# drip edge and tar paper...over or under.....?



## illinoisguy (Sep 4, 2011)

What I have always understood is when laying tar paper, it goes above the drip edge along the overhang(horizontal) and below the edge going to the apex.

I have read where some laid the paper first and put all drip edges on top all around. 

Which is correct?


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

You are correct. The felt goes above the drip. The reason you see it the other way is because the framer usually installs the felt and the roofer comes later. It doesn't make it correct though


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

l agree, any water that got under roofing would run down on top of felt, over the drip edge and off, not get trapped between drip edge and sheathing, rotting sheathing....James


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

mreynolds said:


> You are correct. The felt goes above the drip. The reason you see it the other way is because the framer usually installs the felt and the roofer comes later. It doesn't make it correct though


A smart framer would nail it far enough back so the drip cap could be slipped under the edge


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

If water gets to the tar paper, you're gonna have a leak no matter what.....it's poked FULL of nail holes, ya know.


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

Bearfootfarm said:


> A smart framer would nail it far enough back so the drip cap could be slipped under the edge


You would think so but if its nailed that way it curls up and the wind peels it off.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

mreynolds said:


> You would think so but if its nailed that way it curls up and the wind peels it off.


Which is exactly why I always put mine over the tar paper....it helps hold that edge down. 

Tar paper is simply a temporary roof until you get the main roof on. Like I said, if water gets to the tar paper AFTER the roofing is installed, you've lost the war....you're gonna have a leak(s).


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

TnAndy said:


> Which is exactly why I always put mine over the tar paper....it helps hold that edge down.
> 
> Tar paper is simply a temporary roof until you get the main roof on. Like I said, if water gets to the tar paper AFTER the roofing is installed, you've lost the war....you're gonna have a leak(s).


I have done it that way before just for that reason but a lot of shingle warrantees use will balk if it is that done that way. Of course, any old excuse will work for them on that. We ice and water shield now so in that case it needs to be under it. Ever since hurricane Ike some areas hit hard in Texas are starting to adopt Miami Dade codes.


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## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

basic rule of thumb for material overlapping: the material at the lowest point of a slope should be on the bottom, and each successive material should overlap as it climbs up the slope. Just try to imagine how water would flow across the materials - the overlap of the seam should face away from the direction of the flow (see attached diagram)


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## beenaround (Mar 2, 2015)

I don't use tar paper anymore, synthetic felt, and I generally don't use the felt at the edge, I use a form of ice guard. The ice guard is a rubber underlayment with an adhesive back that sticks right to the deck and yes, on top of the drip edge. Over or under with any felt doesn't matter much as the rotting occurs when water backs up at the edge under the shingles typically from ice/snow or clogged gutters. 

Gutter guards like the product that bares that name are a huge problem in cold climates with snow. When the snow melts off the upper part of the roof and hits the eve edge it refreezes when it hits that wide metal guard causing an ice dam. That's where most of the water damage comes from around here. A metal drip edge has the same but much smaller effect, the gutter guards are about a foot wide. The ice guard stuck the the drip and 3' up the deck eliminates the damage water causes.

In high wind areas some old boys put their drip/rake edges right on top of the shingles claiming it keeps them from blowing off, but I haven't seen that for a while.


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