# Roofer didn't use underlayment in some places and says it's fine



## MrCanuck (8 mo ago)

As you can see in the photo, the roofer that did my house is just putting shingles directly onto the plywood, without using any underlayment. 
He says it was the way he was taught and that it would never leak up there. He said that leaks happen closer to the eaves. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that he skipped the underlayment to save time/money, and that the underlayment should have been done.

Can any experienced roofers help me with this? Is he right, or am I right?


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

We always use underlay on our roofs. It's code in my area and required by the manufacturer, says so right on the wrapper.


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## MrCanuck (8 mo ago)

roofermann said:


> We always use underlay on our roofs. It's code in my area and required by the manufacturer, says so right on the wrapper.


Thanks for the reply. I live in Ontario, Canada and we get harsh Winters, so I would assume that it should be "code" in my area as well.


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

Ontario? Bad news, underlay (except an ice+water shield type at eaves and valleys) isn't code there. Blew my mind when I learned of that, they even have different verbage on the wrappers.


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## MrCanuck (8 mo ago)

roofermann said:


> Ontario? Bad news, underlay (except an ice+water shield type at eaves and valleys) isn't code there. Blew my mind when I learned of that, they even have different verbage on the wrappers.


Oh really eh? Geez, that is surprising. Well, I suppose I shouldn't expect leaks then (as I assume it isn't code because the shingles on top of the plywood is sufficient)? I always thought underlayment was necessary when putting a new roof on. Guess I learned something today.


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

I've torn off 20yo+ roofs that had no underlay and the sheathing was fine, so if he did a good job on the shingles you should be fine.


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## MrCanuck (8 mo ago)

roofermann said:


> I've torn off 20yo+ roofs that had no underlay and the sheathing was fine, so if he did a good job on the shingles you should be fine.


Nice to hear that from an experienced roofer. Thanks for taking the time to educate me.


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## MaritLage (8 mo ago)

it might be possible to find a roofer who will agree to do underlayment even if it isn·t required -- it does get quite cold up here . quite cold .


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