One important part of a new roof is having an ice and water shield. As the name implies, it helps protect your home from wet weather by placing an additional barrier underneath the roofing material. Here is what you should know about this material.
What Is An Ice And Water Shield?
An ice and water shield is a stretchable membrane that is made with asphalt cement. This helps provide a watertight seal over your roof that adheres to the roof deck. If a fastener goes through the ice and water shield, the material forms a seal around the fastener as well. It can work with various roof types and provides a slip-resistant surface when roofing contractors are walking on the roof.
Does Every Roof Require An Ice And Water Shield?
An ice and water shield is required in most parts of the country according to building code regulations. Even if it is not required, an ice and water shield is an excellent way to protect a home from moisture damage.
Where Is An Ice And Water Shield Used?
An ice and water shield is not put across the entire surface of your roof, since it is not necessary to do so due to the protection that the roofing material provides. However, it is used in places where the roof is more likely to leak. This includes the valley and transitions across the roof's surface, penetrations, and eaves.
How Is An Ice And Water Shield Installed?
The ice and water shield material has a backing on it that protects the adhesive material. This backing needs to be removed so that the material can stick directly to the roof deck. There are guidelines for how much ice and water shield material needs to be installed, since regions farther north may require more material to protect the roof from the colder weather. For example, your roofing contractor may need to install 3 feet worth of ice and water shield material along the eave of the roof in one region, while 6 feet of material is required in another.
For existing penetrations, such as a chimney, the ice and water shield will wrap around the base where it sticks out of the roof. The shield actually will go slightly up the chimney behind the flashing material as well. Valleys will have the shield placed lengthwise down the center of the valley.
For more information, contact a company like Sweers Eavestrough and Roofing Co, Inc.
Once you watched someone put a roof on a home, you have a much deeper understanding of what's involved in this sort of work. Roofing is not easy. There's a big mental component since the roofers need to decide how how many shingles to use, how to best lay them out, and so forth. Then, there's the physical aspect of roofing. Lugging packages of shingles onto the roof is not easy, and nailing them down take a lot of work, too. With that in mind, we welcome you to read more about roofing on this blog. Let the articles inform your opinion of the profession.