7 Best Roofing Felt For Added Protection In Apartments That Defy Convention
These aren’t your landlord’s standard roofing felts.
That persistent drip on the balcony, the draft you can’t seem to locate, or the neighbor’s TV bleeding through the walls—these are the common battles of apartment living. You might think the solutions are complex or require a landlord’s intervention, but some of the best tools are hiding in plain sight at the hardware store. We’re talking about roofing felt and underlayment, materials designed for the harshest outdoor conditions.
When you bring these materials indoors, or onto your small patch of outdoor space, they become secret weapons. They offer a level of water, air, and even sound protection that most consumer-grade products can’t match. This isn’t about re-roofing your building; it’s about using professional-grade materials in smart, targeted ways to solve specific apartment problems.
Forget their intended purpose for a moment. Instead, think of them as high-performance fabrics you can cut, shape, and place to dramatically improve your space. From creating a truly waterproof barrier for your balcony garden to dampening sound between rooms, these underlayments offer unconventional solutions that are both effective and affordable.
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GAF FeltBuster: Your First Line of Defense
GAF FeltBuster is a synthetic underlayment, which immediately sets it apart from old-school tar paper. It’s incredibly light, doesn’t have the oily residue of asphalt felt, and is surprisingly tough. This makes it an ideal material to work with inside an apartment or in a tight space where you don’t want fumes or mess.
Think of this as a high-performance vapor barrier for your small-space projects. A perfect application is laying it down on a concrete balcony before you put down wood deck tiles. It creates a breathable yet water-resistant layer that prevents moisture from the concrete from wicking up into your tiles, extending their life and preventing mold.
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The key tradeoff here is that while it’s water-resistant, it isn’t a fully sealed, waterproof membrane like a peel-and-stick product. Its strength lies in its durability, breathability, and ease of use. It’s the perfect choice when you need to separate two surfaces and manage ambient moisture, not stop a flood.
Grace Ice & Water Shield: Superior Grip for You
When you need absolute, positive waterproofing, Grace Ice & Water Shield is the answer. This is not just a barrier; it’s a self-adhering membrane that bonds aggressively to nearly any clean surface. It creates a seamless, rubberized asphalt seal that water simply cannot penetrate.
This is your go-to for projects where failure is not an option. Imagine building a large, permanent planter box on your patio or creating a waterproof liner for a cabinet under a sink. Its adhesive is so powerful that it seals around fasteners, meaning if you have to screw something through it, the membrane will form a watertight gasket around the screw.
However, its incredible grip is also its biggest consideration. This is a permanent solution. Once it’s down, it’s not coming up without a fight and will likely damage the surface it’s adhered to. Use this only on surfaces you own or have explicit permission to permanently alter. It’s overkill for a simple draft, but it’s peace of mind for serious water containment.
Owens Corning ProArmor: Lightweight & Tough Choice
ProArmor Synthetic Felt offers superior walking surface and moisture protection for asphalt shingle roofs. Its Fusion Back Coating Technology and tear-resistant material ensure easy, secure installation, even on steep pitches.
Owens Corning’s ProArmor is all about physical toughness. Like FeltBuster, it’s a synthetic underlayment, but its claim to fame is its exceptional tear strength and slip-resistant surface. It’s designed to be walked on and abused during construction, which translates into incredible durability for apartment life.
This makes it the perfect protective skin for high-traffic areas. Use it as a floor protector in a small workshop area on your balcony or as a liner for a storage closet with a rough concrete floor. It will prevent stored items from getting scuffed and stop concrete dust from getting everywhere, all while handling foot traffic without shredding.
Remember, this product is a shield, not a seal. It will shed water effectively but doesn’t have the gasket-like quality of an adhesive membrane. Choose ProArmor when your primary goal is to protect a surface from abrasion, friction, and moderate moisture. It’s the tough, lightweight barrier that stands up to wear and tear.
Seal Your Space with TYPAR Surround SR Underlayment
TYPAR® Surround® VR Underlayment offers superior tear resistance and a waterproof, slip-resistant surface for secure, faster roof deck coverage. Its lightweight design and wider rolls simplify installation, while meeting stringent severe climate requirements.
TYPAR Surround SR is technically a weather-resistant barrier, or WRB, often used to wrap an entire house. Its magic lies in its design: it stops liquid water and air from getting in, but it allows water vapor to escape. This one-way breathability is a game-changer for managing your apartment’s micro-climate.
Its best unconventional use is as an interior air barrier. If you have a notoriously drafty exterior wall, you can tack a layer of TYPAR up behind a large piece of furniture, like a bookshelf or a heavy tapestry. This will dramatically cut down on air infiltration without the risk of trapping moisture within the wall cavity, which could lead to bigger problems.
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This is a specialized tool, not an all-purpose waterproofer. It will not stop standing water and is not designed for foot traffic. Think of it as a windbreaker for your apartment, stopping drafts and managing moisture to make your space more comfortable and energy-efficient.
RhinoRoof U20: Your Go-To for Balcony Projects
This synthetic roofing underlayment offers superior strength and water resistance, replacing traditional felt for asphalt shingles, metal, and shakes. Its wider, lighter design ensures easier installation with enhanced UV protection and mold imperviousness.
RhinoRoof U20 has a unique feature that makes it incredibly useful for apartment dwellers: enhanced UV stability. Most underlayments are meant to be covered immediately, but RhinoRoof can be left exposed to the elements for weeks without significant degradation. This provides a massive window of opportunity for your projects.
This makes it the ultimate temporary floor for a balcony or patio. You can lay it down and use the space for an entire season while you decide on a more permanent finish like tile or composite decking. It provides a clean, waterproof, and non-slip surface that protects the underlying concrete and is comfortable to walk on.
While it’s UV-stabilized, it’s not meant to be a permanent, exposed surface. For apartment life, this translates to flexibility. It buys you time, allowing you to complete a project in stages without leaving your balcony a mess. It’s the perfect interim solution that’s tough enough to be the final one for a season or two.
Epilay PlyStic Plus: Peel-and-Stick Simplicity
Epistik Plus is a durable, 48-mil synthetic underlayment offering superior high-temperature performance. This self-adhered solution provides a reliable alternative to traditional asphalt-based underlayments, boasting a Class A fire rating and a wide temperature range.
If you like the idea of a self-adhering membrane like Grace but are intimidated by its aggressive bond, Epilay PlyStic Plus is your answer. It offers the same peel-and-stick convenience but with a high-tack adhesive that is a bit more forgiving during application. It provides an excellent waterproof seal without the all-or-nothing commitment.
This is the ideal product for small, precise waterproofing jobs. Think about lining the bottom of a kitchen cabinet under the plumbing, creating a waterproof backer for a pet feeding station, or sealing the base of a window air conditioning unit. The application is clean, fast, and doesn’t require any special tools—just a utility knife and a steady hand.
The tradeoff is slightly less aggressive adhesion compared to its industrial-strength cousins. But for 90% of interior apartment applications, its bond is more than sufficient. This is the user-friendly choice for creating a quick, reliable, and totally waterproof seal on a small scale.
Kirsch #15 Felt: The Classic, Versatile Option
This is the old-school, traditional asphalt-saturated felt, often called "tar paper." It’s heavy, can be messy to work with, and definitely has a distinct asphalt smell. So why even consider it? Because its mass and density give it a superpower: sound dampening.
The most effective unconventional use for #15 felt is to reduce noise transmission. Placing a layer (or two) of this dense material under an area rug can significantly cut down on footstep noise for your downstairs neighbors. Similarly, sandwiching it between two layers of drywall or even placing it behind a large acoustic panel on a shared wall can help absorb vibrations and muffle sound.
You must manage the downsides: the off-gassing (VOCs) and oily residue. This material is best used in applications where it will be completely covered and contained, like under flooring or sealed behind a wall panel. Don’t use it for waterproofing in your living space, but do consider it a cheap and effective tool in the fight against noise.
Final Verdict: Which Felt Fits Your Apartment?
There is no single "best" roofing felt, because the challenges of apartment living are so diverse. The right choice isn’t about the product’s brand name, but about matching its specific properties to the problem you’re trying to solve. Are you fighting water, air, noise, or just wear and tear?
Your decision should be based entirely on the job at hand. Here’s a simple framework to guide you:
- For serious, permanent waterproofing: Grace Ice & Water Shield is unmatched, but be certain of your placement.
- For user-friendly peel-and-stick sealing: Epilay PlyStic Plus is perfect for smaller, contained projects.
- For durable, non-adhesive moisture barriers: GAF FeltBuster or Owens Corning ProArmor are your best bets, with ProArmor having the edge for tear resistance.
- For a temporary, UV-resistant balcony surface: RhinoRoof U20 gives you unmatched flexibility.
- For stopping drafts without trapping moisture: TYPAR Surround SR is the specialized tool for the job.
- For cheap, effective sound dampening: Kirsch #15 Felt is the classic choice, provided you can contain it properly.
Ultimately, leveraging these materials is about thinking like a builder. It’s about seeing a roll of underlayment not as roofing material, but as a high-performance solution you can adapt to your needs. By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, you can deploy them with precision to make your apartment quieter, drier, and more comfortable.
The materials used to build our homes possess capabilities that go far beyond their primary application. For the apartment dweller, this is a powerful realization. You don’t have to live with that drafty corner or worry about your balcony planters ruining the concrete. The solutions are often sitting in aisle 20, waiting for a little creative thinking.
By borrowing from the construction world, you gain access to a toolkit of durable, effective, and affordable materials. These "roofing" felts are prime examples of how a little unconventional thinking can solve some of the most persistent small-space challenges.
So the next time you face a problem with water, air, or noise, take a walk through the building materials section. The perfect answer might just be a product designed for the outside of a house, ready to be repurposed to perfect the inside of your home.
