Why You Should Put Roofing Membrane on Your Roof

In my decades of being an experienced roofer, I have ran across a lot of roof leaks and water damage. Sometimes it has been the roofing company who put the roof down before the leak started, sometimes it has been the weather, but no matter who is to blame, I will always get at least 10 phone calls a year from customers who have a certain particular bad leak around the edge of their roof.

The phone calls I'm referring to, start coming in around December, and last through the end of March. It's always the same scenario and due to the lack of knowledge on the home-owners behalf, the leak is usually in the same area. The leak is coming down the outside of their house from the roof and odds are, water is coming inside their house. The overhang is not doing it's job and now the home owner is looking at paying a lot of money to fix a bad leak, and chances are, fixing everything inside the house, (if it got that far). This leak could've been avoided. The repair isn't easy, because of the weather, Ice, and weight of the problem. The problem only gets worse with time and, if not fixed, ruins the house with each passing day. The problem?

They didn't apply roofing membrane when they roofed the house.

Definition

Roofing Membrane, by definition, is basically a rubberized asphalt product that has a sticky backside,( to adhere to the roof itself), and was created for the bottom, the edges, and sometimes around the valleys and chimneys to roofs. This type of rubber stops ice dams and creates a blockage between your roof and the gutter board, stopping water from seeping in, due to abnormal weather conditions and high winds, (which can "push" water underneath your shingles). Normally, the most common length that this product comes in is four foot, (which is needed for minimum protection), but does come in other sizes. Names for this membrane are Ice and Water Shield, Ice-Dam paper, and GRACE, (Name of the company that is most familiar with manufacturing this kind of product). This rubberized material comes with a type of paper affixed on the backside to prevent the adhesive from activating to the rubber, since this product comes in thirty-foot rolls. Amazingly, the rubber does not stick until the paper is removed.

Ice dams have become increasingly common. With the weather patterns that this world has made within the last twenty years, (especially in the Mid-west), our weather has been in an unusual pattern, therefore, I have since highly recommended every client to put some type of membrane on their roof before they apply shingles. Nothing, in this world so far, can give you a 100% guarantee that your roof will never leak, but roofing membrane can stop 95% of your problems. The cost of this product does not outweigh the cost it will take to repair your leak, your drywall, paint, and labor. It is well paid for the minute you apply this on. You can get this product at any hardware store, so it's not as if only roofers can buy this membrane, and the application doesn't take long.

Of course, you should hire a qualified roofer to apply roofing membrane, since this product goes on the bottom edge of your roof, making this a semi-dangerous job. Also, always consult the laws and codes of your territory to stay on the legal side of things when applying this product. Also remember, this product DOES NOT go over shingles. Read the directions carefully and make sure that everyone applying this product has knowledge on how to do this type of work.

OVERALL

When roofing membrane first came out, I thought this was just another scam to get roofing companies and customers to buy another product, but due to the years of repairing roofs, I have watched this product work. Do yourself a favor by applying this product on your new or re roofed house. It might cost you money to do a whole house with membrane, but it's also going to cost you the same amount to just fix one leak that this product could've prevented.