 

If you’ve ever looked at your roof during winter, you’ll notice how ice and snow builds up along the length of your eaves troughs and inside the roof valleys.  As with Rake Edge and Drip Edge, some Building codes require Leak Barriers to be installed and some Building Codes do not. In Alberta, the Building Code requires a leak Barrier to be installed on all eaves trough and valley areas of a Roof Systems because of issues related to such snow and ice build up.  As an optional upgrade, some high end roof systems even have leak barriers installed on top of the entire Roof Deck (as opposed to only along the special areas we just mentioned) where normally a standard Roof Deck Protection would normally have been installed.

Virtually all roofs in Calgary, Alberta have leak barriers installed, and many different types of leak barriers are available in today’s market, each offering a different level of reliability, functionality and warrantee and produced by many different manufacturers.

Choosing an appropriate Leak Barrier and installing it properly is an important step in every Roof System.  Speak with your Roofing Contractor to learn more about leak barriers, how to choose the right one and how to choose a Professional Roofing Contractor to install it.

Roof Deck Protection

Roof Deck Protection is very similar to a Leak Barrier.  The difference is that Roof Deck Protection is installed on the entire Roof Deck area instead of only on “special areas” as we mention in the Leak Barrier section.

Typically, Roof Deck Protection is a step lower in quality than a Leak Barrier.  As with Leak Barriers however, there are many different types of Roof Deck Protection available to choose from ranging from basic felt/tar paper to advanced plastic woven sheets of rip and wrinkle proof material.  Choosing a reliable Roof Deck Protection is an important part of a quality Roof System.

A word of caution; most roofing companies use felt paper as Roof Deck Protection.  Although using felt paper is a standard and acceptable practice, some issues can arise if the felt paper becomes wet during or after the installation.  Ever notice how paper tends to curl when it dries after it was wet?  In a similar way, felt paper can curl if water or excess moisture touches it.  For this reason, and because the cost is quite small, we recommend installing a higher quality Roof Deck Protection such as a GAF/ELK Deck Armour.  For a relatively small additional cost, you’ll be rewarded with a much more reliable Roof Deck Protection.

Ask your local trusted Roofing Contractor about which under-layer would be best for your Roof System any why.

Conclusion

So there it is, life beneath the shingles. See how much goes on behind the scenes? Professional roofing contractors know this stuff inside and out and can help immensely in ensuring a roof system is reliable for many years. Product suppliers such as GAF/Elk and IKO can help answer specific questions about products as well.

All the best with your roofing project, and remember, be proactive, make educated decisions.

This article was submitted by Eric Gilbert, a Calgary Roofing Contractor with The Roof Hospital.


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