roof tar paper as underlayment for hardwood flooring


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Old 05-16-15, 02:16 PM
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roof tar paper as underlayment for hardwood flooring

I have a roll of roof tar paper I was going to sell on craigslist. I visited lowes.com to check pricing of the tar paper and read 4 reviews on one product. Two of the reviews said they used the product as underlayment for interior flooring and said it is very effective in elimination floor noise. Since I'm thinking about replacing some carpeting with wood flooring, I thought perhaps I should keep the roof tar paper and use it under the flooring.

Interested in confirmation from others who have done this, or opinions from anyone.
 
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Old 05-16-15, 02:19 PM
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I've used roofing felt [#15] under the hardwood I've installed and have seen it used on almost all the jobs I've worked on.
 
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Old 05-16-15, 02:22 PM
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Same here. Makes a great underlayment. Selling on Craig's list would be counterproductive, IMO. Stuff only costs $15 or so retail. Save it.
 
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Old 05-16-15, 02:27 PM
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Yeah you can use it. Some finicky or sensitive people might complain about the odor, but they would have to be hyper sensitive.
 
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Old 05-16-15, 02:44 PM
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Thanks for the comments. I'm going to hang on to that roll that I have.
 
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Old 05-31-15, 12:17 PM
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Tar paper as vapor retarder

As the others have said you can use the tar paper as a vapor retarder between the subfloor and finished floor. There is another product, Aquabar B, which costs about $20.00 for a 500 sq ft roll. HD sells it. It has an asphalt layer sandwiched between 2 layers of kraft paper. Nice to work with. Virtually no smell and won't mar the walls. No smudging.
 
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Old 05-31-15, 05:28 PM
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JIMMIEM, thanks for that info. I visited HD's website and buyer reviews on it. They were quite favorable.
 
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Old 05-31-15, 05:47 PM
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What about odor with tar paper? Is it noticeable after the flooring installation is finished? If so, does it diminish as time passes?
 
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Old 05-31-15, 08:47 PM
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There is not any odor. You may smell it when you put it down, but as soon as you cover it you never smell it again. I use it in all my flooring applications. Save money over those other "superior" products, the only thing they are superior at is making you part with more of your hard earned money.
 
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Old 06-01-15, 04:14 AM
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The hardwood I've installed in my own house has tar paper under it with no odor issues. I've painted 100's of new homes with hardwood where they used tar paper and have never heard of anyone complain. As far as I know that is the industry standard.
 
 

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