Yes, felt paper can go over ice and water shields. Although they are different, both felt ice water shields protect your building against leakages from heavy rain, storms, and snow leakages. In addition, felt paper over an ice water shield serves as extra protection for your roof.
What is the difference between felt paper and ice and water shield?
Ice and water shield is different from felt paper because it's a rubberized membrane that sticks to itself and the wood roof sheathing. It creates a waterproof barrier to standing water if installed correctly. Felt paper does not stick to anything.
Can water get under felt paper?
If water backs up under the roof as happens with ice damming, water can flow up and under the lap joints of felt paper. Are the Nail Holes in Felt Sealed? No. The nail holes through felt paper are not sealed.
Does felt paper keep water out of roof shingles?
Felt paper relies mainly on gravity to do its job helping to keep water out of your roof. It is effective when installed properly – in layers. Nail holes from shingles can pose a problem with felt paper, as any holes become vulnerable to seepage.
What kind of paper is used for ice and water shield?
Traditional Felt Paper If you see ice and water shield being installed, you might think it is felt paper. Felt paper or tar paper is also a rolled material you see roofers nailing down under shingles. It’s an asphalt saturated paper that increases the water resistance of your roof from wind driven rains or blow offs.
Does ice and water go over felt?
Ice and water protector membrane is a superior choice over roof felt for leak protection when properly installed and paired with the right products. Ice and water protector is part of a system working together to protect your roof, including the shingles and other underlayments.
Is felt paper water proof?
Is Roofing Felt Waterproof? Roofing Felt is the support material that is required to develop roll roofing and roof shingles. Being used as the waterproof coverings in commercial as well as residential roofs for decades, these membranes comprise two layers, signifying it is waterproof.
What goes under ice and water shield?
Ice and water shield is a waterproof membrane used to protect your roof from ice and water damage. Its main purpose is to protect your roof decking if water gets underneath your roofing material (asphalt shingles, metal roof, etc.).
Does felt paper go over or under drip edge?
Installing roof drip edge flashing properly The best way is to install the roof drip edge only along the eaves first, then place ice-and-water barrier (in the snowbelt) or felt paper (underlayment) over the drip edge. This lets any water that gets on the roof run down the underlayment and over the drip edge.
Is felt paper a moisture barrier?
Both asphalt felt and Grade D paper will block liquid water but allow water vapor to pass through. This is helpful when the wall has to dry to the exterior, but can cause problems in certain situations – notably with brick veneer, stucco, fiber-cement, and other masonry materials that can store a lot of moisture.
What happens when felt gets wet?
The felt can get wet. However, due to its water repellent properties, it acts more as a shield than a sponge. The felt collects and then repels the water, allowing the roof to breathe. Felt will often get wet with a Cedar shake roof since this type of roof is designed to soak up then shed water.
Is ice and water shield better than felt?
Synthetic “Felt” Underlayment While they don't seal the nails as ice and water shield does it is a superior underlayment when compared to traditional felt paper. Synthetic “felt” is better at protecting your roof in the event of blow offs or wind driven rain, as it is not as prone to the same problems as felt paper.
Is it OK to put ice and water shield on entire roof?
That said, you can cover your entire roof with an ice and water shield, and it could help prevent leaks if you live in an area with extreme winds. But if you do, make sure you also add a ventilation system to your attic to prevent condensation.
Do you overlap ice and water shield?
A single length of WaterGuard Rain & Ice works best, but if that isn't possible, successive overlaps should be 6". Firmly hand-roll the laps to ensure a complete, water- tight bond. As you apply WaterGuard Rain & Ice complete adhesion to the contour of the valley and up the sides is essential.
Do you install felt paper over ice shield?
Ice and water shield need to be installed before other underlayments, including roofing felt. Tar paper compared to ice and water shield do not stick to anything, whereas ice and water shields are a rubberized membrane that is very sticky to create a waterproof barrier to standing water if installed correctly.
How do you put felt paper on a roof?
7:2613:44ROOFING PAPER AND PROPER INSTALLATION - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipJust go ahead and trim it to somewhat size of where the drip edge is going to go and then go aheadMoreJust go ahead and trim it to somewhat size of where the drip edge is going to go and then go ahead and start on your other two pieces of roofing paper until you get to the top.
Which side of roofing felt goes down?
It has to go rougher side up, but there is no specific top or bottom. Make sure the felt placed higher up overlaps the lower piece.
How does felt paper stop leaks?
Traditional felt paper does a decent job at stopping most leaks where water gets under shingles, tiles, metal or slate. It does this by using gravity. Gravity allows the water to flow over the tar paper down to the edge of the roof.
How is Felt Paper Installed?
Felt paper is installed so each higher row overlaps the row below. In a perfect world water can't get to the wood roof sheathing.
What Makes Ice and Water Shield Different?
Ice and water shield is different from felt paper because it's a rubberized membrane that sticks to itself and the wood roof sheathing. It creates a waterproof barrier to standing water if installed correctly.
What Brand Offers the Nail Hole Guarantee?
The one I used on my own home has this feature and it really works. It's Grace Ice and Water Shield®.
Can I Cover the Entire Roof?
You can cover the entire roof with the ice and water shield, but in many instances, it’s applied where leaks frequently happen . The problem is a leak can occur just about anyplace on a roof for any number of reasons.
What is ice and water shield?
Ice and water shield contains asphalt cement, a special stretchable membrane, and a fancy co-polymer called styrene butadene styrene (SBS). The SBS component makes the product very sticky. The ice and water shield roofing material is made with a rubberized asphalt mixture that solves these problems. Because the product has a very sticky backing, it ...
What temperature does ice and water shield get sticky?
When the air temperature is above 60 F and the sun is shining on the ice and water shield product, it's extremely sticky. It acts just like contact cement and whatever the sticky side touches, it will not pull off. You'll have an impossible time pulling it off of anything it touches.
Why do we need ice shields?
In Northern states and Canada, building codes require the usage of ice shields, because it protects the roofing structure from water penetration caused by wind-driven rain and ice dams. It is essential to use an ice shield in critical areas such ...
What is ice shield on a roof?
The rest of the roof can be covered by regular underlayment (felt or synthetic) The down side of an ice shield is that when it is installed over the entire roof deck, it also acts as a vapor barrier, which means that it traps water under the roof.
How many inches should ice and water underlayment overlap?
Second, you install the first course of either synthetic or felt underlayment, overlapping the ice and water underlayment by at least 6 inches. If you are installing felt, consecutive courses should overlap by 50%. If you are installing synthetic underlayment, 6 inch ...
How far should underlayment be from the top of the deck?
It is advisable to use plastic cap nails to fasten down the underlayment with 12 inches on center spacing at the top and bottom of each course. The vertical overlap should be at least 2 feet or 24 inches. Underlayment should cover the entire roof deck. When transitioning into the valley, underlayment should overlap the ice and water shield ...
How long does a synthetic underlayment last?
For example, a high quality synthetic underlayment (such as GAF Deck Armor) can extend the life of your roof by an average of 5 to 10 years, at an additional expense of only a few hundred dollars over felt underlayment. If you live in any of the states that get a lot of snow, ice and rain, it is wise to invest more money and install an ice shield in combination with synthetic underlayment. Synthetic underlayment or an ice shield or a combination of both should always be used for metal roofing, clay tile, slate, and other premium (expensive) roofing materials to provide a long lasting secondary layer of roof protection.
How high should ice shield be installed?
For best protection, an ice shield should be installed at the bottom 3 ft of the roof. The rest of the roof can be covered by regular underlayment (felt or synthetic)
Is felt underlayment the same as synthetic underlayment?
Felt underlayment is not as high quality material as synthetic underlayment, does not last as long, does not offer the same level of protection and is less tear proof. Felt or tar paper underlayment is typically installed with asphalt roof shingles. For premium roofing products, contractors and manufacturers usually recommend using synthetic ...
How Do I Know If I Need an Ice and Water Shield?
In colder climates, ice and water shield is generally required by building code , but it is also very useful in warm climates.
Why Would I Want an Ice and Water Shield?
Ice and water shield is technically an underlayment designed to be installed underneath a shingle, tile, or metal roof. Normally, this would be a felt underlayment commonly known as tar paper or roofing felt.
Can I Install Ice and Water Shield Myself?
It depends. Ice and water shield is usually self-adh esive, so messing around with tar and other sealants is not required. However, ice and water shield will look and function best when the material is perfectly flat and straight.
What happens if you install ice and water shield first?
Conversely, if the ice and water shield is installed first, moisture penetrating the surface of the tar paper or roofing material will still encounter the ice and water shield. This is one major benefit of the rubberized material ice and water shield is constructed from.
What is drip edge on tar paper?
Then the drip edge is installed over the tar paper. In theory, this method reduces the chances of a blowing rain making its way under the shingles. However, even if water is successful in getting in, the ice and water shield will prevent the water from seeping around nail holes or other perforations and contacting raw wood.
Why do roofers use ice and water shield?
Ice and water shield is commonly used on low pitch roofs, and anywhere water tends to move slowly off of the roof.
Does drip edge protect fascia?
However, in practice, this protects neither the roof decking nor the fascia board to a large extent. Drip edge solves this problem by encasing both the lower edge of the decking and the upper edge of the fascia in metal, which is usually aluminum or galvanized steel.
What is felt paper?
If you see ice and water shield being installed, you might think it is felt paper. Felt paper or tar paper is also a rolled material you see roofers nailing down under shingles. It’s an asphalt saturated paper that increases the water resistance of your roof from wind driven rains or blow offs.
What Do Ice and Water Shields Do?
An ice and water shield is a modified self adhered leak barrier. It comes in a sheet with split back release film – similar to a self-stick or peel-and-stick. It seals itself around the nails used in shingling. This rubberized material that helps to prevent leaks due to:
Why are synthetic nails better than felt?
It is a lot more efficient at preventing leaks and is thinner. Synthetics hold up better in the case of blow offs because they don’t tear like felt paper can. While they don’t seal the nails as ice and water shield does it is a superior underlayment when compared to traditional felt paper.
What is an ice shield?
Ice and water shield is a great product that can be used in spots to protect the most vulnerable areas of your roof, or as a whole-roof underlayment to protect from ice dams, water dams, storms, and leaking in any area of the country and any weather.
What is felt underlayment?
Synthetic “Felt” Underlayment. Synthetic underlayment, like an ice and water shield, is quite a bit lighter, rolls out in large rolls, and is made of polypropylene, fiberglass, polyethylene, and polyester. It is a lot more efficient at preventing leaks and is thinner.
When was the ice and water shield invented?
The ice and water shield is an amazing roofing product that was first introduced in the 1980s. If you have a roof that you know to be older than 1980, it won’t have this great product under the shingles. After that time, it quickly came to be used by most companies to create better roofing systems, whatever the weather.
Do you need ice shields on a chimney?
If you have a more complicated roof with valleys, skylights, dormers, vent pipes or chimneys, it’s a good idea to have ice and water shield installed in and around these areas as well as along the eves.

Safety
- In most regions, a roof will not be able to adequately protect the house from exposure to the elements without a layer of underlayment installed right under the external roofing material. As a homeowner, you need to make sure that your roof underlayment is made from high quality durable material and is installed properly, so that it will be able to deter water from getting inside the hou…
Results
- Initially spending more money on premium underlayment material will actually help you save a lot of money down the road. You will not need to spend extra to fix your leaking roof, or buy a whole new roof if yours will end up being in a condition beyond repair. If you live in a mild climate with minimal rainfall, your roof should be adequately protected with felt underlayment.
Purpose
- Roofing underlayment is a special barrier that is installed between the roof substrate and the surface roofing material (shingles, tile, membrane, etc). It provides added protection to the roof structure and the interior of the home against water leaks caused by rain and ice dams.
Details
- Underlayment is installed in an overlapping sequence from the bottom of the roof going up. Typically, it comes in rolls and can be self adhered or nailed down to the substrate. If you are installing ice and water underlayment, it needs to be installed first. Second, you install the first course of either synthetic or felt underlayment, overlapping the ice and water underlayment by a…
Types
- There are three types of underlayment that can be installed on a roof: felt, ice shield, and synthetic. 1. Felt is tar or asphalt saturated paper made with some fiberglass. It is the most widely used and the cheapest roofing underlayment. While felt offers a general level of protection against leaks, it may not be enough if you live in an area that...
Overview
- 2. Ice Shield (also known as ice and water shield, or I&W) is a thick asphalt or bitumen based reinforced membrane. This membrane has a sticky surface, that glues to the roof deck, and does not tear after installation. In Northern states and Canada, building codes require the usage of ice shields, because it protects the roofing structure from water penetration caused by wind-driven r…
Advantages
- 3. Synthetic is an expensive substitute for felt underlayment and has a number of advantages. It lasts longer, is more tear proof, and usually does not deteriorate. This underlayment can be breathable or non-breathable. Non-breathable underlayment acts as a vapor barrier, trapping moisture under the roof. Consequently, it is best to avoid it and not have to deal with the proble…