What Roofers Do
Welcome
Hello, and welcome. This is Super Structures General Contractors — a national general contractor headquartered in Powhatan, Virginia — here to help you and your clients build something that lasts. We're glad you're with us, and we look forward to connecting with you.
Alright, What Roofers Do. Don't let the plain title fool you. Here's the part that actually matters on the job: Roofers install, repair, and replace the systems that keep weather out of every building — and the trade splits into steep-slope residential, low-slope commercial, and repair and re-roof work that each demand different skills. Learn it well and you'll understand why the roof is the one part of a building that nobody notices until it fails.
A roof system is everything from the structural deck up — deck, vapor retarder where needed, insulation, cover board, underlayment, the covering, and the flashings, edge metal, and drains that tie it together. Roofers build and maintain that assembly.
Where roofers work
- Steep-slope residential — asphalt shingles, metal, tile, slate, and wood shakes on houses and small commercial buildings. Crews are small, jobs last days, and the work is physical: tearing off, carrying bundles, nailing, and flashing.
- Low-slope commercial — single-ply membranes (TPO, PVC, EPDM), modified bitumen, built-up roofing, and metal on warehouses, schools, hospitals, and retail. The roofs are large and the work is about seams, drainage, insulation, and details at curbs, drains, and parapets.
- Repair, maintenance, and re-roof — leak diagnosis, flashing repairs, storm and hail work, recovers, and full replacements. The largest share of roofing dollars, because every roof wears out.
- Specialties — architectural sheet metal, slate and tile restoration, vegetative roofs, rooftop solar coordination, and plaza waterproofing.
A day in the trade
On a shingle crew: fall-protection setup, tear-off into a dump trailer, deck inspection and repair, drip edge and underlayment, starter course, shingles nailed to the pattern, step flashing and counterflashing at walls and chimneys, vents and pipe boots, ridge cap, and a magnetic sweep of the yard for nails. On a commercial crew: loading the roof by crane or hoist, laying insulation and cover board, fastening or adhering the membrane, welding and probing every seam, and detailing drains, curbs, and edges to the manufacturer's spec before the inspector arrives.
The skills
Comfort with heights and the discipline to stay tied off; reading a roof plan and the manufacturer's details; layout with a chalk line so courses run straight and seams land where the drawing says; the hand skills of cutting, nailing, welding, and flashing; a feel for where water goes and how wind lifts an edge; and the stamina for a hot deck in summer and a cold one in winter.
Going Deeper (Intermediate)
Low-slope and steep-slope roofing are nearly separate trades. A shingle roofer thinks in courses, exposure, and nail placement; a membrane roofer thinks in seam width, weld temperature, and uplift attachment patterns. Many companies specialize in one or the other.
Roofing is also unusual in how much the manufacturer matters. Most commercial roofs carry a warranty that is valid only when an approved applicator installs the system to the published details and the manufacturer's technician inspects it. The roofer works to three documents at once: the plans, the code, and the installation manual.
Advanced / Pro-Level
Pros understand roofing as building-envelope work: how the roof ties to the wall air barrier at the parapet, why a vapor retarder goes above a concrete deck in a cold climate, how tapered insulation moves water to drains, and how a poorly detailed curb leaks for ten years while the field stays dry. They can read a moisture survey and a core cut, tell a recover candidate from a tear-off, and write a scope the owner, manufacturer, and inspector will all accept.
From the contractor's side, a GC should know when the roof is "dried in" so interior trades can start, who holds the warranty and what it excludes, and that a deck with a dozen other trades' penetrations needs a coordinated penetration plan before the membrane goes down.
Practice Challenge
A GC is building a single-story medical office with a 1/2:12 steel deck and a two-story residential wing with a 6:12 truss roof. One roofing subcontractor bids both. What should the GC confirm before awarding? (Answer: that the sub is an approved applicator for the specified low-slope membrane system so the manufacturer's warranty will be issued, that it has a steep-slope crew with shingle or metal experience for the residential wing, that it carries the state roofing license and insurance for both scopes, and that its fall-protection plan covers both a low-slope roof with warning lines and a 6:12 roof with personal fall arrest.)
In Practice
A contractor who knows that a membrane roofer and a shingle roofer are different trades hires the right crew for each roof. A contractor who sends a shingle crew to weld TPO finds out at the manufacturer's inspection.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating steep-slope and low-slope roofing as the same skill set
- Hiring a roofer who is not an approved applicator for the specified system, then expecting the manufacturer's warranty
- Starting interior finishes before the roof is truly dried in
- Letting other trades cut penetrations through a finished membrane without the roofer
Takeaway: Roofers install, repair, and replace the systems that keep weather out of every building — and the trade splits into steep-slope residential, low-slope commercial, and repair and re-roof work that each demand different skills.
Educational overview only — not hands-on roofing instruction, a fall-protection program, or a substitute for training under a licensed roofing contractor. Follow OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M, the IRC and IBC as adopted in your jurisdiction, the manufacturer's installation instructions, your state's contractor licensing rules, and your employer's procedures.