Underlayments

Essential Secondary Protection Layers

Roofing 101:
Understanding Underlayments

Underlayments represent a critical yet often overlooked component of your roofing system, providing a secondary moisture barrier beneath your primary roofing material. While most homeowners focus on visible elements like shingles or metal panels, these hidden protection layers play a vital role in your roof’s longevity and performance. Understanding underlayment options helps you make informed decisions when planning your roofing project.

The Purpose of Underlayments

Most roof covering materials are water-resistant rather than truly waterproof, designed to be installed over a specialized moisture barrier. Underlayments serve multiple essential functions: providing secondary protection against water infiltration, temporarily protecting your roof deck during construction or storm damage, and enhancing your roof’s overall weather resistance capabilities.

The building code requirements and manufacturer recommendations for underlayments vary based on your roof’s design and local climate conditions. Two primary underlayment categories serve different purposes within your roofing system: felt paper and ice and water shield.

Why This Hidden Layer Matters

The Purpose of Underlayments

Most roof covering materials are water-resistant rather than truly waterproof, designed to be installed over a specialized moisture barrier. Underlayments serve multiple essential functions: providing secondary protection against water infiltration, temporarily protecting your roof deck during construction or storm damage, and enhancing your roof’s overall weather resistance capabilities.

Ice and Water Shield:
Waterproof Protection

Critical Barrier for Vulnerable Areas

Unlike standard underlayments, ice and water shield (often called “leak barriers”) features adhesive backing protected by peel-off membranes for self-adherence to the roof deck. These materials offer rubber-like properties that self-seal around fasteners including nails and staples, creating watertight barriers at critical roof areas.

Building codes and manufacturer guidelines recommend installing these waterproof underlayments at eave edges, in all valleys, and at vulnerable roof areas including low-slope sections and flashing junctions.

Surface Type Variations

Stone-Coated Barriers

Products like GAF WeatherWatch feature a granulated finish designed for standard applications including eave edges and valley areas where ice dam protection is required.

Film-Surfaced Barriers

Premium options like GAF StormGuard offer smooth finishes that allow overlapping edges to create superior seals. While suitable for all ice and water shield applications, these products are particularly valuable in critical areas like low-slope sections and complex sidewall junctions. Their higher cost is offset by enhanced protection in the most vulnerable roof zones.

Standard Coverage for Main Roof Areas

Felt Paper: Water-Resistant Protection

Traditional Asphalt Felt

Black, asphalt-saturated felt paper represents the most common underlayment used in residential roofing. This water-resistant (not waterproof) material typically comes in #15 non-perforated form, with strength and weight categories including 15 lb. and 30 lb. options. Some manufacturers reinforce felt papers with fiberglass to create stronger, flatter-lying products for improved installation quality.

Synthetic Alternatives

Modern synthetic underlayments have gained popularity for their superior tear resistance, wrinkle reduction, and moisture resistance. Unlike traditional felt, these materials resist fungal growth since they don't absorb moisture, and many offer enhanced UV protection that allows longer exposure during construction. While often used as premium differentiators in sales proposals, real-world evidence has not yet confirmed they enhance overall roof longevity.

Rhino Roof (Synthetic)

Delivers synthetic strength advantages at competitive pricing with standard 15 lb felt alternatives, making it accessible for budget-conscious projects.

Titanium UDL 30 (Synthetic)

Premium synthetic protection with 30 lb characteristics, commonly paired with high-end roofing materials including rubber and metal systems for enhanced protection.

GAF Deck Armor (Synthetic)

The only truly breathable synthetic underlayment, featuring technology that maximizes energy efficiency but with reduced exposure tolerance compared to alternatives.

Certainteed DiamondDeck (Synthetic)

Scrim-reinforced, water-resistant underlayment versatile enough for use beneath various roofing materials including shingle, shake, metal, and slate installations.