Will properly applied underlayment keep a roof watertight?

yanceyman1

Well here I am again. Some of you know me already from the posts involving sharkskin and leaving your roof open. After the last few posts to the second one, I figured it was time to put the debate on the table, so here it is...
I am asking all of you qualified journeyman roofers out there, "Can you apply your underlayment and make the roof watertight". Meaning that when your finished, it can sit in a heavy rain storm without leaking. So far, on the one side I have EnglishRoofer, interloc and SlyFox. All of whom are in agreement with me that you CAN base in a house and make it watertight. On the other side of the coin, jasonthompson,Grumpy and gtp1003 say, "Only tear off what you can put back that same day". As absurd as that sounds to me, I am more than willing to listen to hear from more of the roofing community. Please reply with any helpfull insight. I know that it is safer to put it back the same day, but doesn't that hurt production. I have done 110 house housing tracts with tile roofs and because I was trying to keep up with the rockers and painters, I could not afford to use that method. But I also learned that, when done properly, you could leave a based and batted tile job exposed to the weather for long periods of time without a leak. So there you have it... what do think?
One other thing, jasonthompson, I never said I worked for the "biggest" roofing company in Cailf. I said I worked for the "best". If you don't already know, There is a HUGE difference between the two.

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rob

rob

if u ask me i would say no . not 100p cent i have had felt leak wear i have put a crows foot even the smallest hole will piss inn on the pro sark good tube of cillcone middle wall ran up with dry slating ridges on all laps nailed and u might have a chance i had a lap on the felt blow up and the ceilin has come down

Gatesroofing

I say Yes you can make it tight enough to resist a rain storm or two. the only difficult part is protrusions but wrapping them over the top with extra underlayment will divert water if necessary. I personally use Palisade synthetic underlayment and would allow it to sit exposed in a rainstorm. Not that id want a roof being open before a storm but if im worried about rain i can make it hold out for a while no problem. I think the only issue i might have is that i use straight staples instead of cap staples so those might leak if the paper gets pulled a little. I never leave roofs open for much longer then it takes to install them as i am a small company.

Marc

Valley.Guy

yanceyman1 are you considering differing weather patterns?

Perhaps there are environmental differences between Monterey, CA and my home town of Springfield, IL.

For example, the record maximum 24-hour precipitation for Monterey, CA was 3.85 inches on December 23, 1995.

Whereas, for example, Springfield, IL has receive raintotals of 3.5" - 4.5" of rain in three hours a couple of times this year. These types of downpours are not uncommon in this area. We sometimes get a Monterey monthly rain total in three hours or less here.

Springfield, IL - Last Year Precipitation was 35.56"
Springfield, IL - 2008 Precipitation was 53.73"
Monterey, CA - Last Year Precipitation was 19.85"


I am not trying to cast stones at anyone, however, I believe there is an obvious difference in the environmental factors that everyone may be faced with given the specific geographical local.

Gatesroofing

I agree fully, whats possible here in cali may not be other places pending the conditions.

I know i wouldnt even think of tearing off a roof if a storm like that was even thinking of forming..... im a small company so if i dont have at least 3-5 days of clear skys im not touching a roof! My dad had a storm hit years back on an H.O.A. Job and it was hell dealing with the water damage repairs. we wont dare make the mistake again thats for sure.

The Roofing God

YES YOU CAN DRY IN A ROOF FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME without leaks,but it is best to tarp also if you are going that route

New york gets as bad rains as anyone

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dougger222

Yes you can HOWEVER there are certain items that are tougher to I&W/Felt dry.

1. Step flashing details. If the tins are lifted up which they should be to allow new underlayments under them they could bring in wind driven rain. We I&W under them if we're not replacing and nail a 2x6 down over the top of them if it's going to have a chance of rain on it.

2. Stone chimney flashing details (same idea as #1.)

3. Plumbing and exhaust vents. You can make them water tight but you really have to know what your doing. We'll I&W around them and then drop the jack/boot/vent down then I&W on top and tuck it under the next felt lap.

There are other spots but these are the first that come to mind.

BTW, for valleys we I&W and weave fiberglass felt through it. Best possible way to apply underlayment in a valley detail.

MGP Roofing

We'll do it a section at a time, if we do leave part unfinished we tarp it if we can't watertight it with the shingles. Our reroofs usually need new plywood as well as we're replacing longrun steel/tile/cedar/decra etc that usually are laid on battens direct over the rafters. Not many shingle to shingle reroofs here, the few we do are because of install errors-3 tab in high wind areas, stapled on shingles, EG nails in sea spray areas, and such silly things as the use of DPC for flashings like on the last one we did, 40yr shingles, 10yr flashings and nails!

Ridgewalker

The question is can you make a roof watertight ? the answer is yes. But you must consider were your from. and how strong the storms are come in. That is were experiance comes to play a good contractor will have it down to a science. The bad or inexperianced contractor will suffer a few times untill they adapt. In storm country you might have to spend alot of time money get your roof weathertight. Were I am at not as much. Tear off and finish is the safest But if you must leave a felted house weathertight for a while make sure you caculated in your bid.
Us west coast roofers are lucky never rains in summer Nov. is when we start looking at the forecast.