On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 18:08:07 -0400, Choreboy
wrote (with possible editing):

I was amazed to discover only wood under the shingles of my house, which
was redone about fifteen years ago.

A neighbor said several roofers have told him that's the best way to do
it, and he intends to nail his shingles directly to his planks in the
future. Roofers have told him roofing felt shortens the life of
shingles by causing them to get hotter in the day.

I don't believe the felt makes shingles hotter, but I wonder about
moisture. Is it possible that in some circumstances, the layer of felt
can make shingles more hospital to fungi?

Has anyone else heard the theory that it's better to skip the felt?

FWIW, I put an addition on my home about 16 years ago. At the time, I
used some fiberglass shingles - I'm not going to mention the brand
because I am not certain I remember it correctly. The manufacturer
said to NOT use felt. It was a big mistake. They began to leak at 10
years (they were 25 year shingles) and I ended up stripping the thing.
I re-roofed with IKO 30 year architectural asphalt shingles and put
Grace Ice and Water Shield under the entire thing.

On the main part of the building, I had Bird asphalt shingles which
were supposed to be 20 year shingles. They had been applied over
felt. It's interesting to note that at 25 years, they still didn't
leak at all.

As far as I'm concerned, any roofer who tells you not to use felt is
simply wrong (a more polite way of saying what others have already
told you). It doesn't raise the surface temperature - how could it,
as it's buried under two layers of shingle? It offers limited
protection, though. If you're in the North and have the money, you
can use Grace or Bithuthene under all of it. If not, you ought to use
it at least on the edges, as it provides a water seal even without a
covering.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com