How to Apply Roofing Felt to New Construction
Roofing felt is made from asphalt tar and organic fibers. You can buy it in rolls that range from 15 to 30 pound orders. These categories represent the thickness of the material, not weight. When it comes to new construction, thick material is necessary for climates with high amounts of moisture, as well as extreme heat or cold.
Supplies:
- Utility knife and new blades
- Ladder
- Safety rope and harness
- Work gloves
- Measuring tape
- Staple hammer or staple gun
- 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch stapes
- Take measurements of the entire roof surface to find the square footage. A roll of 15 pound roofing felt should cover 430 square feet. A roll of 30 pound roofing felt will cover 200 square feet.
- Put a thin layer of asphalt roofing cement two inches wide on the edge of the roof line.
- Begin with the first part of the roofing felt at the roof's lowest point. Leave some inches or overhang to ensure you have good edge coverage. Press the roofing felt into the asphalt roofing cement.
- Use a staple hammer to attach the felt with 3/8 inch or ½ inch staples. Start from the left and work to the right. Staple in a zig-zag pattern over the whole surface of. Make sure the staples are 10 to 12 inches from each other.
- Begin the next part by putting asphalt roofing cement at the edge. Work left to right. Next, overlap the courses 3½ inches and staple in a zig-zag fashion every 10 to 12 inches.
- Put on all other courses described before. Put the asphalt roofing cement and stapling.
- Put on the asphalt cement on the ridge of the roof and apply final overlapping of the felt paper. Put on the roofing cement in a thin layer four inches on the sides of the roof ridge.
- Trim the roofing felt paper on the edge with a utility knife blade. Make sure to replace the blade for an even cut.