Should Old Roofing Felt Be Removed UK?

You don’t need to be a professional roofing contractor to know the important role of your roof in your home. A One important thing you can do to ensure that your roof will last for a long time is to keep up with its maintenance. When it comes to protecting your roof, you might have encountered the term roofing felt.

What is Roofing Felt?

Also called tar paper, roofing felt is used to line the roof between the last layer of roofing material and your house. In layman’s terms, this is the additional protective layer from the different outer elements. If you are living in a region with a damp climate, a coastal climate that gets plenty of poor weather conditions, or a place that is often blanketed with snow, it is a good idea to install roofing felt.

Roofing felt is often sold in big rolls with a width of 36 inches. This is made up of polyester or fibreglass fleece treated and soaked with the waterproofing agent. Sandwiched between your home and your roof’s final layer, roofing felt offers a cushy barrier for the wood sheathing from the ferocious rain downpours and heavy snow layers.

Importance of Removing the Old Roof Felt

This is unfortunately something that no one really talks about as far as roofing is concerned. What people don’t realize is that this can lead so some serious major problems in the long run.

It doesn’t matter who will perform the roof replacement. Make sure that the roofers remove every single piece of the old felt, especially if the shingle is damaged. Most of the time, people just lay the new felt over the old one when the truth is that it is one cheap shortcut that you should never take.

Shingle manufacturers always state that you should install new shingles over a good nailing surface. But, a proper decking inspection will simply be impossible of you don’t remove all the old felt. Just leaving it there in place is also a dangerous shortcut that could have some serious consequences on your roof and may even void the warranty of your new roof shingle.

Even the smallest hole in the old felt could result to water entering that can then cause leaks and rot in your roof decking. Having several layers of felt can also make the shingle age prematurely that can lead to granular loss and blistering.

Choose the Right Roofers That Will Remove the Old Felt

If your roofer informs you that they will just leave the old roofing felt as is, it would be best that you look for another company to do the job for you. During your search for a new roofing contractor, make sure that you look for an accredited company located in your local area. Stay away from storm chasers that thrive off those clueless homeowners about the necessary steps involved in the roofing job, one of which is the removal of the old felt. This is a step that good roofers will never miss to do.

 

from
https://www.skylineswindonroofing.co.uk/blog/should-old-roofing-felt-be-removed-uk/