Ice and Water Shield stuff on Roof??

[meanwhile]

I have to get a new roof. I want to put on metal this time but will have to do some repairs of the plywood part first. The shingles will have to come off since we have to be able to see the plywood to know what is rotten and not.

One roofer said that he only puts on a roof if he can put down the plywood, then a sheet of something he called "Ice and Water Shield" which he said was a sticky sheet of stuff about 3 feet wide and it goes all over the whole roof glued on the plywood and then the metal gets screwed into that?

Anyone used it? Good? Bad? Pros? Cons?

Is it worth it or just an extra expense? Thank you.

[swollen tongue]

I had it done( ice and water shield) around the flashing of my chimney area and any other spots prone to leaking due to extreme cold and heat situations(30 below here in winter).It is suppose to work to stop leaks when ice dams up the water on a roof on a warm day and then freezes at night, or areas of it, such as a North side. I have never heard of it being done to the whole roof though...... it is expensive stuff too....... in your moderate climate I would not think you would need it at all in my opinion. Just put down a good heavy felt(30 lb.) that is overlapped about 8- 10 inches, before the metal sheeting is applied. Flash all areas that require it and that should do it.

[SirDude]

The main pro to the stuff is that it's a self-sealing rubber, so when they crew or nail through it, it seals around each fastener's hole. Is he giving a longer / better warranty then anyone else you've gotten estimates from?

[swollen tongue]

if it is a flat roof, then I would suggest it......................

[lilray]

i think that the stuff is good to treat the wood also. Like an oil. I always put it on on the last three feet of a roof. If it doesnt increase the cost too much. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[Minelson]

I worked for a roofing supply company that sold the stuff when it first came out...(many years ago!) It was mainly used to prevent ice dams. It is expensive but it is a good product. Came out about the same time Tyvek did and they were the new "super products" at the time Mid 80's I believe.

[rancher1913]

when i was contracting we only used it as code called for due to expense but as a homeowner doing my own roof i use it all the time, cheep insurance against leaks and it is far superior to felt paper and gets you water tight quickly which is a big plus when roofing a structure you are currently living in.

[PyroDon]

Are they planning to lay the steel directly on the plywood ?
if so then yes by all means ice shield would be a must.
its goods stuff with current prices it will be alittle more than 36 a square.
as has been stated the self sealing of the membrane is its strong point .
I personally would not put metal on plywood as plywood doesnt give a lot for screws to hold in and wind will rip them out . we always put down 2x stringers and use the longest screws we can.
In the long run you'll find that a little extra spent now will save a lot down the road . we use Ice shield on over the entire roof on anything less than a 4 pitch .
shingle manufacturers are requiring it up the rakes and edges to conform with their proper installation warrantees

[7thswan]

Around here,we put down tar paper over the whole roof,then one row goes down under the first rows of shingles where there would be ice daming.

[meanwhile]

PyroDon - two Roofers said they would only nail/screw the metal straight down on the plywood. They claimed that if I put the slats/stringers up there and nailed the metal to that, then later if someone had to go on the roof then they would bent and mess up the metal.

Two more Roofers told me they would only put on the roof if I let them just NOT tear off any of the old shingles, and NOT repair any of the plywood, and just nail the slats to the roof, then nail the metal to that.

But - I know there are places were the plywood in plain old flat rotten - I can see it on the overhang. In fact, I had to nail boards over two places that completely rotted out. So - I think I have to make repairs to the plywood before doing anything else at all??

So? Would I do this:
1. Rip off all the old shingles and see what is rotten under there.
2. Take out any rotten plywood and replace it.
3. Put a Ice & Water Sheild over the whole roof
4. Then nail the slats down???
5. Put the solid foam insulation in between the slats over the two rooms that need insulation up there??????
6. THEN put the metal down??

This is so frustrating. I have talked to 12 Roofers now. Most will not even come out here, two told me it was "too much work" to take off and repair, one said he only does metal and no repairs.......one told me an estimate that could have built a whole new room on the house......one was just crazy......one wanted to do the repairs but would not give me any idea of price......he just wanted $30 per hour for him and two helpers AND he would "let me know" each Friday how much I owe him AND he thought it "might" take a "few" weeks to make only the repairs AND then his buddy would come "take a look see" at the roof......

sorry......this is frustrating........I think I am going to have to do it myself with help from friends. Thank you everyone for any tips and advice. Thank you.

[Bearfootfarm]

later if someone had to go on the roof then they would bent and mess up the metal.

If you walk carefully, GOOD metal won't bend at all.
Metal carports have a 5 ft span between supports, and you can walk on those without it bending

Either they plan to use very thin metal, or (most likely) they just don't want to do the extra work of putting down purlines

[Cabin Fever]

Minnesota code requires 6-foot of ice and water shield on the lower portion of new roofs. The purpose is to prevent water leakage into the home's insulation and walls due to the formation of ice dams.

[motdaugrnds]

The "ice shield" sounds good. I am going to research this some for possible use in our most recent project.

I usually use "Solar 287 SF" to seal my roofing (sometimes with the mesh sheeting between coats due to the age of the structure). It works real well. I also use black tar (very thick).

We are presently constructing a small work shed and will be using sheet metal for roofing. We do not use plywood; use 1x6 treated wood instead about 16" apart, placing these on top of our treated roofing rafters. (Since we had a "professional" put on our first metal roof 14 yrs ago, we have discovered placing a sealant where our roofing nails will be is a must.)

[salmonslayer]

We are just wrapping up a re-roofing of our entire farmhouse that included changing part of the roof line and replacing rafters on part of the house. We got 8 bids that varied in price by over 3K and some of the contractors wantred to leave the old shingles on (already multiple layers) or tried to tell me they thought the roof line shouldnt be changed (we had a blind valley that was leaking). Where we changed the roof line, we had some broken rafter ends and some of the contractors just wanted to sister on new ends rather than replace the rafters so I understand your frustration.

We specified tear off of all the old shingles, 30lb felt, ice daming membrane around all of the roof perimiter and valleys, new drip edge and repair of any existing decking (ours was oak planks instead of plywood), we had the chimney that was on the roof slope boxed on the up slope, step flashing where needed, three wind turbines installed etc. We had very little rot or other issues with the decking but there were some repairs needed and on an old house, I definitely would take off the old shingles. We wanted a metal roof but the cost was prohibitive and we ended up going with Owens-Corning 30 year architectural shingles and are very please with the results. We also specified new fascia (we had exposed rafter ends with no fascia), cladding on the fascia and 5 inch gutters and downspouts all around. It dramatically changed the look of our old house and the leaks are a thing of the past.

We got a 10 year no-leak warranty and we are very pleased with the contractor we selected but his bid was actually the highest. We checked references and evaluated the bids based on how they responded to our bid specifications. It takes a little time and effort but I strongly advise you write down exactly what you want and hand them a bid specification sheet to start when they come out to prepare a bid. I changed some of my bid specs based on recommendations or suggestions by the contractor but having a clear understanding of what was going to be happening by both parties eliminates a lot of issues. Its your money and you should get what you want.

[Hooligan]

There's no way I would cover the entire roof with the ice/water shield. I'd probably only go with the first three feet but I am assuming that snow buildup and ice dams aren't much of a concernn in NC.

My roof has a relatively shallow pitch and we had serious ice dam issues when we first moved in. The roofers I talked to wanted to do the normal 3 feet of I&W shield but I went 6 feet just for peace of mind. No problems since then.

This is in the northeast. We usually have snow on the roof from November to April.

[ronbre]

we totally love and highly recommend Grace Ice and Water shield..there are other inferior products but Grace is the best we have ever worked with..it is like coating your roof in thes super durable sheet of self healing thick gooey yummy stuff that just is the perfect sealant..go for it..a bit pricey but worth it

[meanwhile]

What is an "ice dam"? And...why is that a concern? We did have a lot of ice and snow here in Western NC last year but I am not sure we have "ice dams?"

Thank you for all the ideas. I think we will have to do this ourselves and all the information will help. Thank you.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by meanwhile

What is an "ice dam"? And...why is that a concern?....

[wy_white_wolf]

So? Would I do this:
1. Rip off all the old shingles and see what is rotten under there.
2. Take out any rotten plywood and replace it.
3. Put a Ice & Water Sheild over the whole roof
4. Then nail the slats down???
5. Put the solid foam insulation in between the slats over the two rooms that need insulation up there??????
6. THEN put the metal down??

1. yes
2. yes
3. yes, providing the roof/attic/airspace is vented under this
4. No, should not needed with the plywood repaired.
5. no
6. yes

In NC you most likely don't have a problem with ice dams building up on the roof. You may want to check with a local building code inspector to find out though.

Ice dams explained: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...ng/DK1068.html

[meanwhile]

wy white wolf:
About #3 - we do not have attic space in the roof except for under one room. The rest of the roof/ceiling is cathedral type and there is no attic at all. It is just the ceiling and...whatever is up there....then the roof.

So? If I do not have attic space, then should I not use the Ice % Water shield? And....if not, then why?

On the one room where there is an unfinished attic space, there is one of those vent things at the end. It just has wire over it and the heat/ac man told us not to close it up. I am not sure why.....but we just leave it open year round. There is rafters or maybe it is called roof joist up there and pink insulation all in the bottom part......and that is all.

Thank you.