Welcome to the Official Web Site for Fast Felt® Roofing Underlayment

The patented product FAST FELT®, with its plastic tabs pre-affixed to the asphalt saturated felt (commonly called "tar paper") is the only significant improvement in the recent history of the asphalt saturated felt underlayment products market.

Fast Felt® plastic tabs are an integral part of the asphalt saturated felt underlayment and are directly applied to the asphalt saturated felt during the manufacturing process.  This contributes to the inherent rupture strength of each Fast Felt® tab.

[The image below is from the ASTM D226, Type II Fast Felt® underlayment label.]

Our Fast Felt® Technology is Available Now

Using FAST FELT® vs. Traditionally Applied Tabs

Fast Felt® is a two-part felt underlayment system since the applied tabs are an integral part of the asphalt saturated felt underlayment:

          1. Roll of Fast Felt® Underlayment and

          2. Box of Roofing Nails.

Traditionally, the underlayment system is in three parts:

          1. Roll of asphalt saturated felt underlayment,

          2. Box of the tin or plastic caps and

          3. Box of roofing nails.

Because the Fast Felt® tabs are affixed to the felt underlayment during the manufacturing process, pull tests performed have shown that the Fast Felt® tabs have consistently exhibited a greater rupture strength than either of the following:

          Metal Caps:   Fast Felt® tabs are more than 20% stronger than Metal Caps and

                    (Both Fast Felt® tabs and metal caps are typically 1-5/8" to 2" in diameter.)

                    Click here for a demonstration of Fast Felt® vs. Tin Cap technology.

          Plastic Caps:  Fast Felt® tabs are more than 75% stronger than Plastic Caps.

                    (Plastic Caps are typically only 1' in diameter, concave to the felt, have

                    "spines" which add rigidity to their concave shape and include a "lip" on the

                    outer edge which "bites" into the felt creating an easy tear point for the

                    relatively weak felt underlayment.)

                    Click here for performance data: Fast Felt® vs. Plastic Cap Technology.

Additionally, any "loose" or detached anchoring cap, such as the metal or plastic caps currently available, allow the felt underlayment to tear at the shank of the nail prior to rupture failure in a manner comparable to a sheet of notebook paper tearing and eventually ripping out of a three-ring binder.  The movement of the underlayment around the shank of the roofing nail, either during (a) the installation of the underlayment itself or (b) during the installation of the asphalt shingle or other roof covering material could significantly reduce the rupture performance of this 3-part underlayment system.  Basic organic felt underlayments are relatively weak, low tensile strength substrates.  Just the process of walking on the felt underlayment could cause tearing.  Therefore, the failure of this 3-part underlayment system could be significantly less than expected and the result would be exposure of the wood roof deck to the weather. 

The traditional method of applying asphalt saturated felt ("felt underlayment") to a wood roof deck using existing plastic or metal disks ("tin caps") is to manually hold the plastic or metal disk onto the felt underlayment and drive a nail through the felt underlayment into the wood roof deck. Typically the choice for the roofer is to carry a hip pack with the plastic or metal disks in it or to pay a premium to purchase and carry a combined nail stuck through a plastic tab. The handling of the metal disk often results in cut fingers due to the sharpness of the edges on the metal disk. Basically this is a very tedious process!

The application of FAST FELT® underlayment product, employing a pneumatic air nailer, is significantly easier and faster for the roofer. The roofing contractor has to just lay out our FAST FELT® underlayment and begin applying the roofing nails with the air nailer on each Fast Felt® tab already affixed to the underlayment. Since the plastic material in each FAST FELT® tab affixed to the tar paper has an elastic property to it, the roofer should be able to walk on the Fast Felt® underlayment during the installation process without worry of the Fast Felt® underlayment tearing or expanding around the shank of the roofing nail, a condition which could allow water to leak onto, or possibly into the wood roof deck.

Click here to find out more...