# Water and Ice Not Needed in the South?



## sophie10 (Oct 23, 2010)

Yesterday I saw a photograph of our house taken during the roofing process and the tarpaper goes all the way down to the eave. I’m thinking there would be no water and ice under the tarpaper.

We get torrential rains every year. Snowfalls usually amount to several inches at most. There are heavy snowfalls occasionally--for example, over 20 inches ten years ago. But snow does not last long here, the way it does in the north.

Why I’m asking these questions now: It’s been an ongoing house renovation. They’re going to do gutters next; and this brought up questions about what we want regarding gutters and downspouts; which caused me to notice details of that roofing area more closely. I noticed and wondered about a couple of things and then started researching and here we are. We love the new shingles themselves and knew nothing about proper roofing practices and trusted the roofers to do the details competently.

Why many separate threads: Just thinking it would be a good idea, for clarity, to separate out my questions into separate threads. Maybe I should have just done one thread called *Sophie’s Questions*?


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## RoofDiagnostics (Oct 17, 2010)

You do not need ice/water shield in the South. Although i am not in the South (NJ) - i know the purpose of ice/water shield is to eliminate ice/damning. Snow and ice buildup in the gutters and backing into the shingled system. 

I did go to college in NC.... There is no need for ice/water shield in the south. When you do get snow it is rarely build up and it never lingers enough to back into your roof system.


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## MJW (Feb 7, 2006)

Actually, it is to prevent a leak which may be caused by ice and snow. Some people have the impression that I&W actually prevents ice damming, but that's not true.

I'm not in the South, so I wouldn't know. Do you have any code enforcement? Proper permits and inspections? There are funny things I read on the net everyday, and it's usually in areas with no enforcement (not that I like government intervention...sometimes it's needed). Homeowners and "professionals" alike.


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## RoofDiagnostics (Oct 17, 2010)

Ice and water shield alone does not stop ice damning - i agree. But it SOME cases it does eliminate potential ice damning. 

http://www.graceathome.com/pages/roofingprod3.htm < Grace Ice and Water Shield Definition 

_Grace Ice & Water Shield®

The leading self-adhered roofing underlayment, Grace Ice & Water Shield offers premium leak protection for sloped roofs in climates subject to ice dams and wind-driven rain. It is applied to the roof deck prior to the application of the finished roof covering, which is most often shingles but can also be tile or metal. The membrane goes under shingles and seals around nails that hold the shingles in place, so water that doesn't drain properly cannot penetrate the roof_


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## sophie10 (Oct 23, 2010)

Certainteed also mentions "wind driven rain" as a reason to use WinterGuard. That doesn't bother you so much?

And do people put tar paper on top of water and ice (so it's two layers: w&I on the bottom, tar paper on top)? 

Thanks.

Sophie


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## sophie10 (Oct 23, 2010)

And no, so far as I can tell, we don't have any code enforcement, inspections, etc.


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## RoofDiagnostics (Oct 17, 2010)

Everyone has local codes and enforcement it is just a matter of finding yours. I forget where (NRCA manual maybe?) but i seam to remember reading that ice and water shield should be used in geographical areas with a January Average Temperate of 25degrees or less.

Ice and Water is nice but most likely unnecessary in your specific situation. The manufacturers will promote "higher quality" underlayments - they are more expensive. Certainly, your January average temperature is higher then 25degrees - Ice and water should not be a concern for you.


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## justincase123 (Oct 24, 2010)

I live in ky and they do not use ice guard here much either although I did use it up my dormers as an added precaution because dormers are so darn contrare, lol I just had my roof done as well and they did not use ice guard around where the gutters went. I would go with the larger downspouts on the gutters though, I put them on mine and have been very pleased. You use the same size gutters, just larger downspouts (6") We get a lot of rain in ky and I think you may as well in N.C..


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## justincase123 (Oct 24, 2010)

To clarify, We went with the normal 5" or so gutter - (not the big commercial 6") and then used the larger downspouts which are 6". Sometimes when I try to explain this, people think I am saying to use commercial -sized gutters, but no- it is only the downspouts that are larger. The larger downspouts let the rain off the roof quicker and your gutters aren't as likely to overflow which can cause trouble with wood, etc. Make sure to put extensions on the end of the downspouts to direct water well away from your foundation. The expandable ones you can get at lowes or h.d. can be turned to fit either regular or the larger downspouts.


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## sophie10 (Oct 23, 2010)

Thank you for informing me about this.

Sophie


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