A roofer, roof contractor, or roofing professional is a tradesman who specializes in roof repair. Roofers repair, rebuild, and install roofs of commercial buildings, utilizing a wide variety of roofing materials, such as asphalt, shingles, and slate. Roofing is the most costly construction project in any homeowner’s life. It is vital to the safety of your family and to your property’s value that you hire a licensed, experienced roofer. If you want the job done right, and if you are prepared to invest both time and money into finding the best roofer for the job, then you should not attempt it yourself. Rather, let the professionals do their work.
Most roofers are equipped with a truck bed full of tools, including shears, hooks, steel wool, tarps, rollers, knives, shovels, skis, tires, an air compressor, an electric saw, hammer, nails, screws, adhesives, gloves, and roofing paper. Asphalt shingle roofs are the most common roofers’ material of choice, but other roofers also use rubber, slate, metal, ceramic, wood, gypsum, slate, quartz, glass, and concrete. Some roofers specialize in one or a few types of roofing systems.
Roofers use scaffolds to raise their work-pieces (usually shingled roofs) and extend them over their roofs. The scaffolds are made of a lightweight material such as aluminum tubing and strong fabric covered by PVC plastic, metal, or mesh. Scaffolding comes in different models to fit different roofing applications. In addition to strength, scaffolds must be able to hold the weight of the roofers themselves, their equipment, and all the tools they will need to complete the job.
There are many different kinds of roofing material on the market today. One variety is the shingle type. It consists of overlapping strips of asphalt or shakes, which are held together with metal flashing. Shingles are the least expensive kind of roofing material, but they are also the easiest to install, the least expensive to buy, and the best for homes and small businesses that have limited roof space.
Next are the asphalt layers. Asphalt shingles are made of loosely woven strips of asphalt. They are wrapped with a fire retardant material and sold in two-foot-wide rolls. The rolls can be used to make shingles to any thickness, although most contractors prefer the three-inch width asphalt shingles. The asphalt layers are then wrapped with PVC pipe and duct tape, and then the sections are stapled together. Asphalt shingles are the easiest kind of roofers to install, but they are prone to leaking if not installed properly.
Finally, there are the tile roofers. Tile roofing is made from larger pieces of material than shingles and asphalt. The pieces are set into place on a metal frame and held in place with tacks or nails. Tile roofers are a better choice if you have enough roof space, because the larger tiles will cut down on the size of your roof, and the small tiles do not weigh as much. If you decide to go with tile roofing, you’ll want to let roofers know about any underground problems that might affect the safety of the roof.
The last type of roofer is the metal roofer. Metal roofers are made from rolled sheets of metal, similar to asphalt shingles. They are most commonly used in commercial buildings that need extra-strong roofing material. These roofs offer some advantages over the other types of roofers, such as having more durability than regular asphalt shingles.
Before you hire roofers, be sure to shop around and compare prices. Many roofing companies offer competitive pricing, but many others can take advantage of you by using higher prices to undercut the competition. If you’re having trouble choosing roofing companies, ask friends and business owners who they would recommend. Be sure to choose a roofer that offers good customer service and has years of experience. Also, you should always ensure that you are being provided with a warranty on workmanship and materials so that you are sure to get quality workmanship.