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Shingle sealant cellophane strip (C) Daniel Friedman Adequacy of the Factory Asphalt Shingle Adhesive Strip for Wind Damage Resistance
Wind resistance rating of asphalt shingles depends on the combination of manufacturer's glue strips & / or additional onsite sealing

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about about the cellophane strip protecting the glue strip on asphalt roof shingles: should it be removed or not?

Asphalt roof shingle wind damage resistance:

Does the factory-installed adhesive strip found on / between asphalt roof shingles provide adequate protection against wind-uplift damage in hurricane areas or other locations subject to high winds?

Yes if the asphalt shingle product was designed for high wind areas and installed at least after about 2009 in the U.S. Other asphalt roof shingle products may merit use of additional sealant between shingle courses to protect against wind damage. As we explain below, it depends ...

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Adequacy of the Asphalt Shingle Factory Adhesive Strip in High Wind Areas

Shingle_Wind_Resistance_Rating (C) Daniel Friedman On occasions, particularly during high wind conditions such as hurricanes, defective glue strips or adhesive strips on the underside of asphalt shingles may not provide sufficient adhesion, or if the shingles were not properly handled and the glue strip was dirty, an adhesion failure can lead to failure of the shingle tabs to adhere to the nailed-down header of the shingle above.

[Click to enlarge any image]

The close-up photo of a stamp on the back of an asphalt roof shingle and visible through a cellophane-protective strip - at left - illustrates the "Miami-Dade County Approved" imprint found on the underside of an asphalt shingle that meets Florida's wind-resistance requirements.

In this case exposure to high winds can cause shingles to tear or blow off of the roof, increasing the degree of water damage inside the building when such winds are accompanied by rain.

We have heard from a few "experts" familiar with wind damaged roofs (in coastal areas exposed to hurricanes and in other high-wind areas) previously recommended both the removal of the cellophane strip and the installation of double-sticky-sided roofing adhesive mastic tape or roof cement under shingle tabs at the time of asphalt roof shingle installation.

Really? We agree that adding sealant may be (or may have previously been) appropriate for some shingle products in some wind zones or weather conditions and may even follow the manufacturers' instructions.

But you don't need to remove the protective strip on the under-side of an asphalt shingle just to add sealant beneath the tabs of the next shingle course. And modern wind-resistant shingles don't need extra sealant - as we elaborate just below.

Watch out: furthermore, for some shingles or brands we have observed that tearing off a release strip that happens to have strongly bonded to a shingle can sometimes pull off part of the shingle back, seriously damaging the asphalt shingle and shortening its life.

More attempts at the "yes" answer on removing roof shingle cellophane strips

One of our readers, Leonard Wheeler, reported that independent analysis of wind damaged roofs concluded that "... many shingles and attachment adhesives used were not adequate for the wind speeds that occurred.

The most common failure mode was lifting of the tabs due to failure of the self-seal adhesive, and subsequent tearing of the shingles at the fasteners (Smith, 1994)."

However, because the release strip is nowhere near the glue strip of the shingle course below, the release strip in place will have nothing to do with whether or not the shingle seals adequately from sunlight and heat on the roof. Rather, if more wind uplift resistance is needed, extra adhesive might be added during roof installation.

Our associate, Mark Cramer, a Florida home inspector and educator in the field, reported that houses suffering damage during Hurricane Andrew were generally those not built to code, and that code-built homes survived the hurricane with minimal damage. Mr. Cramer provides this update:

Asphalt roof shingles sold today (2009) in high wind zones are totally different from what we used in the early 90’s. Forget the number of nails also, four is fine for most shingles used today. The problem was not number of nails but failure of adhesion.

Today’s high wind [asphalt roofing] shingles can’t be pulled apart once they seal.

Other measures to reduce water damage to buildings in coastal or high wind areas include use of roof flashing tape or strips of ice-and-water-shield type products over the butt joints between sections of plywood or OSB roof decking.

Watch out: The presence of roofing felt under shingles won't prevent roof leaks after shingles are installed, since the shingle nails will have made thousands of penetrations in that membrane. If that's what you're after you will need a complete roof underlayment using an adhesive membrane that seals around nails driven through it.


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Continue reading at WIND DAMAGE to ROOFS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Asphalt Shingle Sealing Cellophane Strip Articles

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CELLOPHANE STRIP ADHESIVE ADEQUACY in HIGH WIND AREAS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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