02/03/2026
If this is what your roof looked like during your install, YOU DEFINITELY CHOSE THE WRONG COMPANY!!
The proper way to build a roof is to remove all of the roofing material including the felt underlayment to expose the decking underneath. We do this on every single roof we install. It is imperative to examine the decking underneath and check it for issues and fix them before installing the new roof system.
Companies that don’t remove felt do it for several reasons. Here are a few of them.
- it’s faster to cut corners (time saved not peelin the felt off, especially when it I the old black tarpaper felt that tend to come of in chunks and takes more time to clean up)
- it’s cheaper to cut corners (they save on paying the labor to pull the felt off, which at the end of the day increases their profit margins while giving you a roof assembly that might have unknown issues)
- typically homeowners are tied up with work on the day their roof is installed and these companies are hedging bets that you won’t ever know they didn’t do things that you paid them for. (At least not until you call a company like us that will identify and disclose their laziness and greed and how they shorted you!)
The companies that perform work like this will totally try to downplay the significance of this simple item. But I ask you, if they are willing to bend on the small things like this, what else are they shorting you the customer on? Seriously. If you cannot perform the little things correctly, how are you getting it right on the big things?
I’ve seen the following statements from corner cutting companies:
- “if one layer of felt is good…. 2 layers is better. It’s an additional layer of felt protecting the inside of your home.” This is false. It can actually make it harder to trace issues and determine where water is intruding as it may run between layers of felt before finding its way in your home
- “it helps hold cold air in during the summer and keeps hot air in during the winter. You guessed it. Wrong again. If that was the truth, it would them not make sense to have roof ventilation. The roof has to breathe. Lack of ventilation will kill your energy bills and the efficiency of your AC unit. Lack of ventilation contributes to moisture and condensation issues which ultimately could create a breeding ground for mold.
- “it’s not that big of a deal”. Well…. Thats wrong too It is a big deal if they ever read the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Almost every manufacturer has in their instructions to install over one layer of felt. Even some of the brands we choose not to install dur to lower wuality product as compared to others. Chances are you roof salesman has never read the instructions, nor do they understand the why behind why it would even be included in said instructions.
In closing, here are bullets of why we remove all felt, even in instances where we cannot supplement insurance for the additional labor costs when there are multiple layers of felt.
- you simply cannot inspect decking to ensure you have a nailable surface without removing it all
- it prevents proper breathing of the roof system
- it is added unnecessary weight on the structure of your home
- the manufacturers specify in their installation instructions that their products are installed over just one layer. (In the times we live in now, where companies will find any reason possible to deny a warranty claim, why would you hand them a warranty denial on a silver platter for not following their instructions?)
Seriously folks…. Pay attention and ask questions. Once you start learning these things, don’t be surprised when you are driving through your neighborhood and start noticing even simple things being done by contractors all over north Texas and beyond.
The most layers of felt we ran across in 2025 was 6. You read that right. That homeowner got taken by at least 6 contractors before they finally came to the correct company to get it done right. It is literally the most often seen shortcut I see from other companies in our market.
Just give us a call at Texas Forever General Contracting. and are not just cute hashtags we use, it’s a full description of how we operate.
The more you know…..