Installing Tar Paper Under Siding

Before applying roofing you ll need to cover the sheathing with roofing felt also often called tar paper most local codes call for using 30 pound felt.

Installing tar paper under siding. Use tyvek over building felt under siding. The house will have a rain screen gap made of strips of pt plywood. Check that it is level and aligned and drive staples or cap nails. Hold a roll of felt paper against the left edge of the wall with the top end of the roll aligned with the chalk line.

If you will be attaching the building paper with cap nails use a chalkline to mark the sheathing with the locations of studs. You want any water that does get behind the siding to run down and never be allowed to get near any wood. Some roofers prefer to attach felt underlayment with 1 inch roofing nails or special nails with plastic washers but most codes allow staples which are easier to drive. I want to replace the tar paper but i can t find it at homedepot or lowes.

I saw a new house with felt paper under the siding rather than tyvek. In fact many builders disagree on the effectiveness of house wraps altogether and while some builders will only install 15 pound asphalt saturated felt paper underneath exterior siding others swear by plastic fabric house wraps such as typar or tyvek. We re in the coastal rainforest of southeast alaska very wet. Our new build house has been standing without siding for two years.

Position the next course of tar paper farther up the roof so that its lower edge overlaps the upper edge of the paper in the first course by 1 foot. Another great installation tip is to make sure the first strip of tar paper is installed so it overlaps the top of the foundation at least an inch. The walls are intended to dry to the outside. Install all subsequent courses with the same overlap until the top edge of the paper is within 6 inches of the roof s peak.

I am about to replace the weathered tar paper with two new layers of 15 felt before siding the house with cedar clapboards. Working with a helper unroll the paper so it is about 2 inches below the sill plate and pull it taut.