Editor's note.(Roofing Contractor)(Brief Article)(Editorial)

Got felt?

Few commodities are taken for granted as much as a roll of garden-variety, asphalt-saturated organic roofing felt -- even the premium-grade organic #15 and #30 felt bearing ASTM or UL credentials. It's always available, always relatively inexpensive. Suddenly, though, the price of felt has gone through the roof (no pun intended) and its availability has virtually disintegrated.

Is it not poetic justice that this bit player in the production of residential roofing has been thrust into a starring role?

A number of factors appear to have converged to bring about this change in the fortunes of felt. Production of the dry felt that is used to produce the saturated felt has been reduced, with at least one plant gone and another one shuttered. We have heard of challenges to obtaining the raw materials that go into making the dry felt, putting some pressure on the plants that continue to produce. And, despite what you may read about the economy, the new home construction market remains relatively strong, even stronger than predicted.

What does this mean to the residential roofing contractor? For those of us who work in that new residential construction arena, it is not a very pretty picture. A number of roofing contractors working under long-term contracts have suffered with the rapidly escalating price of felt. They may have secured long-term pricing for shingles or tile, but who would have thought to secure price guarantees on felt? The fact is, even in rough times, manufacturers are not likely to give long-term pricing on ordinary roofing felt, since there are only a few who produce both shingles and regular felt. You may want to add some exclusionary or inflationary language to ...