Roofing Handbook

A roof does one job, keeping water out, and it fails quietly until the day it does not. Whether you are laying your first course of shingles or bidding a commercial membrane job, the same questions decide the result: what is the slope, what goes under the surface, how are the edges flashed, and what will it really cost?
Many people learn roofing one product at a time, from a crew leader or a manufacturer sheet. That leaves gaps in geometry, ventilation, flashing, low-slope drainage and estimating, and those gaps cause leaks, callbacks, wasted material and lost profit. Roofing is also one of the most dangerous trades, so safe working practice cannot be an afterthought.
This book teaches the whole trade in clear language, with defined terms, worked calculations and step-by-step procedures. It assumes high-school algebra and geometry and no prior roofing experience, and it is written for US conditions.
What you will learn:

• How to work safely, understand permits and codes, and read the roles on a roofing crew.
• How to calculate pitch, slope factors, rafter and hip lengths, and how decks and framing carry roof loads.
• How underlayment, ice barrier, flashing and attic ventilation protect the structure, and how to install asphalt, wood, clay, concrete, slate and metal roofing.
• How low-slope systems are designed, drained and insulated, including built-up, modified bitumen, single-ply, spray foam and coating systems.
• How gutters, skylights, rooftop equipment and solar mounts are detailed, and how to tear off, reroof, repair and inspect an existing roof.
• How to measure a roof, take off materials, price labor and equipment, and prepare bids, contracts and schedules.