Who's A Roofer?

Slyfox

Residential shinglers only fall in to the roofer category if they do re-roofs/tear offs or lay overs.
If they do only new construction shingling they are considered carpenters.
Commercial journeymen can work years without ever installing a residential roof.
Commercial roofs seldom require the use of residential roofing systems/materials and vice versa.

There for a roofer is a man/woman who has experience in both commercial and residential roofing systems.
That's not to say that you need to have worked in both the commercial and residential roofing fields in order to be a roofer, just that you need to have the knowledge of dealing with materials commonly used in both fields.

"There are Shinglers and there are Journeymen but a Roofer is a combination of both."

Now to take that a step further and determine who is a qualified roofer. One must have:
1) Common Sense / Experience.
2) Basic skills in wood and metal work.
3) Basic knowledge of nature (gravity, weather patterns, etc.).
4) Basic mathematical skills.
5) Basic reading and writing skills.
6) Strong (usually sore) back, knees and hand grip.
7) Even more experience

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boman47k

Lot of banks, offices, and retail establishments around here with 40 year shingles. I would say that most of the people doing these call themselves roofers. You disagree? Not being wise###, just never thought about it. I guess it is like painting. There are painters with very limited knowlege then there are Painters with a vast amount of knowlege and technique for many different scenerios.

dougger222

I think ventilation is key to a good roof system and knowing insulation codes isn't bad to know either.

I have laid shingles and run a roofing business for 10 years now. Used to do mainly new stuff now only tear offs. All residential, less than .05% flat, no metal and one or two wood roofs per year.

Since I don't install large commercial flat roofs or metal roofs guess I'm not a roofer.

Slyfox

I guess i need to word that part better, maybe, but far the majority of commercial work is not shingles.

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Slyfox

(dougger222I think ventilation is key to a good roof system and knowing insulation codes isn't bad to know either.)
I disagree, instulation is the key to a good roofing system, ventilation is one of a few steps needed to achieve the longevity of the system.

(Since I don't install large commercial flat roofs or metal roofs guess I'm not a roofer)
You misread/misunderstood the post.

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A W Smith

nitpick

"There for"

should be

Therefore

And i have heard shingler's being referred to as "applicators" not carpenters. But I'm a carpenter who has done roofing for a long time.

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Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com

Tom M

Im a carpenter former roofer so It seems I must be qualified. New construction roofing and siding, 10 years, 3 years commercial foreman doing pvc,epdm,torch, slate and standing seam and too many years residential tear-offs. Always made good money till competition drove cost down to an "all or nothing business" on the residential end.

WarnerConstInc.

roofers have strong backs, worn out knees, scared and callused hands, defy gravity, and weak minds. oh and sometimes the mouth of a sailor.

Slyfox

lol

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Slyfox

Not sure if it's just Ohio or a national term or what, but if i declare myself as strictly new construction work, it lowers my cost of workers comp in the area of 10% because they would consider me a carpenter, thier term not mine.

Thanks for the pointing out my mistake also, i'll let my daughter know she needs to go through all my more recently set up pages on my website and check for errors.

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Slyfox

What if i include the following,

(Small buisiness establishments are often an exception to the rule, using both commercial and residential roofing systems, such as banks, medical offices, law offices, car lots, etc.)

better?

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tenfingers

shingles are shingles,what else can you do besides lay a frikking shingle?you are not a roofer.a roofer knows how to roof,not just lay some shingles.shinglers,roofers???hahaha.

I can't stand when some "roofer"says I don't know nothing about no flatroofing.you are not a roofer.
lets debate for days shingelers.

I work in service and repair and alot of shingle roofs terminate into flats......I have no words to describe what I have seen people do.Frikken hacks.

tenfingers

I would never call a wanna be hack a carpenter either,I worked as a framer for 10 years,no they aren't carpenters.

tenfingers

no you aren't a roofer you are a shingler.get used to it.you can't even install more than asphalt shingles.get with it and learn some stuff.

2ndGen

Who's a Roofer?

A Roofer works his trade. It doesn't matter what types of roofing he knows. The applications are all relative and regional depending on where he operates.

A roofer servicing an upper class area could be a master slater, but won't know squat about architectural shingles (and most likely, won't care to learn it). A flat roofing mechanic might be able to knock out a strip mall efficiently, but might not know anything about tile roofing. Is he any less a professional?

To me, a roofer is a roofer because he wants to be a roofer. He's not dragging his butt to work. He can't see himself doing anything else. He loves the open air, he has no fear of heights (just respect for the roof and where he works). He doesn't like walls. He curses the heat in the summer, the cold in the winter, but takes a great deal of pride that he is in a class all by himself.

His office has a 360 degree view.

He climbs real ladders, not corporate ladders.

He won't "not" do a detail right because he knows that the roof will leak...even if it's a few years down the line.

A Roofer is a professional.

Anyone can "roof", but to be a Roofer, you have to be completely unorthodox, you're usually a very confident person and you don't fear heights, falling, weather extremes, heavy work, abrasive materials, unappreciative homeowners or getting dirty.

Shingling a roof is the difficult part. Tearing off the old roof and drying it in is rudimetary.

A Roofer...hated by insurance companies, the last contractor a homeowner wants to have to hire and probably the most unappreciated tradesman in the business.

It's not the material one lays. No one Roofer can know every single system that comes out, especially since systems are regional and plus, they change every few years.

I don't care if all he does is lay shingles or rolls capsheet. It doesn't matter if he's a slating pre-madonna or does strictly tiles.

A real Roofer can be dropped on any roof with any material and he will figure it out on his own if he has to...even if he's never worked with that particular material before.

I'm a Roofer.

A Hardcore, 2nd Generation, Thoroughbred Roofer with 2 1/2 Decades of being in the business from lowly Laborer to Company Owner back to Owner Operator.

But I would never deny a man with only a few years of experience in a limited field (say residential shingling).

Does he lay a quality roof? Is it waterproof? Does it last? Then that man did his job and he is a Roofer in my opinion.

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"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

tenfingers

you must be a shingler.

tenfingers

tell you what shingler,bur details never change,epdm has been the same since RPS came out,and laminates,of course it's greek to you,sorry.

yeah they come out with all kinds of flat roof stuff,but it's all the same....water runs down hill.Why don't you get off the master shingle kick(are you listed?)and learn how to better yourself to do your job better?

2ndGen

I'm very happy to see by your "quote" that you have a very healthy self-esteem.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

reveivl

A Roofer is someone who makes 'other trades gasp". when they find out .

Discussions like this really don't go anywhere. IMO you're a professional roofer if you professionally put roofs on and get paid for it. All this 'you're only a roofer if you do everything' stuff is silly. If you spend all day everyday putting resi roofs on or commercial, or thatch or palm fronds in the bahamas where you retired to after working your whole life as a shingler, you're a roofer. Relax, guys, no-one is trying to take anything away from you.

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From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

2ndGen

Well said...pretty much what I said, but in about 1/5 the text!



So what do we call someone who doesn't install roofs but just fixes them?

A service repairman?

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com