The job of a roofer is to provide roofing covers of various materials, most commonly tile, slate, wood, aluminium or other related materials, with an emphasis growing in terms of sustainable materials, such as green roofs. Let’s have a look at what a career as a roofer involved and how your career can develop.
What does a Roofer do?
A roofer is generally involved toward the latter phase of a construction project, working on both the interior and exterior of the project to deliver the finished roof for any building. In your career as a roofer, a significant amount of the work you will do is repairing existing roofs. Due to the natural hazards of the role there is a large emphasis on health and safety. In general, a roofer is responsible for:
- Determining what sort of roofing material will work best for a particular project
- Inspecting problems on roofs and identifying the best way of repairing
- Estimating the cost and materials required
- Ensuring the finishing is to the best standards and watertight
- Modifying roofing materials as needed in order to make sure fit properly
- Making sure you conform to all current health and safety legislation
- Working under the direction of a site manager or foreperson to ensure what is being delivered is as per specification
- Installing layers of vegetation and soil, including waterproof membranes, drainage and aeration to deliver green roofs.
Professional Qualifications
One of the most common routes is via apprenticeships, where trainee roofers learn the role ‘on the job’ with a roofing firm and also study for their recognised qualification in college over 7 phases of work and college based education in construction technology. Once you have established yourself as a qualified roofer, you can work with an established contractor and in due course can set up your own contracting business in this area. Due to innovation within this sector, constant training and upskilling in new methodologies, materials and equipment is advised if you are to have a successful career as a roofer.
How your Career can Develop
As a roofer you can choose to specialise in particular areas during your career, so you will need to upskill and earn any necessary certifications. You can specialise in areas such as domestic or residential roofing, industrial roofing firms, construction contractors, exterior roofing or civil engineering projects. Ultimately you can build up your own client base and start your own roofing services or contracting business or work with large firms or contractors that would require your services as a roofer.