Can Bituthene® membranes be used as a roof underlayment on a steep sloped roof?
The original Grace Ice & Water Shield® WAS called Bituthene until they changed the name to a more consumer friendly sounding name. Whenever I tried to sell Bituthene to a customer, I always felt like I was swearing, especially when the wife was there LOL. The word "Bituthene" is a combination of bitumen and polyethylene which is the composition of these products, but Ice & Water Shield sounds better and sells better for the average consumer. The original Bituthene membranes were used to waterproof bridges, parking ramps, etc. and were thicker than Grace Ice & Water Shield® . Someone tried it on their roof and it worked so good that Grace Co. cheapened it up (made it thinner) and sold it as a roofing underlayment. Naturally, the official word from Grace Co. is going to be that each product is specially designed for a specific purpose, and that the products are not interchangeable, yada, yada, yada. But if you happen to have available some really cheap or free Bituthene, and you are in financial trouble, and you really need a new roof, my guess is that the Bituthene would work a whole lot better than some of the "other brand" cheap junk out there on the market that is labeled "Ice Shield" by the manufacturer. Grace Co. makes great waterproofing products and they pretty much invented the modern ice shield when they converted "Bituthene" into a roofing product.
