Gotta admit, synthetic underlayments are pretty solid, but honestly, I've had decent luck with good ol' felt paper. Sure, it's like the flip-flop in your analogy, but hey, flip-flops have their moments—cheap, easy, and surprisingly reliable if you're careful. Trick is overlapping generously and not skimping on staples. Had mine exposed for almost a week during a rainy spell (thanks, weather gods...) and it held up fine. Warranty? Ha, yeah right. Just keep an eye out and patch as you go.
Felt paper can definitely hold its own if you're careful, but have you considered the UV exposure factor? Even with generous overlaps and staples, felt tends to degrade faster under direct sunlight compared to synthetic. Sure, a week of rain exposure might be fine, but what about a couple weeks of intense sun? I've seen felt get brittle surprisingly quick. Curious if you've noticed any brittleness or cracking after longer exposures...?
"felt tends to degrade faster under direct sunlight compared to synthetic."
I've definitely noticed this too. After a recent storm repair, the felt underlayment was exposed for about two weeks of strong sun, and it became noticeably brittle—almost crumbly in spots. Makes me wonder about the actual UV resistance claims manufacturers make...
Yeah, I've had similar experiences—felt's usually decent, but once the sun gets to it for more than a few days, it really starts to show wear. Makes you wonder how they test these UV ratings...
I've noticed that too, especially with the felt stuff. When we redid our roof a couple of summers ago, we went with a synthetic underlayment that had some impressive UV rating advertised. Felt pretty confident about it at first, but then delays happened (because when do DIY projects ever stay on schedule, right?). Anyway, it ended up being exposed for about two weeks longer than planned, and sure enough, started looking faded and brittle around the edges. It still held up okay in the end, but definitely made me wonder about those UV claims...like do they test these things in Arizona or just somewhere cloudy and mild? Seems like there's always a bit of fine print or some condition that none of us realistically meet in our own homes.
