B1320 - Roofing, shingle, tar and gravel, asphalt, metal and roof insulation

Operational Details
Roofers may install, prepare or replace built-up roofing systems, using materials such as asphalt, saturated felts and gravel. This is mostly seen in commercial building and high rise applications.

Single ply roofing is installed mostly in residential applications and materials used may include modified plastics, elastomeric or other asphalt compositions.

Shingling is a residential roofing speciality and is installed by employers who usually do not do any other kinds of roof installations. Other roofing firms may have commercial and residential roofing crews.

Sloped roofing applications involves tacking, stapling and/or gluing strips or rolls into place, either of wood, or asphalt materials. Roofing tiles are also used and have a longer life, but are more labour intensive to install and require special bracing and reinforcement before they can be applied for roofing renovations. Sheet metal roofing is a more recent product on the market and is installed somewhat the same as other roofing products.

Flat roofing is basically a commercial application and involves building up asphalt, layer by layer, and spreading gravel over it to assist in prolonging its life, and providing assistance in draining. Asphalt is pumped from trucks and/or portable asphalt heated tanks, transported to the roof and heated in moveable tubs.

A certain amount of sheet metal work is required in roofing and flashing is an integral part of roofing. Drainage, edge and corner protection is given through installing sheet metal products. Incidental eavestroughing and fascia work may also be undertaken, but not as a separate contract, nor as a primary activity of the business.

Re-roofing is a more labour intensive job because it entails stripping the old roofing materials off the roof, using scrapers and shovels. The used roofing material, nails and staples are picked up and placed in a ½ or 3/4 ton truck and removed to a disposal site. New roofing is then applied. In this case approximately 60-70% of the contract is Labour. In new roofing applications it is 40% or at the most 50-50.

Equipment used includes: scaffolding, ladders, mechanical lifts for shingles, conveyors, sheet metal cutters, power and hand staples and hammers, sheet metal cutters, hot tar tanks, rollers, applicators, brooms , forklifts, trucks to remove old roofing materials and flat bed trucks to deliver roofing materials.

SIC Codes
000000129 - Roofing
000000130 - Metal & roof insulation