Synthetic Underlayments Agawam MA

Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
Publication date: January 21, 2006

By Monica Soladay

In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Grace Construction Products' residential business director Larry Shapiro says he began to hear from distributors that pros were ordering his company's synthetic underlayments rather than the standard protective blue tarps to cover damaged roofs.

The tarps "just get thrown away afterwards," Shapiro notes. But synthetic underlayments–which he says can remain exposed to sun and rain for up to six months without wrinkling or tearing–allowed workers to start re-roofing jobs with the plan to finish them months later when post-hurricane shingle shortages are expected to have abated.

Created with a mix of polymers rather than asphalt, synthetic underlayments do not absorb water, which causes wrinkling and tearing in standard felt paper, manufacturers say. They are part of a growing number of increasingly durable products, such as fiberglass blends, self-adhering ice-resistant and water-resistant paper, and heavier asphalt felt, that better address pros' individual project needs.

When selecting which type of underlayment to install, Chip Saalfield, project manager for Harbor Roofing in Painesville, Ohio, first examines the task at hand. "You almost have to look at it on a project-by-project basis," Saalfield notes, adding that for commercial or new residential developments, non-asphalt synthetics are worth the added expense.

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