Using Staples For Roofing Felt

In the past when it came to the debate of roofing nails versus staples the industry was split down the middle.

Using staples for roofing felt.

Clean the roof decking of any debris protruding nails or other objects. Some roofers prefer to attach felt underlayment with 1 inch roofing nails or special nails with plastic washers but most codes allow staples which are easier to drive. Others will tell you that cap nails are more effective. Many roofers will tell you that staples are fine for installing the synthetic underlayment.

Let s look at the irc model building code on roof shingle fasteners. When the shingles are installed the felt is not going anywhere. Staples can be used for tacking it down but not recommended to hold. Put fasteners at least every 8 inches.

Both options often depend on the slope of the roof itself. Get free shipping on qualified roofing staples or buy online pick up in store today in the tools department. Roll out about 10 feet of felt and fasten with staples or roofing nails with plastic washer heads. I ve got that one and while it doesn t jam much it does tend to drive the staples all the way through the felt.

Use a construction stapler or a hammer. Fema specifically recommends the use of roofing nails not staples in high wind areas. Gently scrub the roof using a bristle brush taking care not to damage it. Cap nails are typically made of steel and feature a plastic cap to prevent roof leaks hence their name.

Staples cost less than nails offer exceptional holding strength and cover a greater area of space with a more versatile and compact collation. After all it s no surprise roofers loved staples for attaching shingles to roofing. Roofing felt may be necessary for use with your shingles to meet a class a fire rating when shingles are evaluated for their fire ratings it is done on a small test deck with the roofing felt underlayment in place without this underlayment the shingles alone may not meet the class a fire requirements. For that reason i tend to use a hammer tacker with the bail front on it.

Creating dents will make it harder for your roof felt to adhere to the roof. Before applying roofing you ll need to cover the sheathing with roofing felt also often called tar paper most local codes call for using 30 pound felt.