Very Important Question... What's Your Favorite Part About Being A Roofer?

The best part of being a roofer for me. Is when you can provide a quality service to your clients and that they are satisfied with you work and would look forward on working with you again.

satisfication

Learn so many diferrent systems

OK, this isn't my favorite thing, but it's something you too, can do at home.

After a particlarly dirty day of tear off or being coated with tile cutting dust, I take a white, moistened washrag. I put it over my face. With my fingers, I trace the eybrows, then half-circles below the eyes. Then rub fingers down both sides of your nose. Then draw a "U" from your chin up above your mouth, and down to the chin on the other side. Now take your knuckles and rub along your chinline. Slowly lift the washrag away and there it is. Your own apparition of Christ.

My wife finds the washrags in the hamper and scolds me for being sacreligious, but hey, if you need a miracle every day, you can have one if you're a dirty roofer.

I used to like that it kept me in shape, working to a price in England we used to strip the concrete or clay tiles and throw them down off of the second storey scaffold to the floor (about 6 meters.)

I started at 14 working weekends and school holidays on my dads roofing firm, I was the catcher!

When I first started I was the weak link, struggling to catch and stack at the rate the tiler stripped them off at and getting mocked by the other guys.(reclaimed tiles = money over here.)but over time I got better at it and returned the favour shouting up to throw me 4,5 or 6 at a time and laughing when they couldn`t keep up!

When that was finished I would pull up the tiles on a ginny wheel and then load them out on the roof battens. All hard physical work, and I wanted to be the best so I`d carry as much as I physically could.

I got so fit and strong it was unreal, I`m not a big man (about 60-65kg 170cm) but I was the strongest kid at my school (leave at 16 years old over here) and was built like a pro athlete by the time I was 15. I could push 120kg bench press at my peak, double my own body weight.

Although I progressed to be a tiler by the time I was 21 I`d often jump down to show the boys how it was done! I loved it and I was damned good at it.

Unfortunately it did catch up with me, I just had an op to remove the end of one of my clavicles. I had eroded away the cartilage where it joined my shoulder. The other side is gone too but is holding up ok after I got an injection into the joint. I`m only 32, I don`t make the guys catch any more....

The ability to drive down the road glance up and see the roof I put on thirty years ago is still serving it's purpose today, that's my skill, sweat and attention to the little details that I was well paid for and loved doing that's up there, of course most have forgotten who did the job but I never will.

The money was great, thankfully I spent most of it doing what I wanted to do even parking my roofing business to the side for a few years while I chased dreams, a bit like the dog chasing a car I'm not sure if I know what I would have done if I'd caught it because selling another man's product just doesn't have that Wow factor.

The ability to return to the business as if I had never left it, all the same challenges plus a few that ten years add on :)

I think the short answer is being a roofer is something I will always be proud to tell others.

beginning at the bottom and working your way to the top. started loading and tear-off. then went to learning how to roof, hand-nailing shingles, shakes, and wood shingles. then going out on my own and trying to start my own business. getting back to working for someone else, then foreman, then superintendent, then sales for repair/maintenance, sales for commercial roofing, project manageing. it been a great road, and as lots of you have said you get to see the work you've done everytime your on the road. your always passing a building, a residence, our something that has your work on it.

Knowing that my roofs will still be there over 100 years from now, long after I am gone!

A very simple answer from me" I love the smell of hot whether asphalt or pitch I love commerial flat roofing, however my company sold and installed residential, by referral only, but I love the challenge of a big old flat deck tear off with a storm coming in, figuring out setups using cranes loaders and how to bring the job into a perfect cost lol Yep tearing off a 16 story building using cranes, Helicopters lifts, Its fair to point out that we were also General Contractors and we did a lot of concrete spalling work what I enjoyed the most was the travel state to state mainly the east coast, but with some commercial acounts all across the USA, later on I got involved in during some estimating work for various insurance companies and some storm work using a estimating program called Xactimate I find out very quickly the the stormies woul call be up request an estimate el quicko but the pay was like a turtle, my last work reord was in a small town south of Houston where the ontractor ontacted me in Florida and wanted to hire me for an on site job, with nuttin to do and stuck in a wheelchair I said okay I got there and immediatly notice funny things going on I stayed around 6 months and discovered that someone was ooking the books,time to say adios bak to Florida I started to putz around but being disabled and at themercy of wheelchair my outside work was at a minium so no work since 2008 I still love the smell of hot, but just about everyone is using singleply PVC and TPO so no hot smell. I tried to get involved with Tom but that all turned south when his desire for cue stiks was greater than his SPF lol yep we had som diussions on SPF

:) Roofing is the one trade that lets Man control nature.

The pride that comes to be when you find that little pin hole that allows water to enter with only SW Winds over 15 MPH that you figured out where 99 others failed.

You are up in the air trying to beat an on coming storm and the only way you can do it is bring your TEAM that is with you together like a fine tuned FootBall team. Someone has to help give the directions but each team member is in his own way as important as the next to make the scheme of things work.

To debate a building owner on the issue of not to think as hard with his pocket book as the well being long term investment in his building.

Someone once beat me as the fastest French Fry bagger at McD's so I had to take it like a man finding other strengths and a chance to use my brain.

My favorite part is but simple, female roofing groupies. :)

So its true they always come back! B)

When you make people smile because they are satisfied, that's my favorite part of being a roofer. :)

Hi, I am Arnold Davidson from Rochester. It's good to be here.

The best part of being a roofer is traveling around your community or your town seeing all your works of art. Where people wave at you and smile.

http://www.valentineroof.com/

Vickie the Boss Said: Dont hold back.

I agree with Vickie. Besides the pay check ;) I enjoy many things about being a roofer, my favorite is the freedom! Traveling around like a gypsy or rock star fixing the roof that shelters and protects a family is exhilarating. B) Just think some people pay good money to exercise and get a good tan while we just get under paid.