What is peel and stick roofing?

If you are a new homeowner considering his options around peel and stick roofing, you have come to the right place. In this article, you will know what is peel and stick roofing and everything there is to know.

Peel and stick is a synthetic roofing material designed to replace the widely used asphalt-saturated underlayment. Peel and stick roofing is made using high-density polyethylene, also known as polyester. Peel and stick roofing is often used as an underlayment or put an under layer below outer roofing materials such as roofing rolls, plywood, shingles, and more.

Benefits of Peel and Stick Roofing

Peel and stick roofing possesses numerous benefits over traditional underlayment roofing like the asphalt-saturated underlayment. Below are some of the top benefits of installing peel and stick roofing which might help you make a better-informed choice.

Peel and Stick roofing provides an excellent barrier

When roofers understand what is peel and stick roofing and add the material under an outer roofing material, this underlayment acts as an additional layer of waterproofing. This extra layer of underlayment can better protect against damages and leakages in your home that rain and ice dams may have caused.

Peel and stick roofing tends to have a longer life than other traditional roofing materials. It translates to an overall longer life for your roofing. Since peel and stick roofing is non-wrinkly and doesn't need nails either, there is no chance of water logging or water seeping through the holes punctured by nails. It makes the roofing long-lasting and less susceptible to damage.

Stronger than asphalt underlayment and other traditional solutions

Peel and stick roofing has a longer life than traditional solutions like asphalt underlayment because it is robust. In addition, being a polymer by nature, peel and stick roofing is more flexible than materials like asphalt. As a result, there is little to no chance of cracks and breaks appearing in the roofing. Therefore, it makes peel and sticks roofing a longer-lasting alternative compared to traditional roofing solutions like asphalt roofing.

It is easier to install

Since you know what is peel and stick roofing, you should know that it doesn't require any nailing, and it is far easier to install than non-adhesive underlayment. In addition, it reduces the requirement of the workforce in installing roofing, which automatically reduces the overall costs.

Some things to consider before thinking about installing peel and stick roofing

Even though installing a peel and stick roofing might sound like a good idea, there are some things one must know before deciding on whether to install it or not. Here are some of the things that you should know beforehand:

Suitable for flat roofs or low slope roofs

Peel and stick roofing is the best suited for flat and low slope roofs. The range of slope for an ideal top in terms of peel and stick roofing should be between 0.5/12to 4/12.

Comes with Additional Costs

Even though it is easier to install and transport, this doesn't mean that peel and stick roofing is necessarily affordable than traditional roofing. Being a modern innovative kind of roofing, it is inherently expensive, and the costs greatly vary over the range of thickness and the quality of material used in installing the roofing. A peel and stick roofing can cost anywhere between $130 to $160 per roll if you go for a good quality roofing supplied by the top makers.

Hard to Remove

Since it is self-adhesive underlayment, there are some times when it becomes hard and sometimes even impossible to remove the peel and stick underlayment without damaging the existing roofing of the home. Therefore, it can be a considerable disadvantage when considering the overall cost of roofing and maintenance afterward.

Conclusion

Now you might have gotten the answer to what is peel and stick roofing as it appears to be a better alternative to traditional forms of roofing. It's because of its inherent advantages like leak proofing, strength, and easy installation. However, simultaneously, like any other thing in the world, it also seems to have disadvantages like costliness and being hard to remove.

While cost plays a significant factor in any large-scale project like roofing, if you can splash that extra buck, the verdict is that the peel and stick roofing is worth the money it costs.