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Roofer - Working conditions

Kaihanga Tuanui

Working Conditions

Roofers work on houses and buildings that are being built, repaired or altered. They work at heights and outside, except when conditions are too dangerous because of rain, wind or snow.

"The wind poses a big challenge for roofers, and when there's rain, ice or snow, we can't work."

Jamie McNaughton - Roofer

Equipment

Equipment roofers may use includes:

roofing materials
ladders and scaffolding
general building tools such as hammers, saws and power tools
specialised roofing tools such as tile cutters, roofing welders, hoists and metal shears
protective clothing and headgear.

Jamie McNaughton installing guttering from a ladder

Roofers work at heights so protective equipment, such as hard hats, is essential

Hours

Roofers work flexible hours, which may include weekends. As with most tradespeople, roofers may not have a steady flow of work – they may have very busy periods, and periods with little or no work.

Contact with people

Roofers may work independently or in teams.

They have contact with:

clients
architects
other roofers
other tradespeople such as builders and plumbers
roofing suppliers.

"The number of people I work with depends on the size of the job. On a commercial job I could be working with up to 10 other roofers, whereas on a residential job there might just be two of us."

Gina Potts - Roofer

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Updated September 2009

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